First Brisket

[PapaNag]

Smoked my first brisket today. Use an offset cooker. Kept temp 250 or below. A few times it spiked higher and I opened smoker to cool down. Cooked fast. Wrapped at about 4 hours in. Was done cooking in a hour. Thermometer said 210 But not sure it was in right place. Let rest wrapped in foil in cooler for almost 3 hours. Looked good. Good bark. Good smoke ring but it was tough and chewy not tender. Never really had a stall. According to sites I should be able to cook at 250 but it seems to me I may need to lower temp. Any advice?

 

[whistlepig]

How much did the brisket weigh?

 

[TNJAKE]

Sounds like your meat probe is inaccurate and your brisket was undercooked. No way it could be finished and at 210 in 5hrs at 250°. If it truly was 210 your brisket would have been shreddable. I'd check your probes for accuracy

 

[sawhorseray]

You don't NEED lower temp, you need more time, and a lot of it. You NEED a good meat thermometer that will reflect the true internal temp of the brisket you are smoking, and also give you a honest reading of the temperature in your cooking chamber. Check out the remote-probe units by Inkbird, they are of great quality and those folks help support this site, fairly priced. RAY

 

[Nshamy]

Another thing to consider is probing for tenderness. Internal temperature aside, the thermometer should slide into the meat with little to no resistance when making the decision to pull the meat off.

 

[PapaNag]

You don't NEED lower temp, you need more time, and a lot of it. You NEED a good meat thermometer that will reflect the true internal temp of the brisket you are smoking, and also give you a honest reading of the temperature in your cooking chamber. Check out the remote-probe units by Inkbird, they are of great quality and those folks help support this site, fairly priced. RAY

Thank you. I use a ThermoPro I got from Amazon. They are a best seller. That said I have been suspicious as to whether they were accurate because I never seem to hit a stall and it always goes faster than expected. Pork shoulder is more forgiving so it hasn’t been a problem. Thanks again.

 

[PapaNag]

Sounds like your meat probe is inaccurate and your brisket was undercooked. No way it could be finished and at 210 in 5hrs at 250°. If it truly was 210 your brisket would have been shreddable. I'd check your probes for accuracy

Thank you. I think you are right.

 

[Fishonshawn]

Could have just been the exact spot you had the thermometer. I have a thermo pro also and have questioned its accuracy. But its right. Check it in a cup of ice water to be sure. Even my other meat thermometers will read different temps in different spots in meat. Best way to tell if a brisket is done is the probe test. Jusy use the temperature as a guide to know when to start probing for tenderness. If it doesn't probe tender let her go longer.