2nd Brisket Done too early.... lower temp?

[njt124]

So my second brisket attempt it nearing 185 IT and not eating until 330pm.....can I lower the temp of the smoker to about 190 to try and keep the IT lower for longer? Will that have any ill effects?

 

[noboundaries]

What temp are you smoking the brisket?  What weight is the brisket?  I've seen unwrapped 13-15 lb trimmed packers take 4+ hours to move from 185 to probe tender.   

 

[njt124]

I'm not wrappping....was at 225 and holding around that....was approximately 12.5 lb trimmed

 

[noboundaries]

Yeah, don't worry.  You've got a ways to go.  Leave the smoker at 225F, and just know you may need to crank it up to 275F if you are only in the low 190s 4 hours before it is time to serve.  You may experience one or two more stalls.  They are significantly shorter than the main one, around an hour, but they happen. 

 

[njt124]

So now I'm running into a large disparity in the temp of the flat and point....seems some 20 degrees less when I check it and very tough still....point is at 195 and pretty soft....any advice on what to do now?

 

[okiefisher]

I'd shoot for a 205 temp in the point then check it. The point is not gonna dry out. If it feels tender at that point wrap and let it rest.

 

[njt124]

Does it make sense the flat is so much lower and no where near tender....do you measure the temp of the point or flat to get around the 200 IT mark? If the point won't dry out it makes sense to check the temp and tenderness of the flat?

 

[okiefisher]

I always used the point for the IT. Once it hit 205 then checked the flat. I normally always wrap my brisket at around 165 ot 170 also.

 

[SmokinAl]

I use the thickest part of the flat for my IT. The flat will take longer to get done than the point.

You can always separate them & wrap the flat.

Al

 

[foamheart]

Seriously, quit worrying about the temperature. Its only good for two purposes, insure safety while learning and to give you an approximation while learning. It will never be the exact same for two pieces of meat. 

In the begining smoke all you meats at the same temp to get a good feel for the time/ thickness/ density relationship. Once you have it figured out you won't need that thermometer. Pinch it, poke it, stab it, its OK to play with your meat. People were making far superior smokes long before there was indoor plumbing or electricity.

Use that temp. probe as a learning tool, but don't depend upon it as a crutch. There are too many variables on large pieces of meat to be able to do that. 

You have the nice and slow part down, now its just waiting it out. 

Oh BTW, I took a tip from a fellow down Austin way. I don't trim, he does a little but not for the reasons others do. He trims both fat AND meat off to try and establish approximately the same thickness and width. He doesn't do it exactly but it makes a huge difference in being a consistent cook time. You always get that thin piece of flat on the end opposite the point end, you know you can't do it proper justice so cut it back some use that meat for chili or other things. Don't just try and hack out all the fat, just try to smooth it  all around so you get a good air flow around the brisket. You are an artist, a sculpture. And use your fingers, squeeze it, poke it, pick up a screw driver and pearce it!  Do it before you put it ion the grill so you know what raw feels like. Toothpicks for me have too much of a point on them and just don't give me a good feel for the meat. Get a new unsharpened pencil. I use a large screwdriver, you can always find one in the back of someones truck to test with. Just don't let the women folk see ya. 

Biggest thing is don't worry about it, when I stopped worrying is when I started  wondering why I was having so much trouble, there is really nothing to it. Have a cold beer, tell a few lies, work on those laugh wrinkles around your eyes and don't get smoke in them. Relax and have fun.

Bar-Keep!! Drinks on the house!

 

[njt124]

It's done pulled it at 202 seemed to pass the toothpick test in the flat finally. Was quite a bit drier than my first attempt. Any suggestions on why this would be....took almost 19 hours total on the smoker at 12.5 lbs

 

[njt124]

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• njt124
• Sep 3, 2017