brisket advice sought

Maybe not enuf moisture left in the brisket with out adding some to help steam it the rest of the way? ,add a little apple juice when foiling the next time or some beef broth but watch the salt content,hate to over salt,can add when eating but cant undo if over done

 

Have not done brisket yet BUT have researched alot. IMO good results with brisket have less to do with technique and more about the grade of brisket. My books on smoking say get the best you can buy and this is also readily apparent with posts here. The guys posting prime brisket have good results and the guys who don't post the grade (and don't know to get good stuff) say fail. At this point I'm not sure if CAB will even cut it. No amount of butch paper/beef broth/magic is gonna change that.

 

Brisket is rare here too but I can find it. Not sure if MA has Costco but they are well known for prime packers. GFS has CAB packers for $3.50ish. Stores are usually select and they want like $6/lb for it. I think these are the briskets most smokers pickup and fail AND pay top dollar for it. Besides the beef grade I think most guys fail and wimp out worried it will "dry out" and pull too soon. You want butter when probing. Pulling brisket too soon is as bad as overcooking. If brisket is your thing you simply must own Franklin's book. It's a treatise on brisket. The cliff notes: prime packer, salt and pepper 50/50 rub, post oak, 275F, butcher paper after the stall (185F), and cut against the grain = best brisket in the world by many accounts.

 

You have to be patient with brisket. Probe tender in the thickest part of the flat is what you want.
Pull it, and let it sit in the air for 10 mins...wrap and then rest.

 

I somewhat disagree...A good pit master can make a lower grade brisket come out good.
I agree with what your saying buy the best brisket you can afford.
You just have to have patience with brisket. That is the difference between a good brisket and not so good product.

 

I've eaten many, many really good 'cheap' briskets.

 

Here's a good place to start with small flats.

@SmokinAl

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/brisket-flat-my-way.277499/

Chris

 

No problem. enjoy your brisket.

Chris

 

GMC beat me to it.. Al's way is the best method I've seen for this!

 

Did you wrap it? If not I would wrap it with some juice and bump the temp.

 

If it's still tough, it means it needs more time. I long ago stopped expecting things to be done when desired. I expect any thing to be a 20+ hour smoke that isn't pork ribs or a chicken. Brisket isn't to me a difficult thing..just really bloody long to get done!

 

Did you probe the meat(all over) with a toothpick for tenderness? Usually tough brisket isn't quite finished yet. If it were overdone then it would most likely be on the crumbly side when slicing.

Chris

 

Brisket is done when it done...every cow is a little different.
I smoke my brisket at around 280....that is where my pit likes to run.

One time I was smoking 2 identical briskets weigh wise. One was done in 7hours the other 10.5 hours. So you never know.