Brisket results

[binnesman]

First thanks for all the advice given to me you all are great. The brisket was good not great it was a hair overdone not dry dry just did not get the bend without it breaking on the flat. The point was great. I cooked it till it hit about 197 at the top of the flat went out to probe the point was 202 the top of flat 202 but the lower flat was 214. I pulled it wrapped it tight in towels and tucked it away in the cooler for 6hrs. I should have pulled maybe around 193 to 195 I know I had carry over cooking. Flavor was point on basic salt pepper garlic and apple cider vinegar spritz. Not bad for first brisket. Sorry about only one photo took others but did not save.

 

[smokerjim]

looks good from here!

 

[indaswamp]

Glad it worked out for you. Looks great! You'll get the hang of it the more you cook 'em...

 

[flatbroke]

Looks pretty good from here too. nice job.

 

[oldsmokerdude]

Looks good to me!!! Remember, it's a journey. We learn a little bit more each time we cook. And the good part is, your mistakes still taste pretty darn good!!

 

[thirdeye]

Knowing the internal temperature is a good indicator of what's going on, and can give you a guesstimate of what's to come. Probing is more accurate when determining tenderness, so use both together for the best results.

If you are worried about carry-over temps cooking something too much (or too tender), just vent the foil until the meat drops a few degrees, then move into your hot box for holding.

 

[zwiller]

Looks good from here! (Wayne beat me LOL) It's good to mindful of IT but probing is equally important as each brisket will be different. Also, unless you get really aggressive with trimming some parts of the brisket will be overcooked no matter what.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Good looking brisket.
Nice job.
Now that you have your first brisket under your belt, you'll be perfecting your techniques on the next ones.

 

[Chasdev]

Over cooked brisket tends to fall apart when sliced, not so much being too tough.
Sometimes briskets are tough, that's why the comp cookers and high end BBQ joints spend at least $100 on one.
The mid level and lower grades won't ever eat like the top grades.
As for me, I'm almost out of the excellent brisket chili I made and froze 6 months ago when I lost track of temps and over cooked one..might be time to overcook another.

 

[chopsaw]

Looks good to me too . Best part is sounds like you had it covered on what you had and why .
I agree with above , over cooked tends to fall apart . Poor quality tends to be tough .
Great effort on your part for sure .

 

[SmokinAl]

Nice job on your first brisket!
Al

 

[WI Smoker77]

Looks great, especially for your first one. Flavor was good so you have that down. Next one will get easier. Congrats

 

[SmokinEdge]

Success is tasty! Congratulations.

 

[jcam222]

Briskets can be finicky for sure. Sure look great to me , especially for your first one.

 

[tallbm]

First thanks for all the advice given to me you all are great. The brisket was good not great it was a hair overdone not dry dry just did not get the bend without it breaking on the flat. The point was great. I cooked it till it hit about 197 at the top of the flat went out to probe the point was 202 the top of flat 202 but the lower flat was 214. I pulled it wrapped it tight in towels and tucked it away in the cooler for 6hrs. I should have pulled maybe around 193 to 195 I know I had carry over cooking. Flavor was point on basic salt pepper garlic and apple cider vinegar spritz. Not bad for first brisket. Sorry about only one photo took others but did not save.

Don't worry no one nails it on their first brisket attempt. You learned a number of things and that whats matters.

As Thirdeye said, testing for tenderness is what you really want to do using IT of the meat to tell you when.
If you try to go by temp alone you will never consistently get tender brisket.
The only way to get consistent is to test it for tenderness. So get some/a kabob skewers and when your IT says 198-200F then stab all over to check for tenderness. If it goes in like butter then it is tender and ready. If not wait another 1-2 degree increase and stab all over again. Repeat until it is tender.
This is the easiest and best way to go about it. Try other approaches at your own peril :)

You also learned a great lesson about the Point. It's hard to mess up and is usually everyone's favorite part of the brisket so you don't temp probe the Point you temp probe the Flat.

Make some notes for your next attempt and keep following best practices until you nail them and you will improve your brisket every time until you consistently make great ones :)

 

[thirdeye]

I gave a little brisket in-service one year and used the 'probe feel' of a jar of peanut butter to simulate tenderness. It worked pretty good alternating back and forth (with different skewers). A couple of years later at a cooking class, they used a cottage cheese container with Jell-O and I think that works better.... but people might not have Jell-O in the fridge.

 

[chopsaw]

I really think one thing that gets some people , and the OP mentioned it above .
Cooking to " done " then wrapping in towels and putting in a cooler without some cool down first .

 

[schlotz]

tallbm said it best. TAKE NOTES as the smoke progresses and be sure to include a review of the outcome. Always good to include a To Do Next Time section (or what NOT to do) at the end. Review your notes prior to the next smoke. Personally, I use a recipe app and I keep all of my smoking notes in each recipe. Smoking Brisket (and other things) is a journey, where learning happens along the way. Note taking gets you there quicker.