First brisket..advice welcomed.

[smj18]

I decided to put a brisket flat (9 lb)on last night around 8 pm. It’s my first time ever smoking a brisket so it was a bit of a learning process. I was smoking on my Grilla Kong and at 250. Within 2.5 hours I was at 171. I felt nervous about that. I’m sure it hit a stall but I ended up falling asleep and dropped the ball there. This morning I woke up at 6 am and noticed my fire was pretty much out. My meat probed at 117 so I felt that since it dropped drastically and unsure what it got to overnight that I wasn’t going to chance eating it today. I was happy with my bark it produced however it was dry to the appearance and the smoke ring wasn’t very prominent. The pull of the meat was pretty good not too difficult to tear. Any advice to go off of for next time would be great! Obviously I don’t plan on falling asleep smoking overnight again

I was using an Ichef thermometer and I set my alarm for it to alert me at 200 degrees it so I could be there to prove it again around 203 for probe tenderness. Below are a few pics from my “experiment”

 

[SmokinAl]

It looks great & it's perfectly safe to eat!
http://smokingmeatforums.com/index....in-4-a-guideline-and-what-to-consider.270191/
Al

 

[smj18]

Thanks Al, good read. Still looking for any info as far as can a flat become probe tender in just a few hours and how to get a better cook for next time? Better smoke ring and tender moist finished product. All help is appreciated and welcomed. Thanks guys!!!

 

[gmc2003]

Meat almost has a mind of it's own. Some briskets cook faster then others. Time is to be used as reference only. Probing the meat with a toothpick or your therm is the best way to tell if it's done. Don't worry about the smoke ring it's strictly for appearance(adds no flavor). I don't do the overnight cook, because I wouldn't be able to sleep, I'd worry to much about the fire going out, spikes in temps, or the smoker falling over. That's just my personality.

Chris

 

[smj18]

Thanks Chris, yea I usually only go off of probe tenderness for my cooks. But being this is the first brisket I’ve attempted I was looking at all variables. I’m spot on with every other meat i smoke. I’m definitely not going for anymore overnight cooks. Next time I’ll do it ahead and reheat. I’m going to keep on practicing with it and start my next attempt on a day I’ll be wide awake for.