First brisket

[dr jim]

Smoked first brisket yesterday after waiting a whole day for good weather - I'm in UK.
Turned out okay but struggled with keeping temp up on a chargriller wrangler with side box. Meat wasn't as tender as I was hoping but could be due to temp or piece of meat itself - any thoughts would be very welcome so as not to see look of disappointment on wife's face again.
Also smoked potatoes and bread which were amazing. garlic bulb, chillies, and peppers for future use.

 

[ps0303]

Take us thru your process of how you went about smoking it.

 

[dr jim]

Covered meat with garlic and onion paste and left 24 hrs. Meat when on when temp was up and smoked for about seven hours although temp kept dropping. I have eaten it as left overs and has seemed to have tenderised a little more.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

How lean was the brisket? Was it a full packer or just the flat? What IT did you take the brisket to?

 

[dr jim]

Hi, it was a fairly lean rolled brisket. Not too much choice here of this cut. As to the IT, I must confess that I didn't test this but went merely on feel and time. The last piece of beef that I smoked was a rump joint which turned out just great. Maybe the problem here was temperature and lack of constant smoke as all I could get my hands on we're large wood chips.