Finally got around to smoking the brisket from my side of beef I got a year and a half ago. I'd estimate it's weight around 8 lbs.
Brisket was rubbed with a custom blend I created and on the smoker at 250-275°.
I didn't keep a very good log of this cook but some of the key points were how fast the temps climbed pre-stall (got to 156° in 3 hrs.) I didn't wrap because I didn't have the color/bark I wanted so I ended up not wrapping at all.
I also had strange fluctuations with the IT of the meat. It dropped a few degrees at the stall, which I knew could happen. Then it seemed to briefly stall again at 180 and briefly dropped a few degrees again. Finally once it reached 192° it again dropped to 190 and pretty much stayed there. I started probing for tenderness. The point and thick part of the flat felt great but the thin part of the flat was sort of firm. My hunch was that it was just overcooked. I pulled it off after about 10 hrs on the smoker and wrapped in foil, towels then into a cooler. I let it rest for about an hour. That was all I could take. My curiosity got the best of me.
Slicing into it, I was very pleased with the smoke ring I achieved. And the bark turned out well also. And most of the meat was tender and juicy but my hunch was correct about the thin part of the flat. The flavor was great, but on the dry side which is probably why it didn't probe like the rest. The flavor was phenomenal though, I must say.
I definitely didn't hit a homerun with this one, but I didn't strike out either. I think a better quality brisket next time will yield better results for me.
Thanks for looking!
Brisket was rubbed with a custom blend I created and on the smoker at 250-275°.
I didn't keep a very good log of this cook but some of the key points were how fast the temps climbed pre-stall (got to 156° in 3 hrs.) I didn't wrap because I didn't have the color/bark I wanted so I ended up not wrapping at all.
I also had strange fluctuations with the IT of the meat. It dropped a few degrees at the stall, which I knew could happen. Then it seemed to briefly stall again at 180 and briefly dropped a few degrees again. Finally once it reached 192° it again dropped to 190 and pretty much stayed there. I started probing for tenderness. The point and thick part of the flat felt great but the thin part of the flat was sort of firm. My hunch was that it was just overcooked. I pulled it off after about 10 hrs on the smoker and wrapped in foil, towels then into a cooler. I let it rest for about an hour. That was all I could take. My curiosity got the best of me.
Slicing into it, I was very pleased with the smoke ring I achieved. And the bark turned out well also. And most of the meat was tender and juicy but my hunch was correct about the thin part of the flat. The flavor was great, but on the dry side which is probably why it didn't probe like the rest. The flavor was phenomenal though, I must say.
I definitely didn't hit a homerun with this one, but I didn't strike out either. I think a better quality brisket next time will yield better results for me.
Thanks for looking!
