Help with smoked brisket

[hehgreg]

Did a 6.5 LB brisket at 225 got to 185 in 3.5hours all I read said it should be 1.5 hours per LB that would mean 10.5 hours? Let rest for an hour, was very tough.should I have left it in for the 10.5 hours? What did I do wrong?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Times are Guidelines and 1.5 hrs/lb are typically for Full Packer. At 6.5 that is most likely just a Flat. They will go faster, Sliced brisket is taken to about 190 to 195°F...BUT...They should be smoked until a Therm Probe glides in with no resistance. This may go at 190 or as high as 205°F...JJ

 

[seenred]

Your brisket was undercooked, but I doubt it needed 10.5 hours to get done.  Don't worry so much about time...every piece of meat will be different, and they all get done in their own time.  The 1.5 hour per pound rule is only a rough guide.  Most of us will take a brisket to an internal temp (IT) of around 195-200*, then begin to periodically test it for tenderness.  The best way to do that is with a toothpick, a bamboo skewer, or a meat probe...poke the meat in several places.  When the toothpick (or whatever you're using) slides in and out easily, as through butter, the brisket is done!  Your final IT will likely be anywhere from around 195* to 210*.  Again, remember that every piece of meat is different, so there's no definitive final temp.  When it gets tender, its done.

Hope that helps...Good luck with the next one!

Red

 

[geerock]

You certainly got done pretty quick. What are you smoking on and how did you verify your temps? And if you pulled at 185 thats early. Like jj and red said, you should get up to that 195 to 200 range, check for doneness, then wrap in foil with a little liquid, then in a towel or blanket, then in a cooler to rest for an hour and a half or two. This is when a lot of the magic happens. As you found out undercooked brisket can be shoeleather tough.

 

[hehgreg]

Thank you, so I should let it go till I can slide a probe and it goes in with no resistance? Won't it go up to the temp set on the smoker..?

 

[hehgreg]

Had a wired temp probe in it

 

[chef jimmyj]

By the time it gets to 225, it will be Brisket Pudding. Just a pile of mush. Put it back in and let it ride untill Probe Tender...JJ

 

[seenred]

 
By the time it gets to 225, it will be Brisket Pudding. Just a pile of mush. Put it back in and let it ride untill Probe Tender...JJ

Mmm...brisket pudding... 

  You mean you don't like eating your brisket with a spoon???  

Red

 

[chef jimmyj]

 
Mmm...brisket pudding... 

  You mean you don't like eating your brisket with a spoon???  

Red

At 52 I still have 99% of my Teeth. Catch me in 35 years and I may be smoking everything to an IT of 225° and a Pudding consistency...JJ