Issue with brisket

[matt schrauben]

My past few briskets haven't turned out the greatest. I can't get them up to the temperature and tenderness I want, no matter how long I seem to cook. I use a MES 40 and cook at 225 using an AMNPS. 

Yesterday, I put the brisket in my smoker at 10:30pm the next morning at 8am it was about at 145, then around 11 or so it hit 153 and stalled as expected. I pushed through to an IT of 160. It took about 16 hours to get to an internal temp of 160 at 225. I wrapped the brisket in butcher paper and the temp dropped a few degrees. At 20 hours I was at about 163. At this point I was getting pretty frustrated and bumped the smoker up to 250. Even then, after 24.5 hours of cooking, the IT in the thickest part of the brisket was only 180. I did pull it and let it rest. It didn't turn out too bad, but some of the thicker slices weren't as tender.

Has anyone ever had these issues? Whenever I do use my AMNPS, I have to take the entire chip loader out to keep it lit. I've noticed this definitely increases the cooking time of everything, but I wouldn't think it'd make this big a difference.

Any ideas? Is it possible my MES is cooking way lower than the temperature I'm setting it at? I guess I should probably eliminate that possibility first. 

 

[martyj]

Don't be scared to smoke the brisket at 250-275. I have an MES 40 and a WSM and I smoke all my briskets between 250-275. They turn out just fine at the higher temps. The one thing I can tell you though is my MES chamber temp isn't even close to what the digital readout says it is. When I put my remote thermometer on the grate, it's actually about 30-40 degrees cooler the the factory readout.

 

[matt schrauben]

Thanks. I'll have to check the chamber temp when I get home today. Also, is there a way to fix the temperature mismatch?

 

[matt schrauben]

I'm not sure what my MES model # is, but I got it in 2015 so it's relatively new.

 

[gmc2003]

As stated above don't be afraid to use higher temps. Also you could foil it to tenderize. I use a aluminum pan with a little broth. 

Chris

 

[martyj]

I haven't found a way to correct it but because of it, I don't use it anymore for anything but low temp cooks. I was shocked at how far it was off. I bought mine it 2015 as well.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Well it sure is getting some smoke.. so you can just put it in the oven for a couple hours. [emoji]128521[/emoji]