so you don't check until 200 ° IT. Someone said a Choice brisket can be ready at 180°-- I don't mean to QUESTION you (but I am---LOL) I have a full brisket that is only 8 pounds and the flat part is not too thick (It had to fit my 18" WSM and my pocketbook. ) So you still think I won't go wrong at 200°? I have another question. You said IF someone wrapped (pork, beef?) don't do it to 170-180°. What if I hit a stall at 162°? When would I wrap? --after the stall?? Thanks for your valuable help as always. Charlie
No problem it's best to ask if curious :)
I personally find it hard to believe a whole packer brisket or a flat muscle alone would be tender at 180F. MABYE a point muscle, but I've never tried. I just know point muscles get tender way faster and are easy going so it's hard to mess them up. This is why you don't temp or probe the point, you do so to the flat :)
Also my understanding of how collagen melts down is that it takes being over 190F for a period of time for collagen to become juicy goodness so the 180F part makes me very skeptical about that particular number. Yeah it is cooked and edible at 180F but not likely very tender... again only trying would tell but all other known evidence and supporting info speaks to not having a tender brisket :)
My brisket tenderness checking number is 200F which is really consistent with my system and with the choice briskets I come across frequently. I can tell you that with a prime brisket I check at 198F as they are fattier and in my experience they seem to get tender faster.
Many guys will say to check at 195F. I personally wait until a minimum of 198F but checking at 195F doesnt hurt as long as you don't keep doing so and kill your timeline to finish the cook. My practices are simply based on my setup and based on the history of the Choice packers I tend to come across and pick.
As for wrapping.
My philosophy is 100% about flavor and has nothing to do with the stall.
I handle the stall by... just letting it stall and do it's thing... so not really handling it at all hahaha. I simply understand in my setup how long a brisket tends to generally go at 275F (a little over an hour a pound).
I find an unwrapped brisket cooked the entire time tastes 20x better to me than a wrapped brisket. Now I've only ever done a wrap with foil so I can't speak to pink butcher paper.
In the cases that I do wrap (chuck roasts because they are leaner), I wait until an it of like 180F or so because it seems the meat has soaked in enough smoke, done some good open air flavor development, formed acceptable bark taste and consistency, etc. With the time taken to hit 180F I find the flavor to be waaaaaay better then wrapping at like 160F to beat the stall. The flavor is not as good as unrwapped the whole way but is still very good and with cuts like a chuck roast I find you have to wrap with a little splashed liquid or it dries up on u too badly.
To me the worst thing you can do with a brisket is to wrap it early and have it coming out tasting more like oven roasted beef than a smoked bbq brisket!!!!
That oven roast beef flavor completely undermines the hard work, effort, cost, and TIME spent to to make a smoked bbq brisket that tastes like it was cooked in an oven.
There is nothing wrong with an oven beef roast but I could do that inside the house in way less time with like 10% the effort spent.
I'm glad you are asking the questions so you can understand my specific situation and my motivations. Your system may vary some but I think the practices stay the same if you want to apply them.
I always suggest to people that they try a brisket unwrapped if they have only ever wrapped. And that they even try wrapping later if they still want to wrap. It's all about doing a few tried and true things, landing on what you like, and even tweaking to make it better according to your tastes :)
Let me know if this makes sense and do not hesitate to ask any questions. Thanks! :)
