Second go at brisket point

[bgaviator]

Picked up another brisket point from Trader Joe’s weighing just a tad under 4lbs.
I don’t recall having to trim the first point I did, but this piece has some noticeable areas of very hard fat. Every video I’ve seen says that kind of fat wont render out, so I tried to shave as much of that off as possible. All the other soft fat I left on for the most part.
Seasoned with my remaining Kroger Private Selection 5 Pepper/5 Salt rub.

Smoking with oak and cherry today, 6 good size chunks of oak, 2 cherry. Oh, and trying Kamado Joe Big Block Lump for the first time too!

This cook I decided to run at 275° on the Kamado Joe. I’m glad I did, because with this being a bigger point than my first cook, it still ended up taking 7.5 hours. At 7 hours I thought I was done. I had my internal probe in a thick section on the bottom half of the meat and it was registering 202°. The bottom part of the brisket was probing like butter all the way around. But then I went to probe the top part of the meat, and it wasn’t quite as soft and the thermapen was showing only 185° internal in that section. I was worried, but I decided to let it ride another 30 minutes and I kicked up the heat to 300°. In 30 minutes I got the top section to 197° internal and the bottom sections were at about 210°. The top still wasn’t quite as soft as the bottom but it felt good enough and I didn’t want to risk overcooking the bottom sections, so I decided to pull it.

I did not wrap at all during the cook. After 7.5 hours I wrapped in aluminum foil and put in my small Igloo cooler with some towels to rest. I was only able to rest it for 1.5 hours as it was dinner time and we couldn’t wait any longer. I keep reading that a 2-3 rest is more ideal though. I must say, it turned out quite excellent. For the most part, the meat was moist. There were a few drier sections, but that was ok. Nothing a dab in some Killer Hogs BBQ Sauce didn’t take care of. My wife and son loved it too and devoured a lot.

I really dig the rub I used and the wood combo and cooking temp. I’m not sure I would change much other than...start the cook earlier than you think you need to!!!
I will continue to experiment with different rubs though going forward, and maybe start experimenting with wrapping in butcher paper as well

We had a little bit leftover, so I decided to vacuum seal it and put in freezer. Would chopping this leftover brisket up be good for the next time we make chili, instead of our normal ground beef? Appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on my cook. Enjoy the pics everyone!

 

[sawhorseray]

Nice smoke ring and bark on that point, sure looks good to me. Kind of a unique carving job, chunks rather than slices, but it fits on the plate! I was in TJ's yesterday, never knew they sold points, I'm going to have to start paying a little more attention when I'm there. Like, RAY

 

[Electric88]

You can't go wrong with brisket in chili! Looks great!

If there was a trader Joe's near me, I'd be hunting a point down right about now.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Looks good. Don't get hung up on Resting X hours. With Brisket and Butts, we define Done as the point that a Probe slides in with no resistance and/ or the Bone wiggles out. If a piece of meat is Done, will it get Better Done if we rest? If Resting Meat for hours made it Better... How come we don't Cooler Rest, Turkeys, Rib Roasts, Meatloaf, Fish Fillets, Burgers or Dogs for 2, 3, 4 hours in a Cooler before eating.
If meat reaches the parameters of Done, the desired IT and/or the desired Tenderness, regardless of type of meat or thickness, resting more than a few minutes for a thin piece of meat or 30 minutes for large cuts, it is not going to get it Better Done going longer. It may, however, turn a Perfect Brisket, into a pile of mush!
If you Have to rest a Brisket or Pork Butt more that 30 to let the meat relax and not squeeze all the juices out, it WASN'T DONE, to begin with...JJ

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks awesome!
I wish we could buy just the point around here!
Al