Brisket Question

[joben]

So I've had my new smoker (Smokevault 24) 3-4 months and have gotten a lot better over that time.  I'm happy with my ribs, I'm happy with my pork butt, I'm happy with my turkey, and I'm happy with my sausages, I'm happy with my appetizers, and I'm happy with my chicken, I'm happy with my chuck roast, and I'm happy with my pork loin BUTTTTTTTTTT I am NOT happy with my brisket.

I've only done two so far, and they have not turned out to my liking.  I thought before I do my third I should check in.

1st Brisket - packer from costco - Oil and S&P - Smoke around 230 +/- 10 till 195 and start poking it - took it off at 203 when it was toothpick soft - let it rest 2 hours in foil in a cooler - pull it out and it had toughened up, the slices dried instantly as they were sliced off of the brisket - there were at least 2 cups of juice in the foil, it was dripping wet, but the meat was dry and tougher than I would want.  The pull test went as it should, but the meat was not as I wanted.

I know it takes a LOT of practice to get it right so I tried again.

2nd Brisket - packer from Dillons - Oil and Beef rub - smoke around 250 +/- 10 till 195 and start poking it - took it off at 205 when it was toothpick soft - let it rest 2.5 hours in foil in a cooler - pull it out and AGAIN it had toughened up and the slices dried instantly and they were cut off the brisket - again the foil was full of juices, but the meat was dry and tougher than pre foil.  the pull test again went as it should.

What am I doing wrong? If nothing is toooo wrong, what would you suggest for next time?

Thanks so much,

 

[mossymo]

Here is our packer brisket method. Everyone has their own method, we don't claim this to be the best method or only way to do it!

- Trim fat cap to a 1/4" or a little less.

- Always slice the brisket flat across the grain of the meat; with that said, before you rub the brisket down with seasoning mark the direction of the grain. A few methods we have found for doing this is to take pictures to refer back to, or mark the grains direction with toothpicks or by making light slices in the surface of the meat.

- Season with rub of choice, if you have planned ahead our preference is seasoning the day before, wrap in Saran Wrap and refrigerating overnight.

- If smoke ring is important for your brisket cook, cherry wood seems to be one of the better choices for giving the most prominent smoke ring.

- Have cook chamber temp 235º to 250º and put brisket directly on cooking grate, cooking indirect fat side up (fat side up or down is controversial...).

- Monitor internal meat temp after a few hours and when it reaches 160º to 170º we separate the flat from the point. Double foil wrap the flat with a little liquid of choice and place back in the cook chamber. For the point we will cut up the point into thumb sized chunks for burnt ends placing these in a disposable aluminum pan, add more seasoning of choice and cover with foil. About a 1/2 hour before serving time we will add a BBQ sauce of choice, a little brown sugar to taste and maybe a little more seasoning. This is all personal preference in amounts and what your taste buds are telling you by sneaking a sample or two while mixing!

- When the flat is about reaching 190º we start checking internal meat temp in different locations, when the probe is starting to feel like it is sliding into "butter" in all areas of the brisket flat we will pull it from the smoker. This generally happens around 200º, could be higher or lower... We use to go just by temp and found the "probe slide feel" to be more accurate for us.

- At this point we will wrap the double foil wrapped brisket flat in towel and place in a cooler for at least an hour to rest. Can easily rest as long as 4 hours and it will still be steaming hot.

- Time to slice the brisket flat and serve!

 

[joben]

- Monitor internal meat temp after a few hours and when it reaches 160º to 170º we separate the flat from the point. 

I have not tried that. Guess I could

Thanks,

 

[stickyfingers]

Are you checking the temp in the point or flat?

 

[joben]

 
Are you checking the temp in the point or flat?

the flat

 

[mossymo]

Here is one I did where I just foiled at 160º but did not separate till was ready to slice - www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/186708/brisket-burnt-ends

 

[bbqpit77]

Joben i have the same Smoker Vault 24 an i love it. I have almost 4 months with this camp chef smoker and at this point i made around 40 briskets so here is my process.

I start the smoker with water pan 1/2-3/4 full, set up to 240-250F which is almost the "letter" E on MED dial knob. When i reach my temp, i put about 4 chunks of oak wood  and put the brisket on the top shelf( i usually use 1-4 for briskets and last one on the botton for ribs).

After my class with Harry Soo, i changed a few things on my cooking process, specially on brisket, Do not open yours until 5-6 hours @240F.Just 1 or 2 times to add more chunks. Do not put any meat probe either. Try to spray water if you want until the rub/bark is formed and do it about every 1 hour. I foil mines after 7-8 hours cooking time which is almost 165-170 internal temp on the flat and insert my probe on the brisket, i dont feel confident enough to do it by tooth pick   method only, i mean i use it but anyway i have my themoworks thermometer too. Remove it at 200F and wait bout 2 hours on my cooler before serve it. Hope it helps.