Best internal temp for brisket?

[Rusty]

What is the best internal temperature for smoking a brisket? So far, I have tried 195 and 190,pulled them off the smoker, wrap in foil and let them rest in the oven for an hour, but both times they seem to be dry and not very tender.
Should I trying pulling them off when internal gets 180? Or, what do you suggest?

 

[Glenn W]

Rusty,

Ignore temp go by probe tender only (like warm butter). IMO you can start checking this at 185. Once super tender do not tightly foil as it will continue cooking on you, tent with foil instead for 20-30 min then wrap. Once you learn tender by feel you can carry to almost tender then tightly wrap in foil for holding.

Hope this helps.

 

[LarryR]

I agree w/Glenn 100%, use temp only as a guide but not to determine when she's done. I've had briskets tender at 190 and 205. When you can slide a fork or probe in without any resistance she's done.

 

[Rusty]

Just to make sure though I understand...Dry = over cooked. Correct?

 

[Glenn W]

Yes dry is over done, but will be tender and flaky. When you have a slice of the flat that is juicy and tender that is perfectly done you can drape it over you finger and it won't break. Should be able to cut it with a fork on your plate with no resistance.

 

[Noe]

Rusty, the magic temp is 160-165 ur brisket is done at that point but not tender yet, wrap in foil till tender no need to check temps anymore, after brisky gets tender just let rest for about 20-30 mins and ready to slice

 

[George Curtis]

i got lucky in that i used to take them off, foil and wrap around 196 or so and had purty good results. now i start checking with a probe at around 190 or so and go from there and that has worked much better. i have taken some up over 205-210 cuz the wife wanted the meat to shred. not once did i have a dry brisket. might just be the meat itself.

 

[Bill S.]

I know I'll get skewered for this. But I pull my flats off in the 170's. I've had two different meat thermometers so it's not a bad readings. I slice all my flats thin for sammies, 1/8" or so. Never had a problem with toughness or juicieness. All right, it's now a free fire zone. Let'em rip, I can take it...lol.

 

[Steve Whiting]

Rusty just remember that if you are going to foil and hold in a cooler for hours like a lot of us do, the brisket will continue to cook while in the cooler. If this is the case pull the brisket off the cooker when it is close to tender but not quite there.

 

[NealT]

I keep forgetting about judging the doneness by "feel" instead of "temperature".

I did a small 3 lb organic brisket and used only temperature as a measure of doneness (185degF). Got lucky and turned out ok, but need to remember to go by "feel" the next time because it was a bit dry.

 

[Dale Perry]

I am with George C on this subject exactly.

170, thats a nice chewy brisket!

 

[j biesinger]

be sure to check for tender in multiple spots. The point is extremely well marbled, so the fat in there will seem tender, and the very tip of the flat seems to get to tender before the middle. Probe around every 20 min or so, and keep cooking it, and you might be surprised at what you find.

When I'm having troubles with getting a tough cut to tender, I try to go as hot as I can, and do more probing so I can get an idea of what's happening. L/S can make changes in tenderness almost imperceptible, and you'll panic and pull it too soon because nothing's happening. Every cut I learned to cook, I started out HH and then backed down on the temps on later cooks once I knew what I was looking for. To learn a cut, you need to see it both underdone and over done, so go ahead and practice.

Personally, I'm still not sure if I've ever overcooked a brisket. The last one I did was a 12 lb packer that cooked for 8 hours at 275* and I took it further than I ever had and it was the best brisket to date.