Brisket Question about large difference in temps between flat vs point


 
L

LarryL

TVWBB Member
Hi.
I’m a noob with a few long cooks under my belt. I cooked my first brisket on Saturday and it came out ok. I had a 12.5 lb prime brisket from costco, trimmed about 4 lbs of fat off and cut some corners off so it would fit in my WSM14. I propped up the center with a chunk of wood so it would fit. It was tight but it fit.

I tookt the temp after about 6 hours and the flat was around 165 and the point was around 157. I wrapped and then finished in the oven with a probe in the flat and one in the point. I started seeing dramatically different numbers. When the flat was 185, the point was 165. I saw this large difference for awhile. The flat was about 207 by the time the point was 200 at which point I probed and seemed tender.

Is this normal?
 
LarryL said:
Hi.
I’m a noob with a few long cooks under my belt. I cooked my first brisket on Saturday and it came out ok. I had a 12.5 lb prime brisket from costco, trimmed about 4 lbs of fat off and cut some corners off so it would fit in my WSM14. I propped up the center with a chunk of wood so it would fit. It was tight but it fit.

I tookt the temp after about 6 hours and the flat was around 165 and the point was around 157. I wrapped and then finished in the oven with a probe in the flat and one in the point. I started seeing dramatically different numbers. When the flat was 185, the point was 165. I saw this large difference for awhile. The flat was about 207 by the time the point was 200 at which point I probed and seemed tender.

Is this normal?
Click to expand...
Yes
 
Tony-Chicago said:
In the zone.

Sounds okay. How did it come out?
Use an open rack to let heat through can do a bit better than wood, but works.
Click to expand...
The point was good. The flat was a bit dry the first night and didn’t bend over a knife like I see in peoples pictures online. The flat actually seemed more moist the second day after reheating it. I’m guessing it was the liquid I added when I reheated it.

Thanks for the suggestion about using something open to prop up the middle.
 
IMO, the temp is only taken to determine when to wrap it. To tell when it’s done a wooden skewer is used to poke it in several places. No resistance should be felt. Like a hot knife thru butter. If any resistance is felt, it’s not done yet.
 
LarryL said:
I tookt the temp after about 6 hours and the flat was around 165 and the point was around 157. I wrapped and then finished in the oven with a probe in the flat and one in the point. I started seeing dramatically different numbers. When the flat was 185, the point was 165. I saw this large difference for awhile. The flat was about 207 by the time the point was 200 at which point I probed and seemed tender.
Click to expand...
That will happen when you wrap in foil. Temps will rise quickly, but that doesn't mean you are truly tender.
I think of a packer brisket like a large turkey. The flat is like the breast and the point is like the dark meat.
Trying to get both done at the same temp and tenderness is hard.
 
timothy said:
That will happen when you wrap in foil. Temps will rise quickly, but that doesn't mean you are truly tender.
I think of a packer brisket like a large turkey. The flat is like the breast and the point is like the dark meat.
Trying to get both done at the same temp and tenderness is hard.
Click to expand...
I probed the flat and point. Should I only probe one section?
 
Dwain Pannell said:
IMO, the temp is only taken to determine when to wrap it. To tell when it’s done a wooden skewer is used to poke it in several places. No resistance should be felt. Like a hot knife thru butter. If any resistance is felt, it’s not done yet.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I used the temp to figure out when to probe. I’ll try to only probe next time.
 
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