Low and slow brisket (again)

[PeterD]

After my previous HH brisket, my family and I have decided that we all prefer the thick crusted bark of low-and-slow and that's the method I'm planning to use this coming weekend. 210 degrees for as long as it takes to do a 12 pounder.

My question is how can I prevent the thin end of the flat from becoming shoe leather? I temp in the thickest part of the flat and by the time that's in the "done" range and is probe tender the last 2 or 3 inches of the flat is basically carbonized. That's a lot of wasted meat. I obviously can't pull it when that end is tender or the rest will be undercooked.

How do you get the best of both worlds? Point, thick-flat and thin-flat all moist/tender while using low/slow? Please let me be clear: I'm not after suggestions for going HH. That's for another day. Maybe.

 

[Monty House]

I'm not sure I know. I've often mixed it in with the chopped + sauced point. I'm guessing that partial foiling (i.e., foiling just that corner) wouldn't effectively do anything.

I'm doing a 12# HH brisket this weekend with one side of the flat being thinner than I'd prefer. But, it was the last packer they had, so I grabbed it.

 

[PeterD]

Yeah, basically the way I have to operate here is we have ONE source of packers within 45 mins. I'll order on Tuesday, he'll call on Friday. His supplier will have brought him just the one he ordered, not a case that I can select from, since he has no call for brisket from has day-to-day customers. I have no choice in what I get essentially, and invariably I get a thin-at-the-end point.

 

[Bob Sample]

Well the dried out piece at the end can be cubed up and added to burnt ends, since this was basically the original source of burnt ends. You can try placing foil under the thin part to try and deflect some of the heat from under it or before you cook it trim off the thinnest part and grind it for a burger or two.

 

[Dave Russell]

Originally posted by PeterD:
210 degrees for as long as it takes to do a 12 pounder.

Good luck with that. Doesn't work for me, but maybe it'll work for you.

My best briskets cooked without foiling were all done with water in the pan and much more moderate temps. If using the gauge during such a cook I'd want the temp to start somewhere shy of 225*, but eventually hitting 250* would be a good thing. Steaming with the water pan will help in controlling the bark. Vents barely cracked won't produce much steam at all at 210*.

To be frank and ernest, though, I was pretty stubborn concerning foiling. But I eventually started taking my own advice: Foiling a brisket during the cook is cheap insurance for a good brisket, and there's ways to help the bark. That's just my .02 cents, though, and good luck with all your briskets.