I have had my brisket in at a steady temp of 225 250 for 8hrs. My probe thermometer is reading 159 is this normal. It is only a six pound brisket. please help
Yes, there is a plateau that these tough cuts of meat (brisket, butt)reach. If your brisket is untrimmed you will be fine. If you got a trimmed or First Cut brisket you may want to foil at some point and finish. I did several untrimmed 5 lbs Flats last week. I loosely followed the "Brisket - Smoked & Oven Finished" recipe in the Cooking area of this site. I foiled them when they reached 173 and finished in the oven until they hit 195. Awesome.
Unfoiled, you can expect it to take 1.5 to 2 hours per pound...for a 6 lb. butt or brisket, I usually count on 12 hours and am happy if it finisher earlier than that.
Like Jeff said, for brisket, the smoke, foil and oven thingy is a pretty good way to go.
I "cheat" using the oven sometimes, mostly in the winter time. I usually put my butt or brisket in a roasting pan, pour a little beer or cider vinegar if it's a butt. Then tent it with foil and finish in the oven at 225.
