Smokin' a brisket

[Russ]

I finally smoked a brisket yesterday that wasn't chewy. I think my first attempts I a) didn't cut enough fat off and b) didn't smoke them long enough.

This one turned out great. Only thing is, it wasn't black like the pictures on this site. It was an 8lb cryovac wholesale cut. I cut off a huge amount of fat. I don't know what the 'point' and 'flat' are, but I ended up cutting out a bunch of fat lined meat and ended up with a big ball of meat connected to the brisket that was kinda hanging there. I just tucked it in nicely when I laid it on the smoker. I ended up smoking it for 6 hours, and the internal temp was 183 when I took it off. Seems high for not being very blackened. The temps crept up on me a few times, but for the most part I kept it between 240-260. I suppose I should've kept the temp a little lower. I used pecan wood. I'm definitely not disappointed with it, but I'm sure I could improve the next one. Kroger has cryovac brisket for 49 cents a pound!!! I picked up another one for next weekend.

 

[Guest]

Well I have only tried brisket a couple of times. The one less trimmed with more fat came out better for me. I cooked them at 225 for 10-12 hours. The first one I made was just the flat and had too much fat trimmed. It dried out so I pulled it and smothered in BBQ sauce for sandwiches.
The last one was good and flowed juices when cutting.
I think the black is reached after a long time on the cooker. At 6 hours or so when I basted they were not that dark but when I took them off they were really black.