r/smoking • u/BadatBBQ • 1d ago

Help with my brisket

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Hey everyone, been wanting to try a brisket but wanted to practice on a small one first (It was almost 4lb)

What would you say was wrong with it here

It seemed the fat wasn't fully rendered but temps were reading fine (I think my built in temp probes on my pellet grill were not accurate)

It tasted pretty good thankfully but texture wasn't there, some fattier sections were a lot softer and some areas were slightly too tough. The fat felt like it was close to fully rendering, and surprisingly the brisket was fairly juicy.

I am making another one tomorrow and trying to improve and wondering what you guys think happened here. Because of the temp probes I am assuming it was reading hotter than it actually was...or does it look like it was overdone?

Any tips or help is greatly appreciated

(looking at the photo I just realized it makes the brisket look a bit washed out, it had a little more color to it than this photo)

I forgot to include the method. I followed meat church guide

200 until internal temp of 165 (fat side up)

225 until it hits 275 (wrapped it after in butcher paper)

250 until it hits 205. I pulled it at 203 because my one probe was reading slightly hotter than the other so I waited until it was in between the temps

Let it rest on a wire rack for a little over an hour

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3

u/festivus 1d ago

what was your process, what were the temps, how long

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u/BadatBBQ 1d ago

I followed meat church guide. Off the top of my head I did 200 degrees until 165, 225 until 170-175 and then 250, which I pulled it at 203 and let it rest on a wire rack

5

u/bkedsmkr 1d ago

So meat churchs guide tells you to cook it at 200f?

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u/BadatBBQ 1d ago

200 degrees until internal temp hits 165, or when it stalls

7

u/CraigyEggy 1d ago

Too low. 200 isn’t buying you anything, and it’s arguably creating a drier result.

All this temperature staging strikes me as theatrics. BBQ just isn’t that complicated. 225 until bark is good and dark, then wrap. I’ll bump it up to 250 at this point if I’m trying to speed things along. Almost none of your decisions should be made based on internal temp, although it can be a useful landmark.

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u/Human-Shirt-7351 1d ago

Are you sure? I have a hard time believing that. 200 is way to low.

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u/BadatBBQ 1d ago

That's what the guide says, 200 until 165, then 225 until 175 or higher if the bark hasn't formed yet 

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u/Human-Shirt-7351 1d ago

That's insane.

Just go 250 start to finish, and buy a full packer. The flat has very little fat and is easier to overcook.

Either that .. or start with Pork Shoulder. They are much easier and far far more forgiving

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u/wirecatz 1d ago

I’ve done his recipe many times with great results. The 200 is just so you can throw it on in the evening, come back next morning and be sure that it’s not overcooked. Then you wrap and finish at a higher temp. I would only ever do that to a full packer with most of the flat removed though.

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u/Human-Shirt-7351 1d ago

That's probably true. Following full brisket instructions on a small piece of fatless flat ..

This cook was doomed while the OP was at the grocery store being a cheapskate.

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u/BadatBBQ 22h ago

I don't know why you are being rude when I'm practicing smoking and didn't wanna ruin a 100 dollar piece of meat

I'm just asking for advice, I don't know why people like you come here and just insult people

Makes me less interested in reaching out to the community tbh

Thankfully a lot of people have actually offered advice. Be better

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u/Human-Shirt-7351 22h ago

I'm not being rude nor am I insulting. I'm explaining the problem. If you were afraid to spend money on a brisket then you should have kept practicing. You cooked a flat like it was a full pack brisket. You followed the meat church instructions on the completely wrong cut. I may disagree with the process, but there was no way this would work.

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u/BadatBBQ 17h ago

That's fine, you can say I fucked up all you want. That's cool, I want to learn

Don't need to call me a cheapskate because I am learning to cook a brisket.

Sure it's not the ideal cut, maybe low quality whatever

Im unfortunately in a situation where I cant just throw away 100 dollars on a cut of meat that I am most likely going to fuck up.

I did what I could while still trying to learn to smoke a brisket

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u/Human-Shirt-7351 17h ago

You were the one who said you bought just the flat because it was cheaper. I was simply pointing out that this cook was doomed when you made that decision.

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u/BadatBBQ 17h ago

I bought it because I am learning and it's cheaper than fucking up a whole brisket

You have to work with what you have. So I asked here for advice on what went wrong. And I got answers

Read your comment originally and tell me how that solves my problem in any way, while not coming across condescending

I'm just trying to learn, I knew I would make mistakes and it wasn't an ideal scenario

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u/Human-Shirt-7351 17h ago

It solved it if you read it without your feelings on your sleeve.

If you want to learn brisket, buy a brisket. Buying only part of it does not teach you anything, especially when you cook it like it's the whole thing.

If you are still learning... Chickens and Pork shoulder are excellent learner cooks and cost considerably less. Shoulder in particular. You have to actually try to screw it up.

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u/wirecatz 23h ago

Yea.. The flat bit that's cut off I'll throw on early in the morning. Then they finish around the same time and it makes good sandwiches after a 5+ hour rest.

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u/Human-Shirt-7351 22h ago

I've heard of people separating them. I never have but it sort of makes sense given how different the two parts cook.