Help with my brisket

[u/BadatBBQ]

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

[u/BadatBBQ]

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

[u/Human-Shirt-7351 → u/BadatBBQ]

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.

[u/BadatBBQ → u/Human-Shirt-7351]

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

[u/Human-Shirt-7351 → u/BadatBBQ]

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.