What did i do wrong to this poor Brisket Flat?
 

I tired my first brisket flat this weekend. I trimmed all the fat off the flat, marainated it over night, rubbed it, and then smoked it at 200-225 for 3 hours, wrapped it foranother 1.5 hours. Meat had a nice flavor, nice smoke ring, however was CHEWY. Thanks in advance!!!!!

200-225 is awfully low. You may have needed more time. Did you probe for tenderness before pulling it?

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My guess is it needed to cook longer, until it was probe tender... Cheers!!!

I'm gonna have to go with what the others said. You probably need a couple more hours. You should try to go by look and feel, not time.

Agree with above. Even with a small flat, I don't think you could have gotten to 195-200* after 4.5 hours at 200-225*.

That's one reason. Plus what the other dudes mentioned already.

Agree- more time until tender... and keep more fat on the flat.

THE first thing you Farked up is> removing the the fat. Fat it keeps the meat moist and adds flavor and bastes the brisket as it cooks.
THE second thing you Farked up> cooking it at such a low temp. Flats do best from 250-275
THE third thing you Farked up> is not paying attention so for your benefit I'll kick the dead pony one more time, "YOU CAN NOT COOK GREAT BBQ BY COOKING IT TO AN INTERNAL TEMP OR BY COOKING BY XXX MIN PER LB." Probe tender is the only reliable method to ensure the proper time to pull for maximum tenderness"!

Sounds like it was undercooked like the other folks mentioned.

Here are 2 excellent links.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...hlight=Turning

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...69#post1578969

I stay away from flats I always cook points. They are harder to fark up.

Thanks Everyone! I will try again this weekend with above tips and post results! Thanks to everyone who posted helpful tips for the newbie!

A tip on reading a slice of brisket...and it can be a little tricky when you just barely miss the mark. But, when you want to understand what happened, here is what you do.

1. Slice a piece that is the thickness of a standard pencil, 1/4" thick. Drape it over your finger, if it bends into a U, then you at least got it done, if not over done. If it does not bend into a U, or it bends into a wide V, then you didn't get it there. This will always be the first indicator.

2. Take said slice, hold it by the ends, about 1/8" in your fingers, turn it so the slice is vertical and pull, slowly and with very little pressure. If it tears right away, or tears as soon as you turn it vertical, then it is over done. This will always be the case. If it takes more than a few seconds to tear, or slips from your finger, then it is under done. This will always be the case. A properly done peice of brisket will stretch for a couple of seconds, then slowly tear, you can see the connective tissue stretch slightly then it will shear.

3. Bite the slice, if the bite meets immediate resistance, and the meat has to be torn, then it is under done, this will always be the case. If you bite, and your teeth sheer the meat into shards, or the meat crumbles under your teeth, it is over done, again, it will always be the case. A properly done slice, once your teeth start to touch, the meat will part in a clean bite, there will be no need to pull or tear the meat, nor will it simply fall apart.

Those three tells on texture will tell you where you went wrong with the cooking time. The amount of moisture in the meat is not a good way to tell, neither is the internal temperature. Sometimes, a brisket just does not have a lot of moisture, you can never rely on internal temperature, by checking with a probe, then corresponding the end result with the probe feel, you will develop a touch for brisket.

You need to write the KCBS judges manual!

Agree with #1 & #3, but disagree with #2. From my admittedly limited experience all roads lead to Rome. You can make great BBQ at 225 and you can make great BBQ at 325, and you can make great BBQ at all temps in between.

Lots of good points, watch this