Another brisket questions
 

Hey guys,

I smoked my first brisket this past Saturday and was curious about a few things and was wondering if these things are normal in smoking brisket.

I smoked a 5 lb flat. When I cut into it, it looked dry. Very dry. And it looked tough. But, when the buddies and I ate it, it was surprisingly soft and had some juice, although I was hoping for more juiciness.

Is brisket supposed to look and be like this? Deceptively soft and juicy by the appearance of looking dry and hard? Maybe I just haven't had good brisket before? This could be the case too. You don't know what's better until you've had a variety....that's how I ended up with my wife. Haha. By the way, I did foil at approx. 160 and kept it until 190.

On a side note, I did cut the flat in half and tried one half fat-side up and the other half fat-side down. I couldn't tell a difference really. Though, I think I like the fat-side down one better. For fat-side up, people who are scared of a little fat will have to trim that little bit of fat off too and after you do that, well, there is no bark at all. It is juicier to a small degree, but that's because you're getting the fat itself and not necessarily that the fat actually rendered and made it's way down into the meat....just my thoughts. I'm not a veteran of BBQ.

Cheers.

I typically just put the fat facing the heat. As I never have really had a heat source from up top that generally means fat side down. I also usually trim my briskets down of most fat in order to get more bark on the meat, and I also like making beef tallow with it for frying purposes.
In my years of BBQ I have never smoked just a flat, as I REALLY like the point. The flat is always going to look dryer than the point will, but the point will look REALLY freaking juicy.

I'm new to this, but I've recently done a few brisket flats. I slather it with mustard and a dry rub and let it sit overnight. I then inject with beef broth right before putting it on the smoker. I place it fat cap down, then foil at about 150ish (the stall) with some lager beer, and cook it to 200 or so. I then rest it at least 2 hours foiled in a prewarmed cooler with warm towels. The one I did this weekend was rested for 6 hours and was still 160 degrees. How long did you rest yours? From what I've read, the resting is very important. I will say, though, each time I've taken it out of the foil, it sure seems rubbery and I think I'm gonna have to have a backup plan for dinner, but then I cut it and taste it and it's moist and tender. I've been fooled, as well.

I don't cook flats( I normally give the flat away) I cook packers 12-15 lb, fat or Point to the heat. If you cooked it right the flat will look dry, your not going to see stuff running out on the board but it will be moist to the palate with a buttery texture.

yeeup..cook the packer..but DO NOT GIVE NUTTen AWAY! A 5 pound flat then cut in half will yield poor results..fat up fat down...rest fat up...but cook whole..