2nd Brisket Ever - 1st Was 3 Years ago

I didn't take photos of the final, sliced product. My guests were here and ready to eat. I didn't think the flat was as tender as I was expecting. It probed with 0 resistance. In hindsight, I would have removed it from the foil and checked tenderness. I may have even put it back in the smoker to see if the bark would firm back up. I'm a total brisket rookie, so I'm open to critiques and suggestions. It may have been a "not great" cut of meat. It was a Wal Mart purchase... $46 for 13 lbs. I couldn't find a grade on it, but you more experienced pit masters can probably tell me the grade given weight and price.

Overall, I probably wouldn't splurge for it again, unless it's something I did that limited the quality of the results. I should note that all of the people who ate it told me I was nuts for expressing disappointment in the outcome. Also, we are eating it now as Sunday dinner, and I think it's better than it was last night. I did a few things to it to dress it up.

unless it's you- not wearing clothes- doing it in your driveway.


LOL, that's what I thought he meant at first. I thought, "Wow, how would he know whether the guy was dressed when he cooked it?" I think I need sleep. Getting up so early yesterday to cook the brisky is catching up with me.

It did have a great smoke ring, and I used it as an illustration to educate my guests. We are eating only the point now, and there's a little piece left. I'll snap a quick photo and post it here.

As for the chef expecting Ambrosia and the meal not delivering... been there done that. In fact, in different terminology, I just told my family that I think that's a common occurrence when one puts so much into a meal.

This is what's left of the point.

Do you think it's the never ending pursuit of meat nirvana... perfection, that makes us hard on ourselves? Considering the expense, time, and effort good Q requires, it's only natural to want it to be amazing. On one hand, I want to improve everything I cook - make it better next time than the last time. On the other hand, I have finally become somewhat consistent with pulled pork, to the point that I wouldn't be upset if it never gets better than it has been the last few times. Does that even make sense?

I like to give away some of the meat I cook every week. There is a 5 year old boy at my church who comes to me every week now and says "Did you bring me any delicious smoked meat?" LOL. That's high praise, considering how picky youngsters can be when it comes to eating. We have known his parents since long before he was born. They LOVE everything that comes from my smokers. In fact, today is the lady's birthday, and I promised her warm brisket for dinner. I'll be taking it to church hot (and hoping it stays hot long enough for them to get home) and they'll be eating it for dinner. It gets a little awkward when the young man asks me that question, looks at the plastic shopping bag in my hand, and I have to tell him it's for someone else.

I try to use cooking smoked meats as a ministry as much as I can. Occasionally, my dear bride says I'm getting too generous, considering the expense involved. She is looking for a part time job, with a couple of good prospects waiting to meet with her this week. I was a little worried that if she didn't find work soon, I would have to cut my addiction back from every Saturday to one Saturday per month. If she lands a job this week (and I think she will), it's smoke on whenever I can. I'm so thankful to my Maker for the resources to practice this craft. No kidding, I honestly think it saved my life a few years ago. I'll elaborate if anyone wants more details. But it's pretty important to me, for many reasons.

TBH- brisket is not my favorite thing to eat but I do I enjoy cooking one. I like it "ok" -I take a slice or 2 to see how I did but I mainly do it for friends /family who really like brisket

I realize I've only cooked 2 briskets so far, but I'm wondering if I'm one of those people who just isn't into brisket. I want to taste some award winning brisket, so I have something to compare myself to. Odds are, I would say something along the lines of "OK, if I could cook it like THAT, I would cook it more often."

I've read from more than one seasoned cook here that they just don't care for the taste of brisket that much. I'll go by what my guests say. If they like it, I'm good. Sometimes, you wonder if they are just being nice. To figure it out, I finally realized they REALLY like it if they go back for more.