Keep misjudged brisket tenderness

[Smoke on]

Hey all, how's it going. Smoked a 9.5lb brisket on my drum yesterday. Had my temps down around 200°-230°, which means the temps at the center of the grate should have been around 240°-250°, and it took about 9 hrs to reach a brisket temp of about 195°-198°. It felt nice and tender when I inserted my thermometer probe, both the point and the flat. But when I sliced her up I found the flat to be a little tough, the point was perfect.....anyways I was wondering what kind, or what diameter probe that some of you use to check for tenderness when ya'll do your briskeys?:twitch:

 

[sudsandswine]

I use the tip of my Thermapen most of the time, but a toothpick works well too. While I’m paying attention to the ease it slides into the meat, if it grabs on the way out, it’s still not there.

 

[16Adams]

Your house Your Rules however the longer it rests the better it gets.
2-3-4 hours and longer for a slow decline in temp.


Rest/hold is important

 

[Smoke on]

Ok, so I've heard this from a couple of people now....wrap in towel and put in cooler to rest for a while...guess ill have to go back to that process. Shy'd away from it as last time I did that as I had mush. But that was just once. Ive done before with good results. Ill try it again.:mrgreen

Thanx

 

[SmittyJonz]

Ignore the point. Don’t temp it, don’t probe it, don’t pinch it, don’t squeeze it, don’t look at it.

Probe the thickest part of the flat from the side with a bamboo skewer.

Ppl say like a warm knife thru butter - I say like the bamboo skewer thru a perfectly baked potato.

Slightly over cooked brisket tastes Great - it just crumbles and won’t hold a slice . I’d Much rather have Tasty Chopped brisket sammiches than tough/chewy slices

 

[Smoke on]

Ignore the point. Don’t temp it, don’t probe it, don’t pinch it, don’t squeeze it, don’t look at it.

Probe the thickest part of the flat from the side with a bamboo skewer.

Ppl say like a warm knife thru butter - I say like the bamboo skewer thru a perfectly baked potato.

Slightly over cooked brisket tastes Great - it just crumbles and won’t hold a slice . I’d Much rather have Tasty Chopped brisket sammiches than tough/chewy slices

So maybe that's been my mistake all these years....ive only probed it from the top not the side....sounds like a plan!!
Thanx!:mrgreen:

 

[jjdbike]

Your house Your Rules however the longer it rests the better it gets.
2-3-4 hours and longer for a slow decline in temp.


Rest/hold is important

Thanks, I was going to scythe same thing. I did an extended warm hold in the oven overnight and it was soooooooo tender. Like butter. I'll do that again for sure.
JD

 

[thirdeye]

For many years I used an ice pick, and it's important to feel the resistance going in and coming back out, if that makes sense. Nowadays, I use the larger diameter probe in this photo, which I think is the same as a Thermapen.

 

[toys4dlr]

At 195 to 198 it would have been perfect if you could give it a good 10 to 12 hour heated rest. Once I started to add long heated hold times, my finish temps off the cooker have gone down. Shorter the rest, the higher you have to take the brisket. As you know now, it was under cooked