This bad boy was by far the best brisket I've ever done. It was a shade under 14lbs before trimming, US Prime from Costco. The bark on this thing was to DIE FOR. Yet, the flat was anything but dry and extremely tasty. I don't even need to mention the point, look at that thing!
I had always foiled my briskets because the last thing I wanted was dry meat. The results were always very good, however I felt I was missing out on a real bark. So this spring I got a tad adventurous and smoke a brisket, no foil, no water pan. The end result was awesome, I got the bark I was looking for, but the flat was a tad dry. Still, on balance, I was thrilled.
Later this past summer I did another no foil/waterpan brisket, and to my disappointment, that one came out very dry. I think my biggest mistake was placing my temp probe in the point instead of the flat, and taking it to 200F.
Well, third time was a charm. Had the probe in the thick part of the flat, but more that anything, I used the probe test to check for doneness. Oh man everything came together on this one! It sliced just perfect. The bark was AMAZING and the flat had plenty moisture.
My days of foiling briskets are over. :mrgreen:
