Please critique my brisket technique

[PaulF70]

I smoked a ~4 lb (trimmed) brisket on my 22" Weber kettle last week.

I followed a popular formula, 275d with a charcoal snake (56 briquette ring, two wide, with another layer of the same on top, about 8" gap between the ends of the snake).

No spraying - it's seasoned the night before, put on the grill until ~170, then wrapped, put back on to 205, then in the cooler down to 160 or so.

I took this one off early as time as an issue. It was:

- 4.5 hours to ~165 (average of three probes)
- Wrapped in two layers of aluminum foil, then 2.5 hours to 195
- 2.5 hours in cooler to 155

It was quite tasty, but far from fall-apart tender. Pieces were difficult to cut against the grain with a fork.

As you can see, this is a "flat" piece - relatively lean. It did have a good 1/4" layer of fat on one side.

I cooked it fat side up.

What can I do to get it fall-apart tender next time?

 

[MJ_SFEX6GEN2]

The tenderness comes with time and the heat of the grill/smoker/oven. Relying on the internal temperature of the brisket should only be a guide. Every brisket is different with different percentages of fat & collagen distribution.

For me smoking a brisket is about smoke flavor, rendered fat, and bark development. The meat itself will only absorb the smoke until an internal temperature of around 140 degrees. So the beginning of the cook I go low with temperature. Once the 140 mark I raise the smoker/grill temperature to start render fat and help through the stall. Once the brisket is past the stall (and this is why each brisket is different, because that temperature varies a lot), you could wrap it in butcher paper, foil, or foil boat. Raise the grill/smoker temperature again and wait until the brisket is probe tender before taking it off (this again can vary, some are probe tender at 195, 205, 210).

And yes, heating up a cooler with boiling water, dumping it, and placing a towel wrapped brisket for minimum four hours in that pre-heated cooler is a must. So plan for more hours than you think.