What am I doing wrong on my briskest?

[TexasSmoke]

I have done 3 briskest on my #3.  The first one turned out great.  Not sure what has changed but the last 2 were not as good.  I did one yesterday for a group of friends and it fell apart. There was no way to slice it so I made it into chopped beef. It was stringy like a pot roast, granted I love a good pot roast so I enjoed it but not what I was hoping for in my briskie.

I used the same method for all three:
Yesterday was a 16.5 pound PRIME packer
Injected with some beef broth
Rubbed with a layer of olive oil & covered with a rub
Plastic wrapped and in the fridge overnight
On the smoker with a mix of 6-7oz of oak & hickory in foil boats
1/2 a pan of Apple juice next to burner box
Fat side down
Auger set to 225 until a temp of 195
It was in the box for 17 hours (quicker than I thought for 16.5 lbs)
Pulled at 194 double foiled and into a faux Cambro for three hours

Maybe it's because I am using a Prime brisket. Does the higher fat content require a lower final cooking temp?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

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[Pork Belly]

faux Cambro

Your brisket collapsed of embarrassment because your to fancy to say cooler.

[BedouinBob]

I would try pulling it at 190 if I wanted to slice it. I agree that the length of time it took was a little weird.

[DivotMaker]

I've had briskets take an hour per pound - especially good Prime cuts.  The way I keep my briskets in slices (or they would fall apart, too) is to use a good-quality, really sharp, Granton edge carving knife.  If you don't have one, they're a "must" for clean slices in really tender meat.  Slow and steady slicing strokes, and you'll have beautiful, tender slices.

[TexasSmoke]

Great advice on the knife DivotMaker. The one my buddy had was not great. In this case though I doubt it would have made  a difference.

What IT do you pull yours briskets out?  Does the prime make it a lower temp?

[Carp210]

Ron,
On my last brisket I had the point toward the rear and the flat at the door, figuring the back of the smoker would get a little hotter.  I put the Auber probe in the flat and my Maverick in the point.  At the end of the smoke there was a 6 degree difference between the two probes.  195 in the flat and 201 in the point. Probe placement seems to matter.

Another thing you might want to do is check your Auber meat probe in boiling water and a ice bath to make sure it is reading right. I believe there is a adjustment within one of the LCK codes to adjust for this if it is off.  Remember that your water boiling point depends on your altitude.  Hope this helps. 

[SuperDave]

Advice has always been, "cook to internal temperature and not by time."  I think this is a little misleading.  With all cuts of the same type of meat being different, there is no exact internal temp that is correct for all cuts.  Use an internal temp to purely use as a point to start testing meat for correct doneness, not an absolute.

[Barrel99]

Excellent point Dave!

[mizzoufan]

I'm going to +1 the 190 IT alarm.  I've even pulled brisket out a few degrees short of that for a long rest.  That gives me pull apart tenderness (tender, but there's a few ounces of tension when you take a slice and pull from both ends).

[Pork Belly]

What I have found is that great brisket has two temps, 190 in the flat and 180 in the point. If I had to speculate as to why it would be a combination of mass and rest period.

[TexasSmoke]

Great responses guys, Thanks.  You have me thinking of a couple of things:

1) I had the meat probe in the point.  If I use Pork Belly's thought (190 flat & 180 point) I was 194 on the point and was probably way over in the flat.  Where do you guys suggest I put the probe?

2) I had the point in the front by the door.  Should it go in the back and does it matter?  I am pretty sure I had it the other way around on my first smoke that turned out better.

I will test the meat probe temp accuracy tonight.  I have a permanent temp probe on the way.

Oh and I will get rid of my faux Cambro and get a cooler. 

[DivotMaker]

Great advice on the knife DivotMaker. The one my buddy had was not great. In this case though I doubt it would have made  a difference.

What IT do you pull yours briskets out?  Does the prime make it a lower temp?

On packers, I put the probe in the middle of part between the point and flat.  Around 190 seems to be the key (mostly picking up the flat temp), but I also poke around on it and go by feel.  I don't want the flat to get too dry, which is easy to do on a packer! (talking about the end that is all flat).  With a good rest, it's nice and tender, and slices well.  Re-emphasis on a good carving knife!

[SuperDave]

I have ALWAYS separated my point from the flat to have better temperature control of each piece with their own temp probe and reducing the cook time by half.