I loved the injection flavor. I will definitely use that again.
Work got in the way of my normal process for brisket. I usually move the brisket to a pan around 180-185 and let it finish in the pan lightly covered in foil. I was at work when it hit that temp and wasn't able to do that step until later in the cook.
I also think the "rest" time was too short.
When it hits 195-200 I will go move the temp probe around to see how tender it is. Sometimes I will pull it at that point, other times I will let it cook a little more.
I hindsight I probably should have pulled this one earlier and let it rest longer. Lessons learned.
Travis, glad you liked the injection - thank you!
I'll throw in my 2¢ on your "usual" way of smoking brisket: don't use that technique in the SI. Pans just don't work out well - they effect the box temp, and tend to annihilate your bark. Instead, especially for a flat, try brining. Then, use a water pan for the entire smoke, and then smoke to 190. Going as high as you do will definitely dry one out, and the carry over cooking while wrapped will take it even higher.
The other thing that helps is to smoke whole packers. They're cheaper than flats, and you have a lot more fat to help keep the meat moist. Put away a lot of the techniques you used in traditional smokers, that were designed to counter the drying effect of the heat source. I never foil, spritz, mop, covered-pan, anything that I smoke and have never had dry meat. OK, I did have dry baby back ribs one time, but it was the meat, not the heat (different source than normal, and not very meaty). Again, just my nickel's-worth of 2¢!
