Couple of brisket issues? (austin)

John

I've been having a difficult time finding a ~5 lb brisket with a nice layer of fat. All they have at HEB are "super-trim" which has a thin layer of fat, and the "uber-trim" with no fat. Anyway, I picked up the fattest super-trim they had. Honestly, it has enough fat that the result wasn't dry at least. Where's a good place to get a small fatty brisket?[p]Now I cooked this brisket between 170 and 190 dome for 8 hours. Is this long enough? Although it had good flavor it was still a little chewy. I'd like to get something that comes out a bit like what you get at the local popular BBQ spots (e.g., Rudy's). Do I need to go for 12+ hours on these things? It was good enough that I'll be eating brisket sandwiches for a week, since 40% of my family unit wouldn't eat it. :-([p]Thoughts?[p]

fishlessman

John,
the 8 hours may be long enough, but the temp is too low, kick it up to 220, and are you cooking inderect. im thinking it may still go 10 hours, as my 8 pound flats typically go 12

Spring Chicken

John,
I've never been able to get a "great" brisket off my Egg, even after 22-hour cooks, so I tried a different approach the last two times. The first one was an untrimmed brisket which I had to cut about two pounds of fat off. I overnighted it in the frig with some Dizzy Pig rub and cooked it indirect at 230° for about four or five hours with some hickory smoke. It reached 161° and plateaued. I got tired of waiting so I wrapped it in foil and put it back on the Egg for an hour. Then I opened the foil but let the brisket cook in its own juices for a little over an hour. The temperature rose quickly and I took it off at 205°, re-wrapped the foil, covered it in towels and let it rest for over an hour. It was juicy, very tender and very flavorful. My best to date.[p]I did another one, this time butcher-trimmed, and generally followed the same steps. I even bumped it up to about 300° for the last half hour (I was hungry). It was also very juicy, tender and tasty. I actually think it would have won a prize if it had been a contest. I think the foiling step made the difference. I will follow these steps from now on because the outcome seems to be more predictible.[p]Spring "Cow Parts Eater" Chicken
Spring Texas USA

Big Jim

John, I agree with fishlessman regarding your temp being too low. I also live in Austin and I have good luck buying the flats from Sam's. They are a choice grade and have a nice fat cap. I usually cook indirect at 250 until internal temp of 190ish. I have also heard of people putting a couple of strips of bacon over those HEB super trims to give them some fat. I hope this helps. Jim