Brisket was goooo-oood!

Newbs

Well after some concerns with the length of the cook, my first brisket was a success. It was ten to eleven pounds and it took over 22 hours to cook at 240-260 dome over a beer/water filled drip pan. I posted yesterday that the internal temp was only up to 143 after 17 hours and one reply had indicated that it should be much higher in temp by that time and that it may be drying out. Well, I'll admit that the outer ends were sort of jerky like in texture when I popped the lid and peeked at the progress after 20 hours/internal temp 186. I broke off a bit to taste it. It felt a bit dry, chewy and sticky..almost candy-like. So I tented it in foil and two hours later, I fork-tested it when it reached 195 internal. The fork twisted without too much resistance so I declared it done and wrapped it up in foil/towel/cooler for an hours rest. I removed the point for burnt ends tonight and sliced up the flat. It was firm enough to slice in 1/8th inch slices but was still moist, tender and very very tasty. I served it with a beer and chipotle commercially bottled sauce with some sauteed onions and it was a big hit. I'll do it again for sure. Sorry bout the lack of pics. It was a busy day with 17 dinner guests. I'll try to get some pics of the burnt ends tonight.
Thanks for all of the tips and advice.[p]Cheers,[p]John