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| Kentucky BBQ Guide |
TEXAS BRISKET page 4
 5. Finishing your Cook
OK, you are now 6 hours into the cook, it is time to turn the brisket so the other end is closer to the fire. This also a time you can decide if you want to wrap, or put in foil pan. What this does is limit the smoke to the meat for the next 6 hours so that you dont "oversmoke" your meat. I know, they say that you can't oversmoke, meat will only absorb so much. But with my experience on smaller pits, I usually wrap the last 6 hours. I think it is because that meat is so close to the fire. If you have a larger pit where there is some distance between your meat and the fire, just let it cook exposed the last 6 hours. Whether you cover or not, be sure to turn it and check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Insert the end of the digital thermometer into the center of the middle. A normal range for this stage of the cook is around the 150 to 160. Increase temperature if you are not there yet, and decrease if you are already over. You will pull when all areas of the brisket read 180+. A big misconception is that you need to pull in the 160's like you would a steak to get some rare meat. You never want rare brisket meat, it will be tough as a boot. It needs and wants to be burnt, so you have plenty of thoose tasty burnt ends too :).  6. Pull Your Meat Out and PrepLike noted earlier pull at 180+, sometimes I even let mine go to 190 yum yum. Let your meat sit in a foil pan wrapped for as long as your can bear it. Some say let it settle an hour, normally I am cutting it up in 30 min or less. If you have the time, let it sit and settle for an hour. The smell will drive you crazy, so I apologize in advance. It is normal for the outside to have charred black burnt look. The inside will be tender and you should have a pink smoke ring atleast quarter inch think. Some customers have question'd me thinking it was not done, I tried to explain the smoke ring but it was like talking to a wall. Grab a cutting knife and a cutting board, lay your prize on the counter and admire it for a second. If you do not plan on eating it all now, dont cut it up, freeze it whole. That way when you do a de-thaw cook, it will maintain its moisture. I de-thaw in the oven at 300 whole until the middle reads 165. O I forgot to mention that this is a messy job, may have plenty of towels handy. When I prepare my brisket, I do trim the large hunks of remaining fat but be sure to leave the rest. Some love the little bits of fat becuase it is very tender and tasty. Cut the meat perpindicular to the grain so that it pulls apart easy. Your Guest/Family should not need a knife to cut it, just a fork. Garnish it with some of your favorite the side. Upon cutting up, eat as quickly as possible brisket dries out easily and for best results slice then eat fast. You will notice when you go down to the BBQ joint, they always slice it right there for you this is the reason. Thank you for reading, if interested in further specializing your skill for competetion cooking please see this detailed guide
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