Brisket temps- Suggestions

Will waiting for the flat to catch up over do the point? That is my main concern. It is parked at 205.

What is the temp of the flat?

The point feels almost done, when I reapplied the thermometer it is dropped and holding at 203 now. The flat is up to 196 but definitely needs more time.

So the brisket had some good spots but came out dry in others. Bark was great and it looked and felt great coming off the smoker, so I’m a bit disappointed. I rested it in the butcher paper in a cooler for an hour. It seems like I lost it in the resting period. is it more likely the resting period over cooked it, or did I not let it rest enough?

I do 4 hours usually, in a cooler, wrapped.

Rest the brisket min. 2 hours to 4. If you cook it way before its time to eat, like 10 hours or so, let the temp fall to 170-180, then set your oven for 175 and place it there until you are ready to eat. Its the perfect warmer

I’ll add that I seem to get the best results with first resting on the counter for about 20-30 minutes, then moving to a cooler.

Letting it cool first takes away the chances of carry over cooking or temp increase in the cooler

And like others have said, a multi hour rest is what you really want.

I've always experienced much the same. The point gets hotter quicker. I have just decided that it's because there is more fat in that part. Also, sounds like you hit the stall. If you monitor the temp closely, you can figure out when that occurs. Wrap it at that point and you'll help get past it a little quicker. Or you can sit and wait and eventually the temps will start moving again.

Briskets are odd in a way. One of the hardest cuts of meats to successfully smoke consistently good. It’s awesome that there is all of this great information and techniques out there today to help get the inexperienced in the ballpark to successfully smoking a great tasting tough cut of meat. Honestly there wasn’t much out there on the subject when I first became interested in smoking them over 30 years ago. All briskets seem to cook different to me. I’ve pulled more than I can count off the smoker at 190-195 degrees and as late as 205 to 208. Each individual brisket seems to tells me when to pull it. After probing for temp and feeling by hand, if I think it’s done I stick a fork in and it will turn with ease on both the point and flat, and I pull it regardless of what my meat probe is saying. Cooking to a specific temperature can hurt your results at times. That’s just a suggested temp to get you close. Where I’m guessing you would have had something more to your liking is if you set the brisket on the counter and let it cool down a bit then place it in the cooler to rest. If you went straight from smoker to cooler to rest that temp probably kept rising and thus caused it to barely overcook a tad. Sounds like you are doing everything right though. I’d venture to say even the most experienced people on this board would agree that smoking brisket can at times be frustrating. I don’t care what grade of brisket you purchase because even the prime can turn out as not one of your more successful briskets. I do think quality of meat does help increase your chances of success though. I’m convinced anyone that can consistently smoke a brisket good can smoke everything good.