tony b Posted September 20, 2016 Report Posted September 20, 2016 Brisket is the hardest BBQ cook to master. That's why we are so in awe of Franklin. So, don't fret that yours didn't come out as good as his. Mine rarely do either and I copy his technique to the letter. He's just got the magic touch. Couple of thoughts - 5 hours is quite a while to hold, but shouldn't have dried it out if tightly wrapped in foil/blanketed in cooler. Franklin uses Prime cut, so he can get away with trimming off most of the fat cap. I usually have Choice, so I leave more fat on mine. 185F was a tad late to wrap in the butcher paper. My money is on that one for causing your meat to come out dry. The goal is to catch it just coming out of the stall (165F - 170F). Not sure that the basting helped at that point.
5698k Posted September 20, 2016 Report Posted September 20, 2016 My first thought is over cooked. Did you probe for tenderness earlier in the cooking process? Was it tender? I don't necessarily wrap at all, so I don't think that's an issue, and I don't think you trimmed too much. The best answer is usually the simplest, so I'm sticking with that. Rob
tinyfish Posted September 21, 2016 Report Posted September 21, 2016 Could be a combination of both Tony b and 5698k answers. Some briskets are tender starting around 190f thats when I start probing for tenderness. I wrap my brisket when the bark is where I want it, I don't even check the Internal temperature when I wrap. I always have gravy/bbq sauce ready, just in case.
