Last night I smoked my first brisket. I used a charcoal smoker which was given to me. I followed the advice given to me by the previous owner coupled with some quick reading from the manual and internet. While my brisket was full of flavor it was a bit chewy, though not dried out. I'm wondering if it is the way I prepared the meat. Here's an outline of the process I used:
- About 5 lbs. of brisket
- No marinade on brisket
- 1 gallon of Apple juice in pan
- Started smoking when about 1/3 of coals were white with ash
- Added soaked alder chips wrapped in tin foil
- Placed brisket on top rack of smoker
- Kept temperature to the left of ideal (advice from previous owner)
- Added more soaked alder chips and charcoal 2 1/2 hrs in
- Cooked for a little over 4 hrs
- Smoker was in sun for first hour
Photo to illustrate what I mean by left of ideal:
Which leads me to my questions:
- Is brisket generally chewy when smoked?
- Would a good marinade prevent chewiness?
- Is there something else wrong in my preparation (cook time, temperature, etc.)?