[asshanson]

Last several cooks I’ve been using briskets from a local meat locker where my brother in law gets his cattle butchered. They are generally quite trimmed and more dry than grocery store whole packer briskets. First couple I burned the bottom side pretty bad because there is virtually no fat cap. So today I tried something new and it turned out great:

Cooked for 2.5 hours on low heat 235*, meat got up to about 130* and was only starting to form bark.
Wrapped in butcher paper and bumped heat to 285 for another 90 minutes, meat got to 160*
Wrapped the paper with foil and bumped heat to 300 for almost two more hours. Meat got to 210ish, tiny bit overdone but not by much.

Result was that the brisket retained a lot more of the juice having paper wrap early while bark continued to form, and then last two hours no moisture could escape the foil. The top and side bark turned out perfect, fat had all rendered away to a nice soft texture but not soggy. The very bottom side did not have a ton of bark because it sat in juice, but it’s way better than being crispy and inedible.

I may not follow this exact recipe in future, but it’s a good starting point. I think by having lower temps in first couple hours before wrapping protected it from burning. I think I’ll try a bit longer before paper next time, and a little longer before foil as well. But I was extremely happy with the results. My best meat locker brisket for sure, they are much more difficult to get right compared to a usda prime piece of meat.