I got the recipe for 4 hour brisket from Cooks Illustrated actually (I believe it works since they do so much testing).
I smoke for 3 hours at 220f or so to get the smoke flavor in the brisket.
Normally, the next phase might be a texas-crutch (i.e., wrapping the brisket in foil or paper)
When I do the wrap, I doubt anymore smoke will penetrate the meat so I just use the oven to save on fuel and set oven to 300F.
I stick a thermometer sometimes in the thickets part and wait for the temp to rise to 202F or just wait one hour and thermometer test the middle.
I have tasted brisket from friends and relatives that go 8 or more house and it’s dry and doesn’t taste good. I could be that they use the flat muscle (found in supermarkets) and not the point muscle. Also, I try to use prime grade beef (as opposed to choice or lower grades).
The 4 hour brisket tastes super good, tender, and never dry. You would be surprised.
I think once the meat is tender at 4 hours, more time will just dry out the meat - like jerky. And other briskets have tasted dry (from my own experience)
