Carrie L. wrote: Hi Bob--actually, the temp was reading just below 225, which is the temp we smoke the ribs. I'm certain it was just that it hadn't been cooked long enough, as BGE recipes for brisket that I later looked up said they smoke them upwards of 13 hours. I think it's just that the connective tissue hadn't broken down with the initial smoking. Next time I will know! And there will DEFINITELY be a next time.
Carrie, you are probably right about the connective tissue (collagen) not breaking down. That occurs with an internal temperature of about 195F. It just seems to melt almost magically at that temp. I have files/recipes in my food/bbq folder on my computer, complete with pictures. these take us through the whole process from raw to sliced. I even have a couple recipes that are for a quick smoked pork butt and a whole untrimmed brisket that can be done in only a few hours and still get the smoke flavor that makes bbq. These files are in WordPerfect so if anyone has that program I would be happy to send the files.