Question: I’ve been using a turkey roaster, set to the lower end of warm (158-170F), to hot hold my briskets. The problem happens when I hot hold for longer than 8-12 hours. Sometimes, the bottom of my brisket (I hold it fat cap up) gets really hard. If I don’t hold it as long, it’s a perfect brisket. But if I hold it too long, the bark gets really hard, like tough to cut thru.

Maybe the bottom of the roaster is baking it? It is elevated off the bottom via a rack, but idk. Worth mentioning that if I pull the brisket when it’s still a little tight, I’ll put it almost immediately into the warmer to keep rendering. If I pull it when it’s done done, I’ll let it go down to 145ish before holding. More info: I smoke low and slow, usually no wrap or a brief wrap at the end to push to temp. I do hold it wrapped in pink butcher paper tho. I think it has more to do with how long it’s in a roaster.

Any tips? TIA