Strategy for small, lean brisket?


 
B

Bryan Rice

TVWBB Super Fan
Hi All,

How is everyone doing?

I am having a small get together tomorrow and I having a small sampler BBQ for my guests. I have pork butt, baby-back ribs, bison keilbasa, and I picked up a small beef brisket (it is very hard to find large cuts around here without foward planning).

I have never smoked a beef brisket and I think this one is going to be a challenge: It is Black Angus, Grass Fed Boneless Brisket that weighs in at only 3.11 lbs.

I want to have the brisket pulled off of the WSM around 4pm tomorrow and then hold it for about an hour in a warmed cooler.

I think because of the leaness of the meat and small size I won't have much room for error and I don't want to overcook it.

How long, and what temp, do you think I should smoke that sucker?

(At some point it will be sharing the WSM with the Butt and the Ribs which is why I am trying to figure out an overall strategy so dinner can be eaten around 5pm.)

Thanks for any pointers or advice. I could really use it.
 
Bryan--

You are correct that the brisket will be a challenge.
Several questions: Is there any surface fat on the brisket at all?

What is your current plan for the butt (time-wise) and what size is it?

What are your plans for the ribs time-wise?

Are the sausages cooked or not?
 
There is some surface fat - but nothing like what I have seen in photos of regular briskets on this site.

The sausages are not cooked, but I will probably grill them (first braise them in Beer for a while in a pan and then brown them over some wood chips). Since they are bison, I don't really want to cook them very much (super lean).

I figure this brisket is going to have a small window from when it is tender to when it is acutally over cooked. And since I have no brisket experience - well there always has to be a first time.

Should I wrap it in bacon or something like that for a while? Should I inject it with something? Do I need to keep the heat super low to keep in the smoker as long as possible, or will it be done in a much shorter time frame?

Yikes. The pork butt is actually pretty small as well - but I am not too worried about it, because if it gets done way early then I will just let it rest, pull it, and hold it and a safe temp.

What do you think?
 
Let's see. No, you don't need to go super low on the cooking temp for the brisket. But toss anything you've read about hours/lb out the window. It's not that it won't work out that way, it's just that you cannot use it as a predictor for cuts that are small (and if the steer was entirely grass-fed--no grain to finish (my favorite, btw)--then you have a leaner cut, probably, to begin with.

You could inject. I would try a couple things: I'd put a bed of bacon strips down on the lower grate, then put the rubbed brisket on top of the bacon. I'd put the butt on the top grate over the brisket. [I assume your butt is larger than the brisket and will take longer. This approach would actually require that you start the butt sooner, remove it and the top grate at a point during the cook, then get in the bacon and brisket and put the butt back on. However,, if you'd rather not go through quite all that, you could start them at the same time, pull the brisket when it's done, wrap it well and hold it.]

The other thing I'd do is to foil the brisket at 160-165. I foil large briskets for some specific purposes; it is not required, but with a flat that small and lean I think it would be best. I would then start checking it with a fork periodically after 175-180. I wouldn't go by internal alone. It's going to be done when it's done and the window isn't huge (but not vanishingly small either). Stick the fork in the top, it should go in smoothly; give it a little twist. Of course try to do this quickly. I realize this is kind of a PITA, but that would be what I would do.
 
Thank-you - as always it sounds like very good advice.

I will try whatever it takes to make good BBQ!

Do you think the brisket is a 4-5 hour smoke or longer? (I know there are many variables, but I am just trying to ballpark it...)

Anyway, there always has to be first brisket!

Speaking of which, do you have any good suggestions for the brikset rub? I liked your suggestions for my fresh easter ham.
 
Normally I would not expect the brisket to take that long, more like 3, maybe pushing 4 a bit, but if you're in and out of the smoker several times your cook will be a tad extnded. I think I'd plan 4.5-5 to be safe, knowing I can wrap and rest and hold.

I like this rub--actually the modified version of it which you'll find if you scroll down the page a bit. Couple things: I don't use salt in rubs. I sprinkle it on the meat first, wait several minutes for surface moisture to build, then apply the rub. This lets me make sure the salt is distributed evenly and allows me to put as much or as little rub on as I wish without having to concern myself with salt levels. For a lean small cut like yours, I'd make the rub application on the lighter side.

If the coffee-cocoa thing doesn't work for you you can eliminate those items replacing them with a carrier like paprika. You can change the hot NM chile powder to a milder chile if you wish as well.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I don't use salt in rubs.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This makes quite a bit of sense to me.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">
If the coffee-cocoa thing doesn't work for you you can eliminate those items replacing them with a carrier like paprika. You can change the hot NM chile powder to a milder chile if you wish as well. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh man - I love the coffee-cocoa-chile thing! I just bought a freshly roasted bag of espresso beans so it will be perfect. Great idea.

Thanx for all your help. I will let you know how it goes.
 
Bryan,

I've cooked several briskets flats and wholes and they usually take around an hour a pound for me cooking at 250. I just haven't seen the longer cooks others have experienced. I second the thought of foil. I'd wrap it around 160F with a little apple juice and cook till tender (195 - 200).

Loren
 
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