Plan for first brisket cook...


 

Jack Henry

TVWBB Member
I've read through all the high heat threads and think I get the idea.

A bit worried about the meat my wife picked up at Costco. It is just a flat, weighs 5.5, but she asked the guy to go in back and grab one that hadn't been trimmed yet. Had a look last night and it does appear to have a decent fat cap, but it is thin (1.5inches maybe?) and wide. So, I think I'll have to plan for a few adjustments.

Here's the plan, let me know if anything looks off. Also a few questions tucked in there:

- Wait until morning to prep it, trim it just a bit if needed, and using yellow mustard and a pretty basic rub (or, best to prep it tonight?

- Get the WSM up to 350ish (full lit chimney on top of full empty chiney). Quite a few chunks of wood (probably hickory and maybe an apple or three). Let the charcoal get going and assemble and put meat on, fat cap down).

- Since it is thin (I think) I'm going to pull it at 160 and foil. Question: the idea of using an aluminum pan instead of foil is interesting, assume you just foil the top of the pan? Seems like you'd want the meat a bit more "contained" as in a loose but tightly wrapped foil, but I guess it doesn't matter? Seems like it would be easier to lift a corner of foil to check tenderness than unwrap a "blanket" every time.

- Back on the WSM with temps around 350ish. Let her go for about an hour and then start checking for tenderness(or plan to go longer before I start checking?)

- Since it is a flat, and I plan to have it done a couple of hours before time to eat, I'm going to pull it off just as it appears to be getting close to "butter" resistance. Though, being my first brisket, I'll just be taking a wild swing there).

- Foil, wrap in a towel, stick it in the cooler until everyone's ready to eat.

Sound about right?

Thanks!
 
Skip the trimming. If you must, trim before serving.

I don't use yellow mustard (for anything). You certainly can though. I rub before cooking. You can go earlier if you'd like.

I don't 'get the WSM up' at all. (Others do.) I Minion the start with twice the usual lit then assemble the cooker and load the cold meat in immediately. I like smokerings and starting everything cold helps.

Yes, check first in an hour.

On the pan/foil front: More contained is definitely my preference and one I'd suggest for a thin flat. (I do packers and use foil; many here like pans.)

Yes, try to pull it out a little early if you're not eating sooner. If you hit completely tender first I'd suggest leaving the foil opened, the flat on a rack on the counter, for 5-10 min first (to lose excess heat), before wrapping back in the foil and holding till dinner.

For one ortwo pieces of meat I simply wrap the foiled meat in towels and stick in the microwave. No need to drag out a cooler.
 
Thanks Kevin,

One question: I've seen you mention twice the usual amount for a Minion start a few times. It is supposed to be cool here, so I'm probably looking at full chimney of lit on top of a full chamber of unlit?

I'd thought about starting it all cold to get a smoke ring based on your ealier posts. Thanks for the reminder.
 
I always use at least 3/4 of a ring of unlit - for a small cook; a full ring or more for a larger cook. Excess will be extinguished after cooking is completed and you shut down the cooker.

Me, I'd start with maybe 35-40 lit if cool out. It may take a bit longer to get going - maybe - but I never worry regardless. It will. You can start with more if you wish. Many do - and bring the temp up quickly. That's just not my thing.
 
A 5.5 flat will be about an 8 hour cook give or take. If the temps are <40 outside, fill the ring all the way and start with about 50 lit briquetts + smoke wood. When it's colder outside you'll consume more fuel. I agree starting with cold meat and a cold smoker... makes for a monster smoke ring. Just run the vent wide open until about 30 degrees short of your desired temp and then start adjusting.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">A 5.5 flat will be about an 8 hour cook give or take. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not at the targeted cooktemps it won't. It should come in at < 4 hours, possibly close to 3, depending.
 
Well, an hour in and the temps have been holding at around 350 at the lid (360 or so at the grate).

Probe says the meat is at 148! Guess I'll be wrapping her earlier than expected....
 
So the whole thing, from meat on to resting, took a shade over 3 hours. Hit 164 in an hour and a half and foiled. Let her run for an hour and started checking for tenderness. After an hour, the thinner parts felt almost "butter" but the thicker part didn't. I got nervous about drying it out after another half hour so decided to pull, double wrap with foil and towel and let her sit for a few hours. We'll see when I slice it, but we've got the pizza place on speed dial...
 
Well, as is the usual refrain that I read on this board from the rookies, "everyone loved it, but..."

Flavor was great, but I honestly can't figure out if I over did it, or under did it. The thinner parts were able to be cut with a fork, but the thicker parts (two inches?) were a bit tough to slice.

Went with a wet rub, and hit it with a dry right when it went on. As I mentioned, hit 160 just after an hour. Foiled it, and went about 1.5hrs and then wrapped.

Product turned out pretty dry, but hit it with some #5, and, as I said, the crowd said it was great, but I found it a bit dry.

The HH method is great, but I'm thinking I ran it a bit high. The grate was around 360 for a lot of the cook (lid 340) and held it once I got a wind screen up. At least I know I can get pretty much any cooking temp I want out of the WSM.

Here's the end result after a 2.5 hr rest. Learned a lot, and thanks again to all of ya'll for the tips. Looking forward to the next attempt! http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5937/brisket.jpg
 
The issue was more likely the thinness of the flat. See if you can locate a packer. Barring that, find a thick flat in the 7- to 9-lb range.

Also, what did you do to rest it and for how long?

Where are you in Conn?
 
I think you're probably right. Also not sure how to handle the variety in thickness of a flat. I'm sure the trick is to try to find one as uniform as possible, but, for this cook, the thinnest point actually had that close to butter feel, but the thicker part was still fairly tough.

I pulled it at a point I felt it would probably benefit from additional heating in a double layer, wrapped in a towel, stuck in a cooler. Any longer I thought it would overcook. Rested it about 2.5hrs that way since it "finished" in the foil so quickly.

Learned a lot, I think.

Next time: 1. Going to try to get a packer or a larger, fatter flat. 2. Will probably try to bring my heat down just a bit (try to keep it closer to 325 than the 360ish it was running at. 3. I'll try leaving it in the foil until fork tender, no matter what time that is, and pull it and rest on the counter for a while before sealing to avoid cooking any further.

I'm up in Stamford, CT, for about 6 years since moving from New Orleans. Been years, but I've fished Lake Okeechobee a few times.

Thanks again for the help.
 

 

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