5lb Beef Brisket, high temp or low?


 
J

John Bailey

New member
I went to the butcher to get beef ribs, but the ones they had were lacking of beef. So I walked out with a brisket. This will be my second attempt at a brisket. It weighs 5.5 lbs, he cut off about 2+ lbs because 5lb was all I could afford. Came to about $55. I got the piece with the thick slab of fat on it. I'm trying to decide the best way to smoke this piece. I thought I read high temp is preffered for the lower quality briskets. The piece I got looks very nice and is well marbled. I'm not sure what grade it is. The butcher pushed me to brine it, but I see very few people anywhere on line recommending brining beef brisket, unless you are looking for corned beef or pastrami. With this cut and a WSM. . what would you do??
 
Dang, John. $55...for 5lb of brisket? Sam's choice would be worth the membership if they carry choice packers up there like they do here in TN.

Anyway, do you have the FLAT, or the POINT? If it's the flat, hight heat is what I'd do, wrapping in foil after the bark was formed. If it's the point, low-n-slow is the way to go to render the fat much better.
 
I did two 5 lb flats at the same time this passed long weekend. I've always done them low and slow. I didn't bother foiling them this time and they came out to be the best briskets I have ever made!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:
Dang, John. $55...for 5lb of brisket? Sam's choice would be worth the membership if they carry choice packers up there like they do here in TN.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yea.. pretty much wouldn't frequent that butcher anymore. That's off the charts crazy pricing. By way of comparison, I get 8 lb flats at Costco for about 20$.
 
Yeah, I had buyer's remorse before I got to my car. But I got it now and want to make sure I do it right. It is from a local farm, so I know it is a high quality piece of meat. Honestly, I am not sure if it is the point or the flat. It was the thicker part of the whole piece that was cut, and it has the thick fat cap on it I'll need to trim down slightly.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Darryl.O:
I did two 5 lb flats at the same time this passed long weekend. I've always done them low and slow. I didn't bother foiling them this time and they came out to be the best briskets I have ever made! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Lownslow 5 pounders, huh? Dang, Darryl...you've got some bragging rights, so feel free to give us any pointers.

Whole, well-marbled flats off small briskets, I assume? What cooking temp?

I've just read WAY TOO MANY posts of small flats that turned out dry, and along with my one really bad 4lb partial flat experience...
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Darryl, I usually cook for a crowd, so I'll stick to ones just small enough that I can wedge in my wsm, but I am curious. I'm thinking that the reason you're little brisket turned out so good was that it was just a better piece of meat, but tell us more!
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Dave, Do you recommend high temp, fat side down? Foil wrap at 165? I had planned low and slow, rub on the night before, wrap in foil at 165. I can't have my $55 brisket not work out!! : )
 
Rick,

Definitely gonna go that route next time. Are you suggesting high heat and no wrap for my current cook, or future cooks with the walk mart cuts? Did I post this in the right place?
 
current or with future cooks. If you do decide to wrap don't use any liquid that has water in it or you will steam the flavor right out of the meat.
 
Yeah, you don't need to pour anything into the foil when you wrap, and personally, I'd wrap as soon as the bark looks decently firm, hopefully at or before 165*. If you go heavy with the rub and make it really pastey, it'll be harder to get the bark to set, but I've yet to get a really well set bark on a HH brisket, so maybe someone else will chime in. The best way I know to do it is to open the foil at the end of the cook when you think the brisket is ALMOST just right. Just don't forget about it.

To start off though, put the brisket on the cooker cold, (fat down entire time) to get more of a smoke ring, and ramp up the temp as high as you want, propping the door open upside down. I've got my kettles and cooker set up on pavers. One brick and a Weber charcoal chimney is what props my door up at the right height.

There's tons of info. here somewhere from folks that have done a lot more HH briskets than myself. It's like cooking 'em slow, except the doneness window is VERY narrow, and other than getting that right...a decent bark seems to be the biggest challenge. Make sure you have a decent level of smoke going before wrapping, too.
 
Rick, just how hot do you cook briskets on the wsm without foiling, and are there any rub ingredients that you'd avoid?
 
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