Brisket Questions


 
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Dale Groetsema

TVWBB Super Fan
Hey folks,
Just got done smoking a beef brisket for a Bears playoff potluck at work. Hardest part of the effort was finding a full brisket and the amount of time spent trimming what I considered to be a huge amount of fat. Must be a result of all the corn they feed the cows in the midwest.

The weather was cold--in the teens throughout the cook, but the wind was light, so, for the most part, keeping temps where I wanted them was not a big problem. However, after 16 hours, it was reading only 151 degrees, so I finished it off in the oven in about 2 hours (up to 185 degrees). The results are in the eating--which the folks at work did in about 30 minutes.

My question. What should I do different if I were to cook just a brisket flat? As it is leaner, is there different preps recommended, like marinades, etc?

Also, for those that compete in KCBS events, is the flat a legal piece of meat?

Thanks for your help

Dale
 
Hi Dale!

How big was the flat? The "normal" size I have found(from Super Wally here) is around 11-12lbs. I have 2 in the freeze now, each weighs 11.82 pounds. At 2 hours per pound that is 24 hours at 225?. Add another hour for winter and another hour to rest and you have yourself a long cook!

As to brisket, yes the flat is legal. I find it is the easiest meat to present....we slice about 9 nine pieces and present.

That is all I will cook any more, just the flat. Because of the large size and long time to cook, I separate the flat from the point when I purchase it. Freeze the point and cook at some other time(cook just like a pork butt) and use it for pulled beef or use it in other recipes.

When I prepare the flat, I will actually totally remove the fat cap...in one piece...and then season the meat, place the fat cap back on and cook. You need a sharp knife and ever since I upgraded to some Forschner's(I use the boning knife for this) it is really quite easy. I just can't believe that any seasoning can get through that fat layer, unless trimmed very close. I find it much easier to take the fat cap completely off.

The risk you run in trying to trim is one of not trimming enough OR trimming too close. If you trim too much...dry. If you don't trim enough, you end up trimming after it has cooked, thereby removing most of your seasoning. So, I remove it all and place back on top. This is the same I do with my prime rib, cut it completely off and tie it back on.

Because these flats will cook much quicker, the fat will not have as much time to render, therefore, I believe trimming is risky.

As far as cooking, the time on this will vary. It depends NOT on weight, but on thickness. I have not yet found an exact correlation, but I plan on 1 1/2 hours per pound. I have had them finish in 1 hr. per pound and slightly less.

I also let my brisket rest for about 1-2 hours. After it reaches about 180-185?, lay out a large sheet of foil, place the flat in it, pour some beef stock(1/4 - 1/2 cup) on top and wrap tightly. Place in dry cooler.

This ended up being pretty long I guess! Hope you find something useful in here!
 
Stogie
11 to 12 pound flats, that's all the bigger I can normally find whole briskets out here. I'm with you cooking the flats that size would be the way to go.
How long does the fat cap take to render down when removed whole, do you get some coverage during the whole cook?
Jim
 
Jim and Stogie,
This was one of those cooks where I had to be at work for much of the time. When I left around 10am, it was running at 240 with one vent partially open. My wife monitored it and opened a second vent at noon as it had dipped down to 205. It ran about 220 until 5pm, at which time it dipped down again to 205 and hung there until I got home at 6:30. I opened the third vent and could not get it above 215. I fired up 20 briquets at 8:00 and got it back up to 240 for the remainder of the cook. At 11:30 (16 hours), I moved it into the oven to finish.

Actually, my cooks are usually 16-18 hours, so I was not concerned that it was not cooking well, given the temps. I just calculated that, with the lower outside temps, it would take about 6 hours if I continued on the smoker. As I was getting tired, I opted to finish it in the oven.

The brisket was 11 pounds before triming, which was easily 2 pounds of fat taken off--still allowing a thin layer of fat.

My normal cooking is 225 at the dome, with 1.5 hours per pound minimum but I plan for 18 hours plus 90 minutes of resting time. At Redhook, I cooked two briskets close in weight but very different thickness. As Stogie would predict, the thicker one took 20 hours to get it to 180 degrees.

Thanks for the info--I may try brisket flats for fun as whole briskets are such a challenge to find. And when you do, they are expensive $2.50/lb and up

Dale
 
I picked up on the part of this thread having to do with the thickness of briskets. We often don't pay attention to the effect this has on our cooking.

The book How to Cook Meat by Chris Schlesinger & John Willoughby includes a detailed discussion on this topic. On pages 16-17, they write:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>One culinary myth that has resulted in many an unsatisfactory meal is the idea that you should cook a roast for "X" minutes per pound. Please forget that. It just doesn't make sense. What matters in determining roasting time is not so much the weight of the roast, but its size and shape. This is particularly true of roasts from the loin and rib, which tend to be oblong in shape. For roasts from the round and chuck, which are usually rolled and tied, there is a closer (although far from exact) correlation between weight and cooking time.

Here's an example. Say you have one tenderloin that is six inches long and about two inches in diameter, and another that is a foot long and also about two inches in diameter. The second one weighs about twice as much as the first, but do you really think it will take twice as long to cook? No way. It will actually take almost exactly the same amount of time, because it is about the same thickness. If, on the other hand, you took two tenderloins, stacked them on top of each other, and tied them together, it would indeed take about twice as long to roast as a single tenderloin, because the combined pieces of meat would be twice as thick. It is the mass and shape, not the weight, that is the best indicator of cooking time. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The authors go on to provide a system of estimating cooking time for roasts based on their shape. Unfortunately, brisket is not one of the roasts discussed.

So next time you cook a brisket or other large roast, remember--size does matter. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Regards,
Chris
 
Jim...

The 12 pounders I speak of are the whole brisket. The flats will weigh less. When I cook this next one I will have weigh the flat and the point after I separate.

As for the fat rendering.....in all the years I have cooked brisket, I have never seen that fat cap render out completey. When I trim it off, after the hours of cooking there is still plenty left. I am able to cover 80% of the brisket....sometimes I use some of the fat from the point as well. The uncovered portion I keep at the thinnest end of the flat....I figure that is pretty much wasted anyway, due its thinness....so if it dries out, no big deal.
 
Stogie
I pictured you had found the herd from Babe the Blue Ox! /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
The shape of the brisket when cooking for competition is one of the top factors in choosing that brisket.
I want the tip be even all the way across, an 1" to 1 1/2" thick with fat on them.
Jim
 
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