Cooking time for baby beef brisket flat


 
M

Michael A.

New member
So I found a peice of meat at the supermarket labeled as a brisket but its 2 lbs. So how do I turn this in to a juicey masterpiece? Looks to have decent fat on one side and I want to do low and slow but with the tiny size I'm not sure if I should cook over night. Im afraid I may dry it out.

Help me!
 
Ok I did more research my Legends of Texas Barbecue book and it looks like the rule of thumb is 1 hour per pound at 210 - 250 so it seems like I should only need 2.5 hours if I check it once every hour. I also read about the larding technique for cutting off some fat on the thick side and stuffing it into the lean side with small slits.

Am I on the right track?

Your advice is appreciated.

Michael A
 
Briskets are a tough one to master. I am by no means close to a brisket master but the smaller the brisket the tougher to cook in my experience. Do you have what part of the brisket it is? Flat or point? Flat is typically a little leaner and tougher to get right. Time wise I assume 2.5-3 hours is about right right. I start checking for doneness around 190 degrees internal and check by sticking a fork in the meat. If it goes in easy with no resistance it is done. If it is tough to stick let it go longer. Good luck and keep us posted with how it turns out.
 
Thanks Tommy - So it didnt turn out great. It was definetly the flat and I trimmed some of the hard fat and made small slits on the lean side and stuffed it in.

My biggest problem was getting it above 160 internal temp and I guess that could have been due to the 36 degree tempature outside. After 1.5 hours it was reading 150 and then after 3 hours it was reading 160. at 4 hours it was still 160 so I took it off and tried to finish it in the oven as I was not getting anywhere on the smoker. The highest I got it to was 185 in the oven and at this point I was really getting afraid t was over cooked and dried out.

I let it sit for 20 mins. and it had been failing the fork test. I cut into it and it wasnt totally dry, but still very tough.

Where did I go wrong guys?
 
Just because a brisket is small doesn't mean its going to cook in significantly less time than a huge one. The 160° that you saw was the "stall" where the heat is being used to break down the connective tissues and intramuscular fat rather than raising the temp of the meat. You simply undercooked the brisket. Remember that its best to cook briskets to probe tenderness rather that by temp. Meaning that when you can slide a probe or a fork into the meat and it feels like its sliding into warm butter, its done. Let it cool slightly and then wrap in foil for a while before serving.

Also, if the brisket is dry and tough, its underdone. If its dry and crumbly, its over done.
 
+1 to Al's comments. He's sopt on. It needs to be fork/probe tender or it will be tough. This is past done more into the 200*F range.
 
The thickness can significantly impact cook time probably more than simply the weight. The temp was stuck because of the stall as Al mentioned. You probably just undercooked it. You could try wrapping with foil to power through that stall.
 
Very helpful Al and All...

Lesson learned - will give it more time for sure next time even with the small cut. I knew the fork test wasnt working, but didnt realize that meant under done just new that meant it was not tender.

Appreciate the insight looking forward to take two now.
 
Michael - all of the above comments are correct based on my experience! The stall will get you if you are not prepared. I have stalls last 30 minutes and I had a pork butt this weekend take 3 hours to get out of the stall! If you are used to only grilling steaks the thought of "leaving it on longer to be more tender" does not make sense but you are not grilling you are BBQing! Get back on the saddle and try again. The best way to learn is practice.
 
ok I think the wife is starting to get sick of my smokey laundry and my neice is starting to tell her teachers what a good smoker I am which isn't going over well...
Want to update the thread with take 2 results. Well overall I'm still not acheiving acceptable fall apart brisket. This time I cooked for close to 8 hours. I definitly still experienced the stall for a bit but I wouldn't give up on the meat! Eventually I got to about 185 internal temp and called it a day.

My biggest issue here is trying too cook basically a 2lb flat that is just not a real brisket. The result wasn't over cooked, but definitly over smoked and not falling a part. After the last attempt I did put the original cut back on the smoker and was stuck with over cooked meat.

Maybe Im just going to have to go for the big cut next time.
 
Michael A. said:
ok I think the wife is starting to get sick of my smokey laundry and my neice is starting to tell her teachers what a good smoker I am which isn't going over well...
Want to update the thread with take 2 results. Well overall I'm still not acheiving acceptable fall apart brisket. This time I cooked for close to 8 hours. I definitly still experienced the stall for a bit but I wouldn't give up on the meat! Eventually I got to about 185 internal temp and called it a day.

My biggest issue here is trying too cook basically a 2lb flat that is just not a real brisket. The result wasn't over cooked, but definitly over smoked and not falling a part. After the last attempt I did put the original cut back on the smoker and was stuck with over cooked meat.

Maybe Im just going to have to go for the big cut next time.
Click to expand...

Niece saying you are a good smoker... Classic.

185 is still not enough internally in my exprience. I don't even check my brisket to see if it is done until it reaches 190 internally. After sticking with a fork I normally declare it done north of 200 degrees.

I think you are right that a 2lb flat is going to be tough to get super tender. You may be better off cooking a bigger flat and using extras as left overs.
 
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