First Brisket this weekend - need LOTS of help!

[steveD]

We have been planning to celebrate my FIL's birthday this weekend while we're in town visiting my in-laws so I offered to smoke a pork shoulder or make pulled beef (pepper stout beef) since he loves BBQ. Well, I just got a call from my wife and found out that I am smoking a brisket that my MIL already has in their freezer. I believe it is a flat weighing around 4 lbs, but I'll have to take my scale out to confirm when I get there Friday night. Dinner will be at 5 on Sunday, so allowing for plenty of time to rest, I'd like to have it coming off the grill into a cooler around 1. I've been wanting to cook a brisket, but this is not exactly what I had in mind...

I know that a whole packer can be cooked at 300 to reduce the time required. Is there any reason this wouldn't work on just a smaller flat? I am thinking that if I start out cooking at 300 or so until I hit a certain IT, I can then cut the heat back to say 250 or so to give myself a wider window to work with when testing for probe tender to avoid over cooking.

Right now, I am thinking right that I'll get up around 5 to get the brisket on the smoker by 6. Assuming around 4 hours for the bark to set, I'll wrap in butcher paper (or foil if I cannot find any butcher paper in time), then cook another 30 minutes or so before starting to check for probe tenderness. I'm going to have a thermometer in the meat just to monitor temperature and progress so I can get a feel for when to lower the pit temp as the temp ramps up.

Anyone have any other thoughts? Do my timeframes seem reasonable for a 4 pound flat, or am I allowing too much time to cook? Will a flat this small do as well with a cooler hold for 4+/- hours as a full packer would or should I try to plan it to be done closer to meal time?

 

[Bob Ivey]

First question I would have is what cooker are you using? WSMxx, kettle, or what?
Next question is besides the weight of the brisket flat, how thick is it? That will alter the timeframe.
Also, has it started to defrost yet and how are you defrosting it.
Good Luck on the cook.

 

[steveD]

First question I would have is what cooker are you using? WSMxx, kettle, or what?
Next question is besides the weight of the brisket flat, how thick is it? That will alter the timeframe.
Also, has it started to defrost yet and how are you defrosting it.
Good Luck on the cook.

I'll be using my 22" kettle for the cook.
I only wish I knew the answers to the next 2 questions. As far as I know, it is (or at least was as of yesterday morning) buried in their freezer somewhere. I've asked my wife to make sure they have it completely thawed, preferably in the fridge, but I won't really know anything more about it until I get out there Friday night.

My slightly updated thinking is that, depending on the thickness (based on what I've eaten at their house before I'm guessing it will be a fairly thin brisket), I am thinking that I'll cook a bit lower than previously planning in the 225-250 range, and try to collect some of the juice to add back in when I wrap it in foil, and maybe even use a foil pan with rack to keep it out of the juice and steam to near-completion before (hopefully) pulling it from the foil to reset the bark.

 

[J Hasselberger]

IMO, cooking at 225 (or as low as you can get the kettle to hold) is going to be your best bet. If it's 3-4lbs, it's likely to be on the thin side. Catching the drippings is also a good idea. Just season it and toss it on and see what happens. When it probes tender, wrap it tightly in foil and let it rest in a cooler with towels for as long as you can -- up to 3 hours. Good luck.

 

[Bob Ivey]

Since you are using the kettle, how are you setting up the coals. I would something like I do my turkey at Thanksgiving. Indirect with coals in the opposite sides and a Weber foil pan in the middle to catch the drippings. I think that should work but since I do briskets on my WSM am only guessing but this is how we always do our turkeys and they come out great. I think heat management is going to be your biggest challenge. Good luck and I am sure everyone will enjoy that brisket. Just last night we had leftover brisket from a few weeks ago and loved it. Thats why I like to do whole packers on the WSM and have plenty of leftovers. Good Luck.

 

[steveD]

I can usually control the temps pretty well on my kettle - it takes some attention, but I can hold within a 20-25 degree window most of the time, so I should be able to cook around 225. I've typically used the snake method in the past, but I can also use minion method, either way it will most certainly be indirect heat with a foil pan under the meat. If I cook at 225, how long should I expect it to take, roughly? I plan to allow for a 3-4 hour window to hold in a cooler so I have plenty of wiggle room in case it takes longer, but I'm trying to get an idea of when I should plan to start it for dinner at 5.

 

[Grant Narita]

I learned my lesson on the first flat I did which was 5.6 lbs I believe, it took about 10 hours or so between 200-225, and I had undercooked it. but then I didn't foil either. Learned from I think Bob that it is the thickness that can change the amount of cooking time.

And like Bob said above, I just found out that keeping some brisket and eating it a couple weeks later still tastes great! There is no way I will be able to finish this third packer brisket myself, but now I know I can freeze some for later.

 

[steveD]

Brisket are both on as of around 8 this morning.

 

[Grant Narita]

Brisket are both on as of around 8 this morning.

How did it turn out? Hopefully it went well!

 

[steveD]

How did it turn out? Hopefully it went well!

It all got eaten, and it was a B-E-A-Utiful day to tend to a smoker, so I'll say it went well. Both briskets were quite tasty. The larger one was under done, as is obvious in the photos:

Finger test, even though I know it is under done...

The smaller brisket was over done and crumbling apart when I tried to slice it at the ends, under done in a small area in the middle, and very nicely cooked for the majority. I'll call this one a success... (for some reason, when I was slicing this one my phone didn't want to focus well)

Finger test...

Despite being a bit dry and tough, everyone complimented it and I was asked to cook again for the family. The only leftovers were those specifically set aside for my two Brother-In-Laws that couldn't make it due to work. The 2 biggest critics, my 2.5-year-old nephew and 90+ year-old grandmother-in-law, both of whom hardly eat anything asked for seconds (nephew actually ate thirds and fourths as well) so I'll call it a success!