first brisket tonight

[Dan Bond]

I have a 4lb. flat on tonight and it was pretrimed by Costco with very little if no fat cap on. I was a little disappointed when I opened it up. I have the smoker dialed in at 230* and has been on for an hour. I plan on pulling it at 11:00 tonight Chicago time with pictures to follow. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

 

[Don C.]

Dan, you probably know this, but I've read here on this site, that putting bacon on the flat helps.

 

[Dan Bond]

I wanted to do that but I ran out of time. I really needed to get the flat on around 5:00 so I could get it off by or around 11:00. I was thinking the cap was better because both ends in the package looked like it had a good cap on it. Has anyone ever asked an employee at Costco to open a package to look at the whole piece of cut?

 

[Dan Bond]

Whats the normal plateau temp for brisket? Mine is hanging around 160* now after 3 hours. Here is what it looked like after the first turn.

 

[Greg Rempe]

Dan, that looks real *F*'ing good right about now. Got to get my butcher to get me a cut off that brisket...keep the pics coming!!

 

[Jim Clay]

Dan, a brisket can sit at 160 - 165 for quite some time. However, once it starts moving it can go up quickly. I have found that the longer you can keep the meat at the plateau the better it will come out in the end. I like to keep the smoker temp in the 220 range during this time period. Once it gets to about 170 internal I like to wrap in foil and kick the smoker up to 260 or so. Then just wait till the meat hits 195 to 205 depending on how tender you like it. Enjoy!!