First time Brisket - Questions, y'all!

[Mike Pypiak]

Cooking a brisket flat for tomorrow the first time on my 14.5.... sort of experimental. Small cut, seems like half a flat really, only about 2-3 lbs.

My WSM usually hovers around 225, 230 using the minion method. I use Kingsford blue, and have hickory and cherry wood on hand.

How long do you think this will take? Any advise appreciated. I know "its done, when its done" but looking for a ballpark as this is my first time. Seen a lot of salt/pepper rub and put it on low and slow. My initial thought it at least 7 hours.

Marinate? To foil or not to foil? Higher heat?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Darren C.]

I'm a noob and have done two briskets. But, one thing I think I've learned is that 225 is either too low or you need to pull it before the 203F range. I did my second one about a month ago at 225 and it took 18 hrs to get to about 205 IT. I wasn't targeting temp, necessarily. I was testing tenderness by probe. But, I never really got what I would call a uniform "hot butter" tenderness throughout. So, I kept cooking. Having only done one prior to that one, I was unsure exactly what "hot butter" felt like.

I am going to do my next one at 250.

 

[John Segura]

Cook hotter 250-275*, because it's a small cut I don't think it should go over 6 hours. If it looks dry you can foil, which will also speed up the cook big time. Don't forget to let it rest for a couple hours, otherwise it will dry out fast if you slice it while it's too hot.