Going for a brisket Friday night.


 
Bruno

Bruno

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Alright guys after my successful ribs and pork shoulder I'm going to go for it and throw on a brisket Friday night.

I'm headed over to Costco tomorrow to pick one up, any thoughts on what to look for? Do I need to trim it?

I have some Oakridge Sant Maria rub and I'm thinking about using it. Keep it simple.

This will be an overnight cook so I don't really plan on paying too much attention until Saturday, is it ok to not wrap it during the cook?

What temp am I looking for in the brisket? My pork shoulder was so easy, what should I anticipate being harder about the brisket?

Any advice is much appreciated!
 
I've only seen flats at a couple of the regular Bay Area Costco stores that I've been to. However, the Costco Business Center in Hayward off of A Street does sell choice packers.
 
It's hard to overcook a pork butt and easy to overcook a brisket. That, to me, is the biggest difference. I would buy a full packer brisket. Flats get too dry too fast. I look for a brisket that has some play between the point and the flat. If it's really stiff between the point and flat I don't buy it. I would also trim all the hard fat and some of the fat cap.... leave about a quarter inch of the fat cap. The last brisket I bought weighed in at 11.2 lbs. By the time I finished trimming it weight 9.6 pounds. I season mine with just salt and pepper. I like the flavor of the beef. I don't inject but I do wrap in butcher paper once it's out of the stall and climbing again. As far as what temp, it's a crap shoot. Once it hits 185 or so, it starts climbing pretty fast. That's when I start checking the brisket. Pay attention to the middle of the flat. You want to see some juice working it's way out when you press on it and you want it to jiggle between the flat and point. The last time I cooked brisket it temped between 197 and 202 in the flat and 207 in the point. The 9.6 lb brisket took 14 hours and 10 minutes to cook. I stayed between 250 and 260 degrees the entire cook. The rest is important. Once I pull a brisket I let it rest in a pan on the counter top, still wrapped in the paper, for one hour. After that I unwrap it and let it rest uncovered for another 30 minutes. A well cooked brisket is a work of art. :)

 
yeah most California Costco's don't have full packers. as for not wrapping it it's not the end of the world, but you can wrap it when you get up. 203 degrees in the flat is my go to all else equal, but I'd suggest putting a skewer through the flat to make sure it goes in and out like room temp butter before I pull it. start checking at 195. and yeah briskets are much harder than pork butts. a pork but tslightly undercooked is till plenty good and overcooked is still plenty good. brisket has a more narrow window. personally I error on overcooking it. I pulled my first one early and it was still pretty good, but not great.
 
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Bruno,
No worries if you can't find a whole packer since just the flat can be cooked up just fine.
In fact the flat gets done before the point.
Cook until probe tender at whatever temp you go with, let rest for an hour minimum, longer if time allows, make sure you slice across the grain, and enjoy.
Here's a little 3.4 lb. well trimmed flat I cooked last year, and I'm far from being a brisket master.

IMGP1688.JPG
 
Dang weatherman!! Supposedly it was going to rain all night so I didn't want to take any chances. So the brisket moves to next week.

I am going to grill something today though. Hmm?? Decisions, decisions!
 
Ok we are back in for tonight, the wife is letting me make her brisket for Mother's Day. (She doesn't eat beef).
I've trimmed up a 7 pounder and rubbed it up.

I'll put it on this evening.

So my first question fat side up or down?
 
For my first brisket i'm going to say, HELL YEAH!! It was really good, some parts a little dry. It's hard to monitor overnight cooks, this thing went for 14 hours or so. Possibly the best brisket I have ever eaten.
 
Glad to see such early success for you! It took me like 5 brisket attempts before I got one I liked. Yours looks great, nice job!
 
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