High temp brisket question

[Bryan S]

Originally posted by JimK:
Looking to do a flat, most of which I've seen at my grocery store in the 3-ish pound range. From what I've read, i should smoke for about 2 hours, then foil until tender. So, at temps of 325-ish, knowing that every piece of meat and cook is different; roughly how long should I plan for?

Any recommendations on a rub? Should I attempt this on the WSM, or just throw it on the Performer?

Jim, 3 lbs. is small so you can't go by the 2 hr rule. What I do when I get flats (6-9lbs), is look at how much of the fat cap is left, and judge at what internal temp i want to foil before it dries out on me. So with a flat that small, I'd say foil it at a 150-152 internal temp, and cook till tender. At 325º should take bout 1.5 hrs. give or take a few. HTH
Brisket Rub
Ingredients:
2 TBS Granulated Onion or powder
1 TBS Granulated Garlic or powder
1 TBS Ground Ancho chile powder
1 TBS Brown Sugar
2 tsp Summer Savory or Thyme
1 tsp Aleppo pepper, or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp White Pepper
1 tsp Marjoram or Oregano
1 tsp celery seed
Salt the meat first, like you would if salting it like it was on your plate before eating it. Let it sit for 10-15 min then apply the rub. This is how Kevin Kruger says to do it and it works really well, this way you are in control of how much salt is going on the meat and can put on as much as the rub as you like without it being/getting over salted.

 

[JimK]

Thanks Bryan. Rub sounds great. I have some dried ancho chiles. Can I just throw them in a coffee grinder for ancho chile powder? Thyme/Savory/Oregano - I assume you mean dried. Correct? Thanks again.

Jim

 

[Bryan S]

Originally posted by JimK:
Thanks Bryan. Rub sounds great. I have some dried ancho chiles. Can I just throw them in a coffee grinder for ancho chile powder? Thyme/Savory/Oregano - I assume you mean dried. Correct? Thanks again.

Jim

Jim, yes coffee mill is what I use. Most of my anchos need further drying in the oven, they are too moist to grind into powder. I split in half and remove the seeds, then place cut side up on a cookie sheet so the moisture can escape easy. I bake at 225º for about 12-15 min. Let cool and break into pieces that will fit in the mill and grind, then dump out. Then I add the savory or thyme, oregano, celery seeds and pepper corns and grind all that up. I try and use whole spices and grind as needed as much as possible. Yes all spices are dried.

 

[JimK]

Thanks again.

I was wondering about the anchos. They seemed a little 'damp' to me. And I have some chipotles that are nice and dry - thought something was wrong w/ the ancho.

I'm getting psyched for this!

 

[Tracy Boshart]

Good evening all...my first post, but I have some experience Qing, but not with the WSM as I only got my 18 1/2" 2 weeks ago.

Anyway, I am doing brisket for 20 on Sunday. I have a very nice CAB 11lb packer and a 5 1/2lb CAB trimmed flat. I am going to try high heat (have never done it before) as I don't want to deal with being exhausted from my overnight cook when I am having so many guests.

Here is my question...what would you recommend for timing the flat so as to give it smoke. I would like to get the meat off to sit at about 6:30pm, but having the big piece come off then will give me flexibility to get the little one off later if need be. So I am thinking to start at 2pm, and apply smoke till 4pm. Then I will foil the big one and bring the small one on and continue to apply smoke for another hour.

Does this seem to be a sound strategy?

 

[Bryan S]

Originally posted by Tracy Boshart:
Here is my question...what would you recommend for timing the flat so as to give it smoke. I would like to get the meat off to sit at about 6:30pm, but having the big piece come off then will give me flexibility to get the little one off later if need be. So I am thinking to start at 2pm, and apply smoke till 4pm. Then I will foil the big one and bring the small one on and continue to apply smoke for another hour.

Does this seem to be a sound strategy?

Welcome Tracy, For HH briskets, I really pile on the smoke wood since the time the meat gets to be in the smoke is so short. I'll double to tripple the wood amount, verses a low and slow cook. At 5.5lbs. you can prob get about 1.5 hrs in the smoke before the flat gets foiled. The packer prob more like 2.5 hrs. My briskets seem to take a little longer to get to an internal temp of 160º-165º before I foil. Flats depending on how much they were trimmed get foiled between 155º-160º internal while packers usually at 165º internal temp. That's with a lid temp of 325º. I only temp to reach the internal temp I pre-determine that the brisket gets foiled at. Once foiled I cook till tender, this works for me. Kevin's seem to cook quicker than mine do, as mine take 20-30 min longer to reach tender as his do. Good luck with your cook. HTH

 

[Brian Meagher]

Originally posted by Tracy Boshart:
I am going to try high heat (have never done it before)

Good Luck Tracy! And do let us know how yours turned out.

Just cooked my 4th brisket flat using the HH method. Best one yet!

Small flat weighed 6lbs.
I rubbed with a "Modified" Modified Louis Charles Henley's All-Purpose Rub (as found
here on TVWB: Brisket in Cooking Topics

<STRIKE>6</STRIKE> 4 Tablespoons Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1 Tablespoon + 1-1/2 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon granulated garlic
1 Tablespoon paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
Added 1-1/2 teaspoons of onion powder


Smoked the flat for 4 hours @ 325 - 350°, during which the last hour was spent
in one of the *worst* storms we've had in awhile!

Rain kept pounding the temps down, so I made a field decision. Something I'd not planned. I foiled at 165° and put the flat in a 300° oven for 1 hr.

This one came out as the best I've cooked yet.
Next time I want to try that ancho rub BryanS posted 6 posts back!

 

[B. Debo]

Attempted my first high heat brisket yesterday (sorry for lack of pics). I had a 15.6 pound whole packer I was prepared to do low and slow Saturday night into Sunday but the weather and my sleeping habits had me change my mind to attempt the high heat approach this time. I was nervous because this is the largest brisket I have ever smoked but the results were the best yet. Nice smoke ring, great flavor, and most importantly, very tender...all in just over 4 hours.

I AM A HIGH HEAT CONVERT!

 

[Dave/G]

Originally posted by Brian Meagher:

Oh wow. Looks fantastic. Nice going

 

[Mordechai F]

Holy Smoke - literally! That's an insane smoke ring!

 

[JimK]

Well, after weeks of delays, I'm finally going to try this today. I've got a 4.8lb flat in the fridge and I'm going to use the rub that Bryan gave a few posts back.

Any last minute pointers?

Wish me luck! I actually haven't fired up the WSM in a few months!

 

[K Kruger]

Yes, foil sooner than later, as Bryan indicates. 4.8 is fairly small. Good luck.

 

[JimK]

Well, got a late start and it's going to be a late dinner. Oh well. Here we are so far. Had trouble getting temps up at first, but have been holding at around 320 for about 45 minutes now. Brisket went on at 6pm eastern and is at 143 right now. I'm going to foil around 150.

Out of the cryo:

Rubbed and ready:

On we go!

 

[Bryan S]

Looks good so far Jim, any updates on the little guy?

 

[JimK]

Was just getting the pics uploaded, Bryan. Your timing is just about perfect.

Here they are. For my first brisket, I'm pleased overall. But I ended up cooking a little too long, I think. Temps were finally settled around 320. I kept checking for 'done' w/ a probe every fifteen minutes and pulled when I was getting just slight resistance in the middle of the fattest part. Then the brisket rested in the microwave for about 30 minutes. It ended up a little dry, but there was plenty of juice in the foil to help with that. The rub was great. I subbed the allepo/cayenne with a freshly ground chipotle pepper, but followed to the letter otherwise.

I'll definitely do brisket again. I enjoyed this cook. And the short duration is a nice plus!

Sliced and ready for plating:

Plated with some Hog Apple Baked Beans:

 

[Bryan S]

Looks great Jim, nice pics.

it's tough to get the pieces of a flat right, as your window for just done verses over cooked is so small. Keep looking for a whole flat or a packer, as they are much easier to get right. Glad to hear it came out good for you.

 

[Mark B]

Good job there Jim. First brisket is a learning experience (I've done all of 2 !!) and yours looks tasty.

Nice bright color on the smoke ring, and that bean recipe is a winner.

Hope you enjoyed the meal.

 

[JimK]

I definitely enjoyed it. Washing it down w/ a Mockingbird Hill Cabernet made it even better. I'm already looking forward to improving on my next one.

 

[DennisM]

I tried it tonight for the first time with a flat.
My wife and me liked it better than a low and slow..I am most impressed, and will do it like this from now on.
Thanks for all thetips on this thread.

 

[Brian Ferdman]

After making a couple of these high-heaters with Kevin's recipe for the jalapeno-onion paste and the dry rub, I don't think I'll ever go back to low and slow for brisket. Okay, I might do it if I were smoking two butts low and slow and wanted a brisket to go along with it for a party, but the difference in quality is very obvious. High heat makes all the difference. If you don't let it rest in foil for too long (I've made that mistake before), it's so **** juicy!

Oh, and if you can get Aleppo pepper, do it! That stuff has an amazing flavor!