How to smoke just the point

[AndyK]

There is just two of us and I have an 18lb brisket.
I want to make pastrami out of the flat then vacuum seal it into portions.
I then want to smoke the point for burnt ends.
Since one side of the point is skinny and the other thicker I don’t want to mess it up.
I was thinking about folding it over to add thickness to the thin part or leaving a bit of flat on it
I was also thinking about giving it a nice square trim and grind scraps for burgers
One of the vids on YouTube said to butterfly it to even it out but he was using the point for pastrami.

Is what I want to do even a good idea?
What do you guys do?
Thanks.
Andy.

 

[MartinB]

I use the flat to make pastrami, i just tied the point up like a roast with a string and smoked it

 

[Chris Allingham]

I would fold that thin edge under to get approximately even thickness.

 

[RichPB (richlife)]

^... and tie with string to keep ir that way.

 

[AndyK]

Thanks guys.

 

[Brett-EDH]

There is just two of us and I have an 18lb brisket.
I want to make pastrami out of the flat then vacuum seal it into portions.
I then want to smoke the point for burnt ends.
Since one side of the point is skinny and the other thicker I don’t want to mess it up.
I was thinking about folding it over to add thickness to the thin part or leaving a bit of flat on it
I was also thinking about giving it a nice square trim and grind scraps for burgers
One of the vids on YouTube said to butterfly it to even it out but he was using the point for pastrami.

Is what I want to do even a good idea?
What do you guys do?
Thanks.
Andy.

I’d do nothing.

Here’s a probe cook showing the flat, middle and the point. They all met up at the proper temp and never dried out.



LAS (not the airport) was a perfect overnight cook to get to done. This was a 20# that was trimmed to 16# prior to cook. Total cook time was 13 hours.

I would personally slice the point than eat burnt ends of it. The point makes the best sandwiches, IMO.

 

[TimA]

I smoke only the point all the time. And do nothing other than toss it on. I’ve done probably 20 like this over the last year and a half or two.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

Separating the point from the flat was how I smoked brisket 20 years ago. I did nothing special to the point. And I don't recall having any problems.

 

[AndyK]

I started the cook early this mornin.
So far it is going great .
This point has good meat on it and after a little bit of trim I just layer it down flat.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Looks perfect.

 

[AndyK]

It’s been 4-1/2 hours now at low temperatures 225 +/-.
Time to crank it up for an hour or so for a better bark then wrap.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

I cook point only portions pretty much every time.
My butcher sells" brisket portions "
you can buy the flat, the point or sometimes you pick out an unlucky mid section.
This happened to me last cook....it was weird to work with but still tasted good.....it had tons of fat as that fat line breaks up the 2 muscles.

It will gain more bark still while wrapped. I use paper and it does for me anyways.
I usually make the mistake of waiting to try and pull through the stall and think wrapping at 180 is a good idea....
This adds boat loads of time to my cook and always makes me unhappy.

 

[Brett-EDH]

I cook point only portions pretty much every time.
My butcher sells" brisket portions "
you can buy the flat, the point or sometimes you pick out an unlucky mid section.
This happened to me last cook....it was weird to work with but still tasted good.....it had tons of fat as that fat line breaks up the 2 muscles.

It will gain more bark still while wrapped. I use paper and it does for me anyways.
I usually make the mistake of waiting to try and pull through the stall and think wrapping at 180 is a good idea....
This adds boat loads of time to my cook and always makes me unhappy.

Try wrapping at 170° and then move your heat up to 300°. You’ll push through the final steps pretty easily and in less time than the first part of 225-250°.