Questions about brisket


 
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Paul Kerns

New member
I've never done a brisket before and am planning one this weekend for the in laws. I've done lots of pork butts and other things, so I have experience with the bullet. My questions are:

-I think I'll have a 10 pound brisket: high heat or low and slow?

-How long per pound for high heat and low heat?
Paul Kirk says 45min-1 hour and here it looks like 1.5 hours.

-What should I do about sauce?

-Do you all baste?

-I am going to do some beer can chickens as well (for the kids) should I start the brisket on top grate and then move it down when I put the chickens on?

Thanks a ton for the help.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Paul Kerns:
I am going to do some beer can chickens as well (for the kids) should I start the brisket on top grate and then move it down when I put the chickens on?
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I don't know your timing, but be careful of fresh chicken drippings on the brisket below.
 
And I prefer the high heat method period. I don't cook flats but would cook them high heat were I saddled with one to cook.

I quite agree with Gary though. Pick a plan and go with that. (You can pick a different plan for the following cook - just pick one or the other for the moment.)

Drippings from the chicken aren't an issue if both the chickens and the brisket are cooked to safe temps. Chicken drippings do not possess some uber-pathogens, despite people's fears of them.

Notwithstanding Kirk, there really is no 'hours per pound' that works effectively. The issue is thickness, not weight; the overriding issue is cooktemp. I do briskets from 11-15 lbs at high heat in 4 hours, give or take 15 min or so, irrespective of weight. When I used to low/slow I never had one cook in 45 min/lb, nor one cook in 1.5 hours/lb. Think about it 45min-1hour/lb translates into 11.25 hours to 15 hours for a 15-pound brisket, a huge difference. So much so, imo, that it demonstrates how useless the claim is.

What do you want to do about sauce? What would you prefer?

I don't baste as, unless frequent, it's pointless.

Pick a plan and a target cooktemp, then get your brisket. We can help you better figure timing with those factors settled. After a few cooks you will figure it out easily on your own.
 
Paul, read the high heat thread on this section. Start at the beginning. There are step by step instructions for doing great brisket. Kevin's right. Pick a method and stay with it. Temps don't matter once you foil. It's all feel. My times for being done fall in about where Kevin's are. Sometimes a little longer sometimes shorter. Just allow yourself enough wiggle room for resting and "just in case" it doesn't fall into these times.
 
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