smoking 4-5 lbs brisket


 
D

DavidSF

TVWBB Member
I've assembled my WSM and I'm just waiting for my ET-73 to arrive next week before trying my first smoke. I was thinking about getting my feet wet with salmon but now I think I will try brisket.

On page 14 of the WSM owner's manual it has a smoking cooking chart. For brisket, 3-4 lbs., it says: water pan full, 2 charcoal layers, 4-6 wood chunks, 4-5 hours cooking time, and internal temp. of 145 degrees for rare.

I like my meat medium. Therefore can I adjust the internal temp. to 200 degrees and am I good to go? Should I also add an hour to the smoke time to 6 hours? What I like about this recipe is that it's for a small 3-4 lbs. brisket instead of the usual recipes I see for 10 pounders.

Any thoughts? Seems simple.

thanks,
David
 
Toss the manual, it's loaded with errors like that egregious one.

Brisket is inedible unless cooked through completely. Read the instructions under the Cooking tab at the top of this page for guidelines.
 
Amen to that (tossing the manual).

I do the smaller brisket flats a lot, 4-6 pounders. Figure on about 7 hours to hit the fork-tender goal (sometimes 6-9 hours).

Take your 1st brisket to 170 degrees and rest in foil 1 hour. That will be a good benchmark from which to adjust your future cooks.

And even the mistakes taste good . . .
 
The recipe from the Cooking tab is for..."whole, untrimmed "packer cut" brisket weighing 10-12 pounds."

Does it still apply for a small 5 pounder? Do I need to make any adjustments?

Thanks,
David
 
Here's a thread on cooking the flat. Biggest issue is drying out, imo. However I think you need up around 185 internal for tenderness. I would foil with moisture added at 160 or so.

Paul
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top