5lb Brisket Packer (advice needed)
 

Just got a small 5 lb packer from Costco. Going to smoke it in the morning at about 225-250. If I am going to wrap it with parchment paper at 160 degrees how long will it take to cook (estimate)?

http://i.imgur.com/a4W6a.png

Are you sure it's not a flat? If a packer, it must have been from a calf. I would say about 5 hours at those temps. But don't go by time or temp; probe for doneness.

It's done when it's done. Probe that flat for tender. Start probing with an internal temp of about 190*F.

If you do not have a accurate internal meat probe, treat it like ribs and do the flex test.

Good Luck!

If it were me, I'd cook it at about 290* - 325* and wrap in foil after two hours. Let it cook wrapped for about another two hours until it probed tender then let it rest for another hour before slicing.

You may be running a risk of drying out such a small piece of meat at such low temps for a long period of time.

Very good point. At a temp that high would it be close to 6-8 hours? How long can I keep the brisket warm in the oven without over doing it?

That's a flat not a packer.

Well shoot, they had flats all cleaned up right next to it so I figured. Oh well this will at least be a fun experiment.

Hi Matt- I'm in Austin as well. New to the forum but not new to brisket. That's a flat for sure and it looks pretty trimmed up as well. What are you cooking on? You are certainly getting some good advice above but I assume you are looking to do the Franklin/J.Muellers brisket thing when you say you want to wrap in parchment @ 160.

Not at all. Four to four and a half hours at most if you wrap after 2 hours and cooking at about 300*. Remove it from the smoker when it probes tender and you can let it rest for as long as 2 or 3 hours in a cooler.

Hey nice to meet you. I am actually smoking on a Traeger with oak pellets. I am new to smoking so really just trying to learn. I was actually going to basically copy what others have spoke about in the forum on the Franklin's style.

Good smoking luck!

Well, I know nothing about traegers but I've heard they are good equip so you are good there.

I've had a little better luck cooking a little hotter than the 225 that people generally do but I'm a BGE guy. I go about 275 or so and I don't wrap at all. Aaron (Franklin) does a central TX version of the TX crutch. As in he uses paper instead of foil to push through the stall (I'm assuming you know what the stall is). I think you will do fine with your plan. Interested to hear how it goes.

Last time I did one low & slow I dried that dude out. Next time I'm turning up the heat for a faster cook.

i am fairly new at this but a couple weeks ago i did a 5 pound point.smoked on an ecb at 275 for 3 hours 45 mins it then was at 150 internal temp. so i wrapped in foil with some apple juice and three hours later it was at 180 degrees.took it out of foil and smoked for another hour and it was still at 180 so back in foil for another hour and finally got to 198. let it rest for about an hour,and then served it.it was very moist and delicious.i guess bottom line is dont rush it and leave plenty of time to do it right,and the internal temp of the meat is what to watch

I want to thank everyone for their responses and help. I can say this first attempt at brisket was a huge success (although there is room for improvement).

I went with Boshizzle's method of cooking around 300. I did a simple rub of coarse black pepper, sea salt, and cayenne. Once the temp reached about 160 I wrapped it in parchment paper and threw it back on.

In the end the meat was a little drier then I hoped. However, that could be due to the fact it was the lean portion only and a small piece of meat (that and my tastes are always for the fatty goodness).

http://i.imgur.com/chTKE.jpg