Interesting Brisket this weekend

[dae06]

I was smoking ribs on Saturday when I recieved a call from my mother-in-law. She was wondering if I would like to smoke a brisket for all of us for Sunday. Of course I said sure. She had picked one up at our local grocery store and to my suprise, the brisket was only 5.73 pounds. It was a packer cut, but tiny compared to any other briskets I've smoked, and worse yet, there was little to no fat on it. I mean, they took it all off. Even the fat between the flat and point was gone. I tried not to look too surprised and told her I'd have it done by 5:00 tomorrow night.

Originally when she called I was figuring I would have to start smoking this brisket around midnight to get it done (this was before I saw the size), but now, it looks like ~ a 6 hour smoke.

I'm going to tell you what I did and I would like suggestions as to what I could have done differently.

I did my usual rub, put it on my UDS at about 9:30 am and 235°. Since it was fatless, I decided to bring the internal temp up to 150°, then wrap in in foil with just a little bit of apple juice or orange juice. Once the internal temp hit 195°, I took it off the smoker (4:00 pm) and wrapped the foiled brisket in a towel and then in a cooler to rest.

All in all it turned out better than I thought it would, but It was a touch on the dry side, but tasty. The point was actully really good.

What would you guys have done differently on such a small brisket?

[Saucy]

Inject first. Maybe add some fat with some bacon during the cook.

[BobM]

I did almost an identical cook last week.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...75#post2368375
I pretty much did what you did but I injected it.
Glad it worked out good for you.

[Fireburd]

Some times you just can't win with a bad cut but the only thing I would have changed was use beef broth rather than a fruit juice.

[Bludawg]

I would have ground that little thing in to burgers and bought a Packer and cooked that for the family. I have never seen a 5.7 lb super trim packer, the smallest I can remember is 9 lb. I think you probably had a chunk of a packer that had some of each muscle.

[landarc]

I have to say, I would have gone out and gotten a decent sized packer with some fat left on it. Sounds like you did what you could do. I have larded meat before, but, it is just a lot easier, even if you have the right tools, to just buy a better cut of meat.

[J-Rod]

I've not had good luck with small briskets either. I'm still learning, but I just don't think there's enough substance there to achieve a good cook with a standard approach. Luckily I got a meat slicer so I can "save it" by slicing thin and adding beef broth. makes for some great cheese steak sandwiches anyway.

[dae06]

Thanks everybody. I will definately try the injection and the beef broth next time. I'm sure that would help.

[---k---]

Originally Posted by dae06

Once the internal temp hit 195°, I took it off the smoker (4:00 pm) and wrapped the foiled brisket in a towel and then in a cooler to rest.[/SIZE][/FONT]

I did one that small once. They are a challenge, but can still come out okay. I usually cook up in the 250* to 270* range. I don't believe in injects adding anything but flavor unless you inject with phosphates (water or juices are just going to drain or cook out). But, probably the biggest thing is I wouldn't pull at a specific temp (if that is what you did). I would pull the brisket when it tells me that it is done by probing smoothly. I generally would rather have overcooked falling apart brisket than undercooked tough brisket.

Keep trying and never turn down a gift of a free brisket. Always something to learn from it.

[dae06]

Originally Posted by ---k---

I did one that small once. They are a challenge, but can still come out okay. I usually cook up in the 250* to 270* range. I don't believe in injects adding anything but flavor unless you inject with phosphates (water or juices are just going to drain or cook out). But, probably the biggest thing is I wouldn't pull at a specific temp (if that is what you did). I would pull the brisket when it tells me that it is done by probing smoothly. I generally would rather have overcooked falling apart brisket than undercooked tough brisket.

Keep trying and never turn down a gift of a free brisket. Always something to learn from it.

Good point!