pc132
Knows what a fatty is.
I set a goal of cooking my first packer brisket before the summer ends and finally got around to it for Labor Day. Here's how it went down. The numbers are (Degrees/Internal Temp)
Got me a 14# prime packer at CostCo. Was surprised to find a packer there as I had previously only seen flats.
Sunday night
7:10pm - Started lighting the starter coals. My setup is a Weber 22.5 Performer + Smokenator + PartyQ.
Trimmed and rubbed with S&P. This brisket had a HUGE fat cap. I thought I trimmed to only 1/4 inch left, but based on the final results, it looks like there was still about 1/2 left.
8:13pm - 270/34
9:24pm - 271/70. Reloaded water pan. I was concerned about the skin splitting, so I posted this pic to the board and got quick reassurance that this was fine!
9:54 - 225 degrees, IT 88
10:15 - 257/99
10:43 - 273/115
11:00 - 270/126 Added more wood, coals and water.
11:55 - 277/151 The plan was to foil once the bark was set around 150. Here, the IT is at 150, but the bark hasn't set at all, so I just added some wood.
12:07 - 300/156 - Was surprised to see temp go to 156 so quickly. I thought that there would be a stall. Still no bark, so now I"m thinking maybe this will just power through the stall and I won't foil at all. I read some folks here remarking that prime or better cuts of meat sometimes have shorter stalls, or no stall at all.
12:19 - 253/160 - Couldn't believe it jumped to 160 so quickly. Decided not to foil as there was still no bark.
12:41 - 246/165 - Still no bark! I reloaded a bunch of coals in to the Smokenator and decided to call it a night.
1:18 - 241/171 - Had to do one last check!
Sunday Morning
5:49 - 235/196 - There was barely any coals left in the Smokenator and water pan was dry. Point was kind of probe tender, but the flat definitely was not. For some more detail on IT, it was 202 on the side of the flat closest to the Smokenator, 169 on the point farthest from the heat (incidentally, this was the softest part), 194 in the middle of the brisket, and 207 on the point closest to the heat.
6:40 - 253/198 - Point is definitely prob tender. Flat is almost getting there. IT was 183 at flat farthest from fire, 202 at flast closest to fire and 193.5 in the middle.
6:57 - 244/201 - Almost probe tender everwhere!
7:20 - 237/203 - I really want to pull...it's almost probe tender everywhere except for a few points on the flat.
7:45 - 241/205 - Still the same as before, but I just can't wait anymore! I pull it, foil and stick in a cooler until about 12 noon. (IT around noon was like 170, I believe.)
Here are the finished results!! The point was incredibly tender and was just about the closest you can be to falling apart with it actually doing so. The flat was not nearly as tender but still very good. I noticed that there was still a lot of fat on the bottom of the flat. I should have trimmed more.
All in all, a super delicious meal. Can't wait for my next one. What do you suggest to try and get the point and flat perfectly tender? I've read that the point, being the fattier meat, will almost always be more tender. Is that true?
Got me a 14# prime packer at CostCo. Was surprised to find a packer there as I had previously only seen flats.
Sunday night
7:10pm - Started lighting the starter coals. My setup is a Weber 22.5 Performer + Smokenator + PartyQ.
Trimmed and rubbed with S&P. This brisket had a HUGE fat cap. I thought I trimmed to only 1/4 inch left, but based on the final results, it looks like there was still about 1/2 left.
8:13pm - 270/34
9:24pm - 271/70. Reloaded water pan. I was concerned about the skin splitting, so I posted this pic to the board and got quick reassurance that this was fine!
9:54 - 225 degrees, IT 88
10:15 - 257/99
10:43 - 273/115
11:00 - 270/126 Added more wood, coals and water.
11:55 - 277/151 The plan was to foil once the bark was set around 150. Here, the IT is at 150, but the bark hasn't set at all, so I just added some wood.
12:07 - 300/156 - Was surprised to see temp go to 156 so quickly. I thought that there would be a stall. Still no bark, so now I"m thinking maybe this will just power through the stall and I won't foil at all. I read some folks here remarking that prime or better cuts of meat sometimes have shorter stalls, or no stall at all.
12:19 - 253/160 - Couldn't believe it jumped to 160 so quickly. Decided not to foil as there was still no bark.
12:41 - 246/165 - Still no bark! I reloaded a bunch of coals in to the Smokenator and decided to call it a night.
1:18 - 241/171 - Had to do one last check!
Sunday Morning
5:49 - 235/196 - There was barely any coals left in the Smokenator and water pan was dry. Point was kind of probe tender, but the flat definitely was not. For some more detail on IT, it was 202 on the side of the flat closest to the Smokenator, 169 on the point farthest from the heat (incidentally, this was the softest part), 194 in the middle of the brisket, and 207 on the point closest to the heat.
6:40 - 253/198 - Point is definitely prob tender. Flat is almost getting there. IT was 183 at flat farthest from fire, 202 at flast closest to fire and 193.5 in the middle.
6:57 - 244/201 - Almost probe tender everwhere!
7:20 - 237/203 - I really want to pull...it's almost probe tender everywhere except for a few points on the flat.
7:45 - 241/205 - Still the same as before, but I just can't wait anymore! I pull it, foil and stick in a cooler until about 12 noon. (IT around noon was like 170, I believe.)
Here are the finished results!! The point was incredibly tender and was just about the closest you can be to falling apart with it actually doing so. The flat was not nearly as tender but still very good. I noticed that there was still a lot of fat on the bottom of the flat. I should have trimmed more.
All in all, a super delicious meal. Can't wait for my next one. What do you suggest to try and get the point and flat perfectly tender? I've read that the point, being the fattier meat, will almost always be more tender. Is that true?
. I also saw the prime brisket at burbank as well. I dont think the Pacoima location had them
