First Brisket this weekend - need LOTS of help!
We have been planning to celebrate my FIL's birthday this weekend while we're in town visiting my in-laws so I offered to smoke a pork shoulder or make pulled beef (pepper stout beef) since he loves BBQ. Well, I just got a call from my wife and found out that I am smoking a brisket that my MIL already has in their freezer. I believe it is a flat weighing around 4 lbs, but I'll have to take my scale out to confirm when I get there Friday night. Dinner will be at 5 on Sunday, so allowing for plenty of time to rest, I'd like to have it coming off the grill into a cooler around 1. I've been wanting to cook a brisket, but this is not exactly what I had in mind...
I know about Bluedawg's method to cook at 300 to cook a whole packer more quickly. Is there any reason this wouldn't work on just a smaller flat? I am thinking that if I start out cooking at 300 or so until I hit a certain IT, I can then cut the heat back to say 250 or so to give myself a wider window to work with when testing for probe tender to avoid over cooking. I am thinking right now, based on the timeframes in Bludawg's post, that I'll get up around 5 to get the brisket on the smoker by 6. Assuming around 4 hours for the bark to set, I'll wrap in butcher paper (or foil if I cannot find any butcher paper in time), then cook another 30 minutes or so before starting to check for probe tenderness. I'm going to have a thermometer in the meat just to monitor temperature and progress so I can get a feel for when to lower the pit temp as the temp ramps up. Anyone have any other thoughts? Do my timeframes seem reasonable for a 4 pound flat, or am I allowing too much time to cook? Will a flat this small do as well with a cooler hold for 4+/- hours as a full packer would or should I try to plan it to be done closer to meal time? |
For reference, here is the Bludawgs brisket recipe/method that I referred to:
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So you already have BluDawg's method, that's a good start.
For your first brisket, nobody did you a favor by having just a flat to cook. The danger is that it will be dry. You'll probably be able to wrap it before the 4-hour mark. I use butcher paper but you might want to use foil this time, here's why: have a disposable pan underneath the flat on a lower rack (if that is possible). When you foil it, pour in the liquid from the pan so the flat can braise and help it to stay moist. This will cut down on the bark but you can get some of that back by finishing the flat with no foil. You can probably get away with not starting the cook so early in the morning. Good luck! |
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Thanks for the quick feedback. At least I'm going to be taking my own kettle out there to cook on so I'll have a familiar cooker. That's 1 think in my favor...lol... |
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Just don't undercook it. It took me many attempts to get that through my thick head. I like the sound of your S&P rub: that's all you really need. Just cook it, wrap it at some point, and cook until probe tender. I bet everyone will love it! |
I would think 4lb flat is going to be fully cooked in 5 hrs or less, especially at 300 degrees.
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Ingredients 3 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar 1 tablespoon onion powder 2 teaspoons mustard powder 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons chili or ancho powder 1 teaspoon chipotle or cayenne powder |
I prefer Packers. I would cook it in a disposable foil pan on on of the racks made to fit in the pan - even Dollar tree has them. I'd add a little bit of beef broth. I'd start checking it at 3.5 hrs - probally take 4-5 hrs but you never know.
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Unfortunately, there isn't much hope for a 4 lb flat, IMO. The big packers are hard enough to cook, tiny flats....no thanks.
That said, good luck with your cook. |
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