Hi Joe-bros (and sisters),
I’ve a favour to ask! … I need some help/advise on my first brisket.
So, I originally ordered a beef hammer and prepped myself for that, but it was unavailable… so the butcher kindly said “I’ll give you a brisket of the same weight in meat” (2.5kg/ 5.5pounds for our American friends).
I’ve never cooked a brisket before (luckily my fireboard I treated myself to arrived this week to help keep temps in check).
Soooo. How the hell do I cook this because it looks ‘thin’ on one side and thick on the other (I guess it’s the flat?).
What’s the best way to go about cooking it to not get a dry disappointment?
As you can see in pictures, it’s 3 inch in the thick part, 1 inch in the thin. It’s about 2 in the middle (1.3/4 without the fat).
Also, to be sure… fat cap is the side with labels? That’s top up when cooking?
Should I trim the fat off? Or will that dry out?
What’s the expected cook time?
Any advise would be appreciated!
by KSL_NCL
4 Comments
Everyone has their own way to cook, so I will share mine. I trim off most of the fat and end up having spots of meat poking thru where I trimmed it all off. I will take low sodium beef broth and inject all over, rub the whole thing with mustard and then coat with my preferred rub (salt, pepper and garlic). I get the Joe to 225f and throw on some post oak…normally about three or four chunks. Cook for three hours, then add the same amount of wood again. Watch your internal temp and it will hit the stall eventually. You have a choice here, keep cooking at 225 without wrapping (longer choice) or you could wrap in pink butcher paper or aluminum foil (Texas crutch). The latter will cook the fastest. If you do choose to wrap in foil, you can bump up the temp to 350…at this point it is braising anyway and would probably be done in a couple more hours. I would unwrap at about 198-199 and let it cook naked to firm up the bark. If left to cook on its own uncovered the whole time it will take longer…I’ve had a brisket go for 24hrs unwrapped, but it was like 12lbs.
I have one do, and a lot of don’ts and that’s because I’ve only cooked two briskets and the first was so horrendously dry and I was so upset by the result that it’s scarred me for life. But I bring it up because the situation is identical. I had a small flat, about the same size because I wanted to cook a brisket but didn’t have a whole lot of people to feed.
At that size, I wouldn’t trim. Maybe I’m wrong, but there already isn’t a whole lot to work with there. Some would recommend fat cap up so the renders into the meat. Others say down to protect it, from drying out. I’m pretty sure I did up out of a desire to make a brisket that’s similar to an offset – but you’re not cooking on an offset, and as I said, my result was life-changingly dry. So do with that what you will.
Don’t you dare take that thing out early no matter what the internal temp says. It’s smaller so it’ll cook faster but it needs time for the collagen to break down otherwise you’re going to be traumatized with how tough it turns out.
In terms of dos – I’d recommend keeping it spritzed. I’m not sure if bark should be a priority at that size, so just keep it from drying out.
I imagine there will be loads of people with much better advice but… I just don’t want you to have the experience I had… which if you can’t tell, was an awful experience.
It seems he took a full packer brisket and cut it in half. I also think he gave you the flat. I would probably leave more fat than normal since it’s the flat. I’d smoke it at 250F with whatever wood you prefer. Smoke it until 165F internal temp, wrap it to help prevent it from drying out. Around 197F+ start checking when it’s probe tender. Once you probe it and it start to feel like butter, you can pull and let it rest. You could also inject it to help keep its moisture
Smoak it at 250 – 275 until you get the colour you like then toss it in a sous vide bath for a day (24h) at 154f. I do this with flats and don’t think I’ll ever change. I would also suggest a dry brine or just toss your favorite rub on a few hours beforehand. I don’t bother trimming the flats unless there is excess fat.