brisket advice

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Griff

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OK, here's the deal, I got drunk and invited some folks over for brisket on Saturday. I went shopping today and was only able to find two seven pound flats. I'm gonna be cooking on a WSM. If I wanted to put the flats in a cooler at 4pm for dinner at 6pm, when do you reckon I should but 'em on the WSM? Recommendations for rub? At what temp do you foil? At what temp do you pull and put in the cooler?

I've only done three briskets before. Two were great, one sucked. I want to strive to avoid the suck option.

Thanks in advance......Griff
 
Griff said:
OK, here's the deal, I got drunk and invited some folks over for brisket on Saturday. I went shopping today and was only able to find two seven pound flats. I'm gonna be cooking on a WSM. If I wanted to put the flats in a cooler at 4pm for dinner at 6pm, when do you reckon I should but 'em on the WSM? Recommendations for rub? At what temp do you foil? At what temp do you pull and put in the cooler?

I've only done three briskets before. Two were great, one sucked. I want to strive to avoid the suck option.

Thanks in advance......Griff

Griff,
Get them on the cooker as early as you can Saturday morning, NLT 8 am. That way if you run into a problem or stubborn brisket you'll be covered. They'll keep "HOT" in the cooler for a long time, so if they finish early no problem. I foil like Finney said around 165*, but I pull them off the cooker at 190*. Resting is vital IMO, let rest at least 1.5 hours. 2-2.5hrs is even better. Good luck!
 
I agree with both of these guys. When you foil I like to use Ricks Sinful marinade. Some times when you take the brisket off at 190* it may be a little tough or dry.

If you use the smoke stock (marinate out of the foil), remove the fat, slice the brisket then pour the smoke stock back over the slices, cover with foil and in to the warming box. If it's tough you can turn the heat up and braise it and they will tender up. They seem to soak up the SS so it won't be dry. And they will hold for a long time before service.

Rich Decker
 
Rich Decker said:
I agree with both of these guys. When you foil I like to use Ricks Sinful marinade. Some times when you take the brisket off at 190* it may be a little tough or dry.

If you use the smoke stock (marinate out of the foil), remove the fat, slice the brisket then pour the smoke stock back over the slices, cover with foil and in to the warming box. If it's tough you can turn the heat up and braise it and they will tender up. They seem to soak up the SS so it won't be dry. And they will hold for a long time before service.

Rich Decker

Rich what temperature do you pull your briskets? Just curious? I've tried pulling at 180* & 185* before and the brisket was not tender in the least bit. Pulling at 190* in my experiences produces a moist sliceable but very tender piece of meat. You can easily pull the slices apart with your fingers. Any temps much higher than 190*-195* range will either dry the brisket out, give you mush (unsliceable) or both. Just my .02.
 
Larry Wolfe said:
[quote="Rich Decker":3ufpj4cr]I agree with both of these guys. When you foil I like to use Ricks Sinful marinade. Some times when you take the brisket off at 190* it may be a little tough or dry.

If you use the smoke stock (marinate out of the foil), remove the fat, slice the brisket then pour the smoke stock back over the slices, cover with foil and in to the warming box. If it's tough you can turn the heat up and braise it and they will tender up. They seem to soak up the SS so it won't be dry. And they will hold for a long time before service.

Rich Decker

Rich what temperature do you pull your briskets? Just curious? I've tried pulling at 180* & 185* before and the brisket was not tender in the least bit. Pulling at 190* in my experiences produces a moist sliceable but very tender piece of meat. You can easily pull the slices apart with your fingers. Any temps much higher than 190*-195* range will either dry the brisket out, give you mush (unsliceable) or both. Just my .02.[/quote:3ufpj4cr]

I have had the same experiences as you Larry... I usually foil flats at 170 and pull at 190 and wrap again and drop in the cooler for an hour minimum. Any higher and they fall apart for me. I have had the occasional dry one but that usually occurs when I get stuck with small flats.

I bought a case of 12 flats that weighed 95 lbs... that is an average of 8 lbs for a flat. Those were the BEST briskets I ever cooked. Bigger is better!

so thats why I sing.... I like big Butts and I cannot Lie... :happyd:
 
Thanks for all the info. I was concerned about the timing. I couldn't decide whether to go with a late start Friday night with the potential ethanol concerns, or an early morning start. I figure I'll shoot for putting the briskets on the WSM at 7am, maybe earlier depending on the weather forecast.

Griff
 
What's the difference between flats and packers? I picked up a 9 lb.er' this morning, to smoke on sunday. It's thicker on one end and kinda' comes to a point on the thinner side. This will be my first attempt at brisket.
 
Puff said:
What's the difference between flats and packers? I picked up a 9 lb.er' this morning, to smoke on sunday. It's thicker on one end and kinda' comes to a point on the thinner side. This will be my first attempt at brisket.
A "packer" is a whole brisket. It is the 'flat' and the 'point' as one piece.
 
Puff, If it is noticably thicker, it is prolly a packer. 9 lbs is a "scant" packer though. The grain will run in a different direction in the "point" from the "flat" portion. It is best to separate them and chop the "point" while slicing the flat. There is a layer of juicy fat between them and, when done well, they separate very cleanly with little effort using a knife. It takes some practice doing briskets so, if this is your first one, you may not want to invite company! It could turn out great though. Good luck. W
 
Woodman said:
Puff, If it is noticably thicker, it is prolly a packer. 9 lbs is a "scant" packer though. The grain will run in a different direction in the "point" from the "flat" portion. It is best to separate them and chop the "point" while slicing the flat. There is a layer of juicy fat between them and, when done well, they separate very cleanly with little effort using a knife. It takes some practice doing briskets so, if this is your first one, you may not want to invite company! It could turn out great though. Good luck. W
Thanks guys, I really didn't want to get off the topic Griff started, but Ifigured they were about the same.
I was going to post atopic before the weekend.
I got a lot of info from this post ,and checked in the archives, but if there is anything else you guys can throw at me(about brisket) like rubs,temps,foiling,etc., I would be thankful 8-[ :D
 
Cook it at 220-240 for about 1 hour per lb until the internal temp at the thickest point is 160-170 degrees (I include the wide range because I do not use a probe but rather an old fashioned meat thermometer which means I don't know where it is at any given time) DOUBLE Foil at this point and take it to 185-200 degrees. Take it out and wrap it in a towel until you are ready to serve it. If you have several hours, plop it in a cooler. Remember to keep the pit lid shut for the first 5-6 hours. Save all the juice to pour back over the sliced brisket. If the temp gets too high before you foil it, don't worry. Hell, you don't even really need to foil it . It just speeds things up abit and captures the juicy juice! I'd use Texas BBQ Rub Brisket Blend on it. I haven't tried Wolfe Rub on a brisket yet, but will in the next few weeks. Good Luck from "Mr Useful", Woodman
 

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