Another 1st Brisket Thread

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rgautheir20420

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Jun 11, 2014
1,126
60
Crest Hill, IL (Chicagoland)
Well, I've decided to try my hand at a brisket. I picked up a 12 lb full packer on lunch from Costco for $4.19 a lb! My plan is to rub with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. I'm going to have to separate the flat and point because it's too long to fit into my MES30. If anyone has a video or something I could check out that might be helpful.

Only doing a bit of trimming on the fattier spots, but nothing crazy. Planning on smoking with 100% hickory pellets with the AMNPS also. 

I'm planning on having this for dinner tomorrow and was thinking that getting it in the MES30 tomorrow morning would suffice. After additional reading, that plan has now changed to getting it on the smoker tonight closer to 9 pm instead. Dinner isn't set in stone, but something like 5pm would be nice. So with a start time of 9 pm tongith, I'm looking at something around a noon finish I expect (I know there's never a way to tell though)?

In regards to the point, after I separate, I plan on starting this piece about 5 hours later because it's thinner. Is that about right? Any other way I should do it? Oh and since I'm separating the 2, where should I primarily be concerned with putting the temp probe? The fattest part of the flat?

I'll be making Dutch's BB's along with a BBQ sauce that a fellow SMF member posted a couple days ago.

All advise in welcome everyone!
 
Good luck on your brisket! I'll be watching this thread as we posted around the same time. Mine is close to 12 lbs and I'll be doing it for Sunday so this looks like a similar situation.
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Pretty ambitious undertaking....I admire your courage at $5 a pound +/- for brisket now. Now, I have yet to do a brisket so have no first hand knowledge but have done much research on the subject for when I do or it hits .99 a pound again. There's only 2 of us here so that much meat would be a lot. Regardless, I have saved this info from here (?) or another site so will pass it on to you for FYI. I should have copied the post it came from but....didn't. Have fun & if anyone can pull it off it's you, no?

Allow 2 hours per pound, but use that as just a guideline, the real timeline is "when it's done, it's done!"....As pointed out, it comes down to numerous factors, the piece of meat itself, the smoker you are running, the temp you are cooking at, and on and on....Typically, the higher the grade of meat, the faster it will cook, this is due to the internal fat content or marbling being higher than in a lower grade of meat.  When I cook primes for comps, they tend to finish about a half hour to an hour earlier than a Choice or Select.  My pit is a reverse flow stick burner, I will typically cook a 12-15 pound brisket to toothpick tender in 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 hours at 250 degrees.  Once the meats IT reaches 200, start checking the flat section for tenderness, once a toothpick slides in easily, it;'s done, pull it, wrap it up in towels and off to a cooler until you're ready to slice and serve.  I never want to pull a brisket off the pit and head straight to a cutting board, I prefer at l;east a 4 hour rest, with no less than 2.  The IT really needs to come back down into the 160's before you slice into it.  I rub mine down 1 hour before I plan on putting it on the pit (usually right before I start my fire), then back to the fridge.  Get my pit temp at a steady 250 (235-265 range), then the meat goes on fat side down, for 4 hours with a mix of Hickory and Oak woods, then at the 4 hour mark, it's wrapped in a foil pan with either a cup of broth or reserve au jus from a previous cook.  Good luck with your smoke!
 
Love Brisket Smokes I'll be watching,   Good Luck

Gary
 
Chef, thanks for the notes. A couple things from that write up that will differ from my plans that I've garnered from reading are I'm cooking fat side up because I'm using electric. Also, I don't plan on wrapping foil at all during the cook and I'll begin probing at 190 for that buttery tenderness everyone talks about so much. 

I big question I've got is which piece to put the thermo in. The flat or the point?
 
 
Chef, thanks for the notes. A couple things from that write up that will differ from my plans that I've garnered from reading are I'm cooking fat side up because I'm using electric. Also, I don't plan on wrapping foil at all during the cook and I'll begin probing at 190 for that buttery tenderness everyone talks about so much. 

I big question I've got is which piece to put the thermo in. The flat or the point?
I'd go in lengthwise down the flat....
 
Hello.  You aren't new and I am sure you have done the research.  I sent you a PM of my method with links to gary s posts to back it up.  I would not separate.  Cut it in half.  Smoke the point and flat together.  In my opinion one NEEDS the other.  Just my opinion.  Post the results.  Keep Smokin!

Danny
 
I'm a charcoal and wood user but the three briskets I've done so far have been great. Coat lightly with Worcestershire sauce and SPOG. Don't forget to let the meat rest. We save the point for burnt ends and leftover flat makes some great hash the next morning!:drool
 
Alright. The loin ham finished about 11:30 and got pulled off pulled out the brisket and trimmed a bit of fat and seasoned her up. Cut it in half instead of separated per Danny's comment. I've got 2 very nice hunks of meat. The point half will be used to make burnt ends I'm planning. Here are a few shots to hold y'all over until I get out of need in 6 hours. MES running at 235 with 2 rows of hickory pellets loaded.


 
How is it coming ?  or did you go back to bed 

Gary
 
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