First Time Brisket HELP!!!

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nrok2118

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jul 2, 2010
51
10
Bucks County, PA
Im doing my first brisket, just a little guy less than 3# like a half a flat.  Either way I put it on earlier along with other things, but problem is its been on for 6 hours and still is interally 170ish range.   Ive probed multiple places in the brisket, Im not foiling it to get a better bark since its a smaller peice but now it seems to be taking forever, anybody else have this result with a smaller piece of flat?? Im going LOW AND SLOW, maintaining about 215ish on the wsm, should i just let it go?

 
Just let er go, like I have read here before, "it will be done when it is done". You could bump your temps up to 230* that might help some, on a small flat I would think you could get away with foiling, you could build too much bark on that little guy. Also, another thing you could do is make burnt ends, I bet at 170* you could cut into chunks and cover in bbq sauce, place in a pan and smoke another 2-3 hours and those little chunks will be heaven. Good luck! Don't forget the Qview!
 
I personally don't smoke anything below 225. I wouldn't hesitate to smoke a brisket at 250. Time seems about right. 6 hours to 170 degrees is not off what I'd expect. Even a small brisket will take time. If your certain of your smoking temp then the only thing to do is wait it out. Sometimes we tend to think that because we are smoking a smaller piece of meat that the smoke time will be dropped because of less mass... but that isn't necessarily true. A 3 pound corned beef will take almost as long for me as a 6 pound butt. I can also smoke a full side of pig in 12 to 14 hours.... same as the butt. The most important thing you can do in learning to smoke is to have your smoker temp accurately monitored and watch your internal temps. I've gotten so that I can lay my hand on my stick burner and tell if it's too hot or not hot enough. Patience little grasshopper.
 
Just let it go ,low and slow,

 I tried burnt ends made from a flat and they just are not as good as the point.

 I wouldn't try to cook a flat w/o foiling at 165. they tend to dry out . if the fat capis intact it stays reasonably moist ,but most flats i've seen have been trimmed pretty good.

 I no longer do flats ,Just packers

That way i can trim them to what i want .
 
I could not say it any better

 
I personally don't smoke anything below 225. I wouldn't hesitate to smoke a brisket at 250. Time seems about right. 6 hours to 170 degrees is not off what I'd expect. Even a small brisket will take time. If your certain of your smoking temp then the only thing to do is wait it out. Sometimes we tend to think that because we are smoking a smaller piece of meat that the smoke time will be dropped because of less mass... but that isn't necessarily true. A 3 pound corned beef will take almost as long for me as a 6 pound butt. I can also smoke a full side of pig in 12 to 14 hours.... same as the butt. The most important thing you can do in learning to smoke is to have your smoker temp accurately monitored and watch your internal temps. I've gotten so that I can lay my hand on my stick burner and tell if it's too hot or not hot enough. Patience little grasshopper.
 
Yeah i let the wsm go a little hot arounf 260, got her up to 190 and foiled her and got her in a cooler for an hour or two,  we'll see how it turns out!
 
With the smaller ones I really think it is beneficial to foil earlier and longer. They just don't have enough fat or mass to stay moist very well.
 
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