Question - Brisket & Burnt Ends

[knifebld]

Hi all, planning on smoking a brisket and making burnt ends from the point this Sunday (Can't believe I am taking care of dinner on fathers day! LOL ....oh the sacrifices we must make sometimes...)

Anyhow, my question is once the brisket is done, and I separate the flat from the point...how do I keep the flat warm and juicy for the next few hours until my burnt ends are done so that we can enjoy both for the same meal? Is it as simple as placing the flat in a cooler with some juices...or is it recommended to refrigerate the point and smoke them on another night?

Next question; I have on my list of thing to try Jeff's butter injected burnt pork ends and was wondering if there is any value in injecting the brisket burnt ends?

Cheers!

 

[duffman]

If you wrap the flat up in foil and stick it in a cooler and then fill it with towels the flat will stay nice and hot for hours. I have done it for 4 hours before and it was still hot like it was fresh off the smoker. Plus it lets the juices redistribute and it makes the flat even better.

Can't comment on injecting I have never injected my briskets.

 

[knifebld]

Thanks Duff!

 

[badmoont2]

I separate the point and flat, wrap the flat in foil and put it in the cooler. Then I prepare the burnt ends and put them back on. In 1.5 to 2 hrs I pull the burnt ends. The flat will be still hot and will have benefited from the rest.

I used to inject when I did a real close fat trim but I follow the advice in this post in regards to trimming now. External fat is very easy to scrape off after the brisket is done, and the meat does benefit from the rendering fat. You do sacrifice some bark and this is the reason competition cooks trim fat close and then inject to reintroduce some moisture. Both methods can turn out good Q.

 

[remsr]

I have a 22 1/2 WSM Why not separate the flat from the point before putting it on the smoker one on top and one the bottom?

If not a good idea why and at what time do you separate the flat from the point and don't you loose juices when you do that? I have done several Briskets some have turned out and some have no. I don't know what I did right or wrong. One time I finished my brisket off in a roster oven wrapped in foil with a stick of butter on top and a little beer, apple juice and rub. This usually comes out great but this one time the meat was dray and it was setting in the  juices???

 

[WillRunForQue]

My preference is to separate the flat and point before smoking. That gives me more surface area for bark. I trim close and inject with low sodium beef broth. I've been wrapping in butcher paper lately and have been happier with the bark vs. foil. I agree with others that wrapping the flat in towels in a cooler is the way to go while making burnt ends with the point. Lots of techniques out there, which gives us excuses to experiment more!

 

[knifebld]

Thanks guys....

So its 7:00am here....full brisket has been in since 9:45pm last night (decided to smoke the point and flat cause I have a good crowd over for dinner).

Man what a night...

At this point, the flat is at 178, planning on taking it out at 185. But This is a dinner brisket, not a lunch one! So now what?? LOL

Does the flat have any chance of still being good for a 6 or 7 hour rest in cooler? Otherwise the wife and I will be have an awesome lunch and our guests will be having takeout!

Cheers.