Big Brisket Problem!!

[Genometrix]

So my buddy wants to do a brisket for his moms birthday and ended up getting a 22lb one and all i have is the masterbuilt 30inch. Any suggestion on how to fit that bad boy in? Should i roll one side up?

 

[Hamdrew]

i would split it up

 

[tallbm]

So my buddy wants to do a brisket for his moms birthday and ended up getting a 22lb one and all i have is the masterbuilt 30inch. Any suggestion on how to fit that bad boy in? Should i roll one side up?

I have you covered my friend.

I highly suggest you trim your brisket the way I go about it in this post BUT trim it to where the main whole flat + packer combo can just barely fit on a rack by itself:

My Brisket Flat Trimming Approach Explained - QView

Well I have had a number of private messages where people ask for more info about what I do when I trim away the thin Flat portion of a brisket I smoke. So today I figured I would just post about it with plenty of pics so it becomes easier to understand vs when I just go "blah blah blah trim...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Here is an image for quick reference:

Now with the excess flat you cut away (the green part above), Simply smoke that on the other rack level.

As a matter of fact if you planned on doing the non-traditional Burnt Ends, I would just use that part of the flat to do so. Yep you can make burnt ends out of it. I would also not trim off much of any of the fat cap from that excess portion of the flat, it needs all the fat it can get.

Since this will be a big chunk of the flat I would also suggest wrapping it in foil or butcher paper once it hits an IT of 180F or so with like 2oz of liquid (water, left over wine, beer, it will all do).

This should do the trick very well for you. I do not suggest splitting the point from the flat, that always makes me want to cry since the point really helps in cooking the flat and then people often do all kinds of things with the point muscle, and is the best part! It's so amazing as is lol.

Finally, you better get your timing figured out and add 4-5 hours for a cooking buffer because 21 pounds of brisket post trim takes me about 23hrs to smoke at a steady 275F smoker temp. I would plan a 27hr smoke at 275F smoke temp if it were me :)

Let me know if this makes sense :)

 

[jmusser]

I have you covered my friend.

I highly suggest you trim your brisket the way I go about it in this post BUT trim it to where the main whole flat + packer combo can just barely fit on a rack by itself:

My Brisket Flat Trimming Approach Explained - QView

Well I have had a number of private messages where people ask for more info about what I do when I trim away the thin Flat portion of a brisket I smoke. So today I figured I would just post about it with plenty of pics so it becomes easier to understand vs when I just go "blah blah blah trim...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Here is an image for quick reference:
View attachment 485796

Now with the excess flat you cut away (the green part above), Simply smoke that on the other rack level.

As a matter of fact if you planned on doing the non-traditional Burnt Ends, I would just use that part of the flat to do so. Yep you can make burnt ends out of it. I would also not trim off much of any of the fat cap from that excess portion of the flat, it needs all the fat it can get.

Since this will be a big chunk of the flat I would also suggest wrapping it in foil or butcher paper once it hits an IT of 180F or so with like 2oz of liquid (water, left over wine, beer, it will all do).

This should do the trick very well for you. I do not suggest splitting the point from the flat, that always makes me want to cry since the point really helps in cooking the flat and then people often do all kinds of things with the point muscle, and is the best part! It's so amazing as is lol.

Finally, you better get your timing figured out and add 4-5 hours for a cooking buffer because 21 pounds of brisket post trim takes me about 23hrs to smoke at a steady 275F smoker temp. I would plan a 27hr smoke at 275F smoke temp if it were me :)

Let me know if this makes sense :)

That is very helpful to me! Thank you

 

[tallbm]

That is very helpful to me! Thank you

Glad it could help :)

 

[Chasdev]

My guess is that it will lose 5lbs of fat from trimming.
Also, it will shrink three or four inches while cooking, so place some foil on the ends to keep them from picking up cooker goop when they touch at the ends, then cook away!
I've also heard that you can place something under it in center to raise a hump and after it shrinks down enough to fit the cooker, remove the item, be it an empty coke can or round piece of wood wrapped in foil etc...

 

[Bytor]

Glad it could help :)

This helped me out too, thanks. My issue was on the other side of the spectrum with small flats. Kroger has some decent looking Choice packers for $1.89/lb. The problem I saw is that the flat looked only to be at most 1" -1 1/2" thick with fat on it.

I didn't really want to get it due to the thinness of the flat, though I guess I could always grind it. I think I'll try what you suggested above.

 

[schlotz]

C Chasdev makes a good point. Place something under the brisket to bulge it up in the center so the total length will be reduced. Try a foil covered brick and once the brisket has shrunk eough, remove it. Trim it as mentioned above by tallbm , but please don't cut in half/split it. Oh, and next time tell your buddy that bigger is always better

 

[Genometrix]

I have you covered my friend.

I highly suggest you trim your brisket the way I go about it in this post BUT trim it to where the main whole flat + packer combo can just barely fit on a rack by itself:

My Brisket Flat Trimming Approach Explained - QView

Well I have had a number of private messages where people ask for more info about what I do when I trim away the thin Flat portion of a brisket I smoke. So today I figured I would just post about it with plenty of pics so it becomes easier to understand vs when I just go "blah blah blah trim...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Here is an image for quick reference:
View attachment 485796

Now with the excess flat you cut away (the green part above), Simply smoke that on the other rack level.

As a matter of fact if you planned on doing the non-traditional Burnt Ends, I would just use that part of the flat to do so. Yep you can make burnt ends out of it. I would also not trim off much of any of the fat cap from that excess portion of the flat, it needs all the fat it can get.

Since this will be a big chunk of the flat I would also suggest wrapping it in foil or butcher paper once it hits an IT of 180F or so with like 2oz of liquid (water, left over wine, beer, it will all do).

This should do the trick very well for you. I do not suggest splitting the point from the flat, that always makes me want to cry since the point really helps in cooking the flat and then people often do all kinds of things with the point muscle, and is the best part! It's so amazing as is lol.

Finally, you better get your timing figured out and add 4-5 hours for a cooking buffer because 21 pounds of brisket post trim takes me about 23hrs to smoke at a steady 275F smoker temp. I would plan a 27hr smoke at 275F smoke temp if it were me :)

Let me know if this makes sense :)

Luckily it is 22 pre-trim. He said something about it being trimmed already but luckily it is not. It will fit perfect once i trim it up i think. Ive always done 225 for brisket...275 might be my best bet with this short time frame.

 

[Brokenhandle]

All good ideas! But stress is a terrible thing, and I hate to see it! I believe you now need a bigger, 2nd smoker just so you won't be stressed out again in the future!

Ryan

 

[Genometrix]

All good ideas! But stress is a terrible thing, and I hate to see it! I believe you now need a bigger, 2nd smoker just so you won't be stressed out again in the future!

Ryan

I wish i could. Unfortunately i did not consult the rest of my house when getting my 30inch.

I thought it was so small nobody would care since we have no BBQ anyways, I was mistaken. They all thought it was huge and got mad..............right up until they had the tri-tip sandwiches and ribs from the first smoke. HA

 

[tallbm]

This helped me out too, thanks. My issue was on the other side of the spectrum with small flats. Kroger has some decent looking Choice packers for $1.89/lb. The problem I saw is that the flat looked only to be at most 1" -1 1/2" thick with fat on it.

I didn't really want to get it due to the thinness of the flat, though I guess I could always grind it. I think I'll try what you suggested above.

Yeah that is a bit of a problem. If you cook a whole packer brisket that tapered down part of the flat just burns up and goes to waste. I like repurposing it because the meat is good and burning up 2-5 pounds of flat or drying it all to hell makes me sad hahaha.

Btw, that extra flat meat makes AMAZING stew meat if u cube it up, and it is winter time so have at it! I'm glad the info helped ya :)

 

[tallbm]

Luckily it is 22 pre-trim. He said something about it being trimmed already but luckily it is not. It will fit perfect once i trim it up i think. Ive always done 225 for brisket...275 might be my best bet with this short time frame.

Yeah cut the excess fat off it and since you are going to trim that flat up some you will be in good shape. Also yeah, a brisket that big even at 275F is going to take a long while so I would consider upping the temp if you can. You can go even hotter than 275F, briskets don't care as long as you arent burning them. My smoker I only take to 275F as its normal upper operating limit.
(Technically I can and I do 325F smokes when it comes to skin on poultry, but that is only because they are short smokes not 4hr+ ordeals hehehehe).

 

[Genometrix]

It's been in since 9:30 this morning at 275. Probably had to take about 3 maybe 4 lbs off so it will be going until the early morning.

 

[tallbm]

Sounds like you are well on your way! Let us know how it turns out :)

 

[schlotz]

...and how was the outcome?

 

[Genometrix]

So had to take it out around 10:30 my roommates weren't comfortable with it staying in overnight.....they will warm up to this whole thing(they are worried worts).

Luckily it read 205 and i re probed enough to where i felt uncomfortable (almost as if i were just stabbing it all over lol)

Double wrapped in foil and wool blanket still at 180(amazed) in the fridge overnight, back in smoker at 8 this morning.

 

[Genometrix]

So had to take it out around 10:30 my roommates weren't comfortable with it staying in overnight.....they will warm yo to this whole thing(they are worried worts).

Luckily it read 205 and i re probed enough to where i felt uncomfortable (almost as if i were just stabbing it all over lol)

Double wrapped in foil and wool blanket still at 180(amazed) in the fridge overnight, back in smoker at 8 this morning.

That is the brisket coming out of fridge and going back into smoker this morning.

Going to reheat for few not sure if i trust just the 13 hrs it had and not like it will hurt to cook it longer.

 

[tallbm]

View attachment 486035
That is the brisket coming out of fridge and going back into smoker this morning.

Going to reheat for few not sure if i trust just the 13 hrs it had and not like it will hurt to cook it longer.

Stabbing all over is the key. Briskets are done when they are tendor and that is the way to check. I usually check at an IT of 200F in the flat and keep checking for tenderness every couple of degrees.

No one may have mentioned this but accurate probe placement in a brisket is a surprisingly difficult task to get right. The best spot for the temp probe is the thickest yet center most portion of the FLAT muscle. I have learned to try 3 probes from different angles and I go based off the lowest reading to tell me when to do my tenderness checks on my briskets.

Here is a post I did about it that shows what I am talking about hahaha:

Are You Sure You Properly Placed Your Brisket Probes????

Get ready to see how probe placement in your brisket can read very differently even when you try to aim for the best spot. When doing briskets people will give you all kinds of internal temps (IT) that a brisket can be done at and the range varies widely from 190F-212F. The best practice is that...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

In the first image you will I have 5 total probes across 3 thermometers in the same brisket. They all read wildly different and my probes are accurate within 2-3 degrees so they arent really off, its just the nature that brisket temp probing is not a simple task hahaha.

I hope this helps u out and good luck with the brisket :)

 

[Genometrix]

It is 196 or higher everywhere i probe and most of the flat is 203 or higher that was an hour ago.

Flat reads 205 now and 199 on the other probe as of now.

The cut off flat I got to about 185 foiled over night. Cut up and threw in the drip pan for ends took out an hour ago prepared and served. They we're good because they are all gone.