# 4 lb Flat Brisket



## herbmmm (May 30, 2019)

I found a 4 lb flat brisket in our grocery store and thought this might be good for my first attempt at smoking a brisket!  My question is what everyone thinks the total time will be?  I know that internal temp and tenderness are the main things to go by but total time would help also. I plan on wrapping at 165 and removing at around 200. What are your thoughts?  Also as I'm writing about this it brings up another question.  If I had a whole brisket and wanted to reduce total time would cutting brisket in halt top to bottom reduce total cooking time?


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## banderson7474 (May 30, 2019)

I'm guessing 10hrs is a good start point to think about but there are a lot of variables.  I just did one and made a few mistakes.  It's def a learning lesson.


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## tallbm (May 30, 2019)

herbmmm said:


> I found a 4 lb flat brisket in our grocery store and thought this might be good for my first attempt at smoking a brisket!  My question is what everyone thinks the total time will be?  I know that internal temp and tenderness are the main things to go by but total time would help also. I plan on wrapping at 165 and removing at around 200. What are your thoughts?  Also as I'm writing about this it brings up another question.  If I had a whole brisket and wanted to reduce total time would cutting brisket in halt top to bottom reduce total cooking time?



Hi there and welcome!

If you use a smoker temp of 275F then I'm guessing around 4.5-6 hours.
Your plan is pretty close but pulling at around an Internal Temperature (IT) of 200F might not be what you want to do.  
At 200F you will want to check to see if you can stab all over the brisket flat with a tooth pic or skewer and it goes in like butter all over.  When this happens the brisket is tender.  When the brisket is tender, that is when you pull it :)

If you split a whole brisket in half it would shorten the time but I don't know by how much.

At 275F smoker temp you can bet on about an hour a pound. Sometimes a little more sometimes a little less.
The time is helpful for planning but not for knowing when the brisket is done.
I always suggest trying to plan for the brisket to be done about 4-5 hours short of your eating time.
If it is done then you just double wrap in foil, wrap in 3 bath towels, and set on the counter until it is time to eat 4-5 hours later.  It will still be piping hot at that time so you are never late.
There is nothing you can do about speeding things up but you can always just wrap and rest if you finish early :)

Best of luck! :)


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## bregent (May 30, 2019)

Be aware that brisket flats from the grocery store are usually heavily trimmed and don't contain much internal fat - so they can have a tendency to dry out. If that's the case with the one you got, you might want to follow Al's procedure:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/brisket-flat-my-way.277499/

Good luck.


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## SlowmotionQue (May 30, 2019)

bregent said:


> Be aware that brisket flats from the grocery store are usually heavily trimmed and don't contain much internal fat - so they can have a tendency to dry out. If that's the case with the one you got, you might want to follow Al's procedure:
> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/brisket-flat-my-way.277499/
> 
> Good luck.



I agree.

A brisket flat from out of the grocery store is going to put you behind the 8 ball from the get go in an effort to achieve success.

I’ve learned that at least in my hands, brisket success or failure can be a direct  function of what piece of meat you start with.

A grocery store bought “choice”, I presume, brisket flat?

Pros on those bbq tv shows would never choose that piece of meat, because they know that even for them, it would be tough, no pun intended, to turn it into a winner. 

That’s a tough piece of meat to begin with.


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## wbf610 (May 30, 2019)

bregent said:


> Be aware that brisket flats from the grocery store are usually heavily trimmed and don't contain much internal fat - so they can have a tendency to dry out. If that's the case with the one you got, you might want to follow Al's procedure:
> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/brisket-flat-my-way.277499/
> 
> Good luck.



Do this!!


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## SlowmotionQue (May 30, 2019)

wbf610 said:


> Do this!!



That will give him a much better chance.


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## herbmmm (Jun 1, 2019)

Brisket turned out great! smoked it as if it were a full brisket.  Set temp at 240 on mode 2 on my Silverbac.  Pulled off at 165 and wrapped in foil with 1/2 C Beef broth and returned to grill. Brisket reached 205 in 7 hours total. Pulled and rested for 4 hours in cooler. Removed and cut was very good!  Thanks for all the suggestions! Was very juicy!


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