# Which part of Brisket cooks faster



## lookwow (Jan 14, 2011)

So my electric ECB is not going to fit the 10lb packer i got the other day. So im going to cut it where the point and the flat meet. Then im thinking of taking the flat to 190 for slices and the point to 205 for pulling. My question is which should could faster? Im guess the point but not 100% sure. Also any know will the top or bottom rack be hotter?


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## aeroforce100 (Jan 14, 2011)

So my electric ECB is not going to fit the 1lb packer i got the other day.

Please tell me this is a typo!


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## rbranstner (Jan 14, 2011)

I'm guessing he meant 10lb packer. There are a lot of things to consider when figuring out how fast things will cook. Thickness and fat content are some of the top things that come to mind. Normally the point is a little more fatty and can be a bit thicker than the flat but it really depends on the cut of meat and how you cut it apart. Have you separated them yet? My first flat I smoked got done way faster than the 1.5 hours per lb I was estimating because it was so thin. The only true way to know when the meat is done is by the internal temp and not by time as there are to many factors involved. Two cuts with the exact same thickness and weight can cook totally different.

When I do a full packer I separate the point and flat like you are doing then smoke them until they reach around 165 then foil them and pull them at 190-205 depending if you are pulling or slicing. Normally my point and flat are close to the same temp so I cut up the point for burnt ends and throw them back onto the smoker for a few hours while the flat rests in the cooler with foil and towels. Hope that helps.

Edit. I should add that I always use my point for burnt ends and they end up going back onto the smoker for a few hours so I have always just cut it up once the flat is at the correct temp I want so I don't remember if the point was higher or lower than the flat as it didn't really matter to me. Hopefully someone else can chime in and get you a better idea if the point will tend to cook faster or slower.


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## lookwow (Jan 14, 2011)

lol its a mini replica of a ECB :) yes 10 lb.

That is actually a good idea. Since im going to pull the point anyways and it needs like 15-20 i can just watch the flat and then once in a while check the point as it doesnt matter near as much.


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## mballi3011 (Jan 14, 2011)

Well one thing is that the brisket will smoke for as long as it wants to. Now the flat might smoke alittle faster for it's more denser then the point too. I would figure about 12 -14 for that one to smoke and then into the cooler for an hour.


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## forluvofsmoke (Jan 14, 2011)

Just so you know, unless you modify the ecb to raise the lower grate off the pan to about 4-5" below th eupper grate, you will not get smoke to the food on the lower grate, just steam.

I modded my charcoal gourmet for that very reason.

As far as the point/flat and which will cook faster, the flat will definitely cook faster if you separate the muscles (not just cut th epacker in half), but the thin end of the point will cook much faster than the heavy end. I'd give it about 5 hours and wrap the thin end in foil to slow the cooking down. Did that on my point cut yesterday to prevent overcooking and drying out that section, and it helps a ton.

Also, in the ecb it will matter on a few things, begining with the water pan. If the water pan is wet, the upper grate runs warmer. If the water pan is dry, the lower pan runs warmer. With my elevated lower grate and both grates loaded, the upper grate runs 40-50* cooler with a dry pan, and 10-20* cooler with a wet pan. bear in mind though, this smoker is heavily modded, including a lid vent hole and lid seal, so air flow through my rig will be much different than one which is stock and venting through the lid seam in stead of a dedicated vent hole.

Most folks don't take the water pan into consideration when they try to figure out a better way to get the grates loaded and cooking at decent temps. The only time I do run with a dry pan is in cold temps and trying to run at no higher than 225* chamber temp.

Also, be sure to verify the chamber temp gauge and mark it at your desitred cooking temp. There are no actual readings on the gaugem but you can mark it with a pen at 200*, 225*, etc, after verifying the actual temp. It's not a perfect fix, but gives you a much better idea what your temps are. A digital temp probe inside the smoker helps a bunch. I drilled a 3/16" hole about 2" below the upper grate just for a probe.

Eric


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