1st fullsized brisket

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Motorboat40

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Feb 5, 2020
249
372
Crozet, VA
Have smoked 1 small 1 1/2lb flat brisket from Kroger and it turned out good, have watched enough videos and read stuff on here that I'm ready to try the big boy. Got this prime brisket from cosco 3.29lb its 17.20lbs was 58 bucks after tax.

Going to run down my plan of attack and if anyone has suggestions or if I should do anything differently please share your knowledge! Since it's so big and we don't have a big crew to eat it like we normally would I'm going to cut in half smoke the point and freeze the flat. Trying to eat Sunday afternoon around 4 or 5pm so I was planning on firing up my offset around 2am it take a good 45 mins to get it up to temp, and put the brisket on no later than 3 am. Going to smoke with hickory and cherry wood at 250 deg. When ever it hits 160 deg I plan to wrap it in foil and finish it on the oven in the house.

So if that plan sounds good let me know or if you think I should allow for more time please also let me know. Any advice is appreciated. Also I have an ink bird 4 probe thermometer so I can set an alarm for the pit temp incase I doze off while smoking it in the early morning hours.
Going with SPG for my rub, was thinking of injecting with beef broth? Yes or no? Thanks in advance for any advice anyone gives!
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Moar time! Especially if you plan on injecting. Plan on having the brisket out of the smoker by about 1pm so you can wrap it and toss it into a cooler for a few hours before service.

I guess I should ask if you're planning on cutting it in half before you smoke it and freezing it. and if you are planning on cutting it in half before you cook any of it, we would need to know the weight and/or thickness of the pieces that you intend to cook
 
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The point is pretty thick that the half o plan to cook, it's the thicker than my hand vertically beside ti so about 4inch thick maybe a little more. As to weight its 17lbs whole I'm guessing that the point is the heavier part so 9 to 10 lbs. Does that help?
 
I think you've got a good plan. There's a thousand ways to do this so don't worry, you'll figure out what works for you. Funny, I just cut a whole packer in half myself but I cooked the flat 1st. Injection is something I've never done so I can't help you with that but I've been involved directly or indirectly with dozen(s) of briskets with no injection that over 95% of them would have to be considered very good. By the way, that's a great price on a prime brisket. Don't sweat it too much - The point should be much more forgiving that the flat so maybe if you want to inject the flat might be worth trying that on?

Let us know how it turns out!
 
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Another option is to smoke it all now -- either whole or separated. Then portion out and vac seal and freeze what you don't eat Sunday. Reheat in the bag in sous vide or low simmering water for easy meals. That's what I would do as I always like to get the smoker as full as possible.
 
Great advice guys it is appreciated, as far as start time should start at midnight? That would give me 13 hrs to get it to 205 or so and then time to rest in the cooler? I figure if goes slower than I anticipated at the end I can crank the heat to 275 or a little higher if I want to speed it up.
 
You can freeze smoked brisket just as well as raw. Personally, I would trim the fat as usual (most likely you'll remove ~ 3-4 lbs) and then smoke it whole Texas style 50/50 salt & pepper. Probably would run the smoker at 270-275º. Go ahead and put the meat on as the smoker begins to warm. It will pick up more smoke at colder temps. At the end, eat what you want and freeze meal portions. BTW we always make sure to freeze packages in the amount we use for making chili. Smoked brisket chilli is wonderful.
 
I'm guessing you have not separated the point and flat yet?

If you have, it's no problem cooking the point as is, but on a 17 pound brisket they get pretty knobby or humpy, so one option is to start on the thin end and sort of fillet the hump and make the thickness somewhat equal. This will help your cooking time and even out the tenderness. This is the same "filleted" point before and after smoking.
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If the brisket is still whole, another option is to do all your trimming, then pick a line and slice it in half lengthwise. This way each half will have some point and flat. Cook both halves and when wrapping one, triple wrap it because after a long rest you can ice shock it and freeze it. These will reheat very well.

Can't comment on cooking time until you decide how it will be cooked, but SPG is a good combination. I inject all briskets, usually with a competition blend... but a jazzy beefy broth definitely can't hurt.
 
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I would just cook the whole dam thing and slice and vac/freeze what you can't eat!
250 is good, but if you want to go higher it's no problem and will get it done sooner.
Frankly if you're planning on a Sunday meal I would consider cooking it tomorrow. Things happen...
 
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I would so this. thats what I do and its the only way I do it

You can freeze smoked brisket just as well as raw. Personally, I would trim the fat as usual (most likely you'll remove ~ 3-4 lbs) and then smoke it whole Texas style 50/50 salt & pepper. Probably would run the smoker at 270-275º. Go ahead and put the meat on as the smoker begins to warm. It will pick up more smoke at colder temps. At the end, eat what you want and freeze meal portions. BTW we always make sure to freeze packages in the amount we use for making chili. Smoked brisket chilli is wonderful.
 
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I would smoke it tonight but its windy as all get out here tomorrow and sunday is supposed to claim and in the 70's. After reading everyone's suggestions I've decided to just cook the whole thing and freeze what we don't eat. So with that a 17lb brisket that will probably trimdown to 15 lbs or so cooked at 250 degree if I start at midnight with the plann to eat around 4pm the next day does this sound like enough time?
 
sounds good for plan.. now i have cut some of the burnt ends off as it get done as i've had couple big ones that thin ends just arnt edible.. so i trim as needed..i dont wrap either. now this isn't a problem when cut thin side and thick side and just monitor each as separate and take thin off first
 
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Im following your thread as I picked up a brisket also and so far I am successful about 7 out of 10 times. Let us know how it goes and post up some pics.
 
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Important points to be aware of:

1. You probe for doneness with the feel in the flat (multiple places) should be very close to a probe being stuck in peanut butter. Briskets get done/tender anywhere from 195-210º and each one is different.

2. If you pull the brisket and it's truly done be sure to reopen the wrap and let it cool for 10-15 min before resealing and resting in a cooler with towels. Otherwise it will continue to cook. Resting for at least 1 hour is good but 2 hours is usually better.

Always take careful detailed notes on each smoke. This is how you learn what works and what doesn't plus it provides a path to repeatable success.

TIP: include the weight of the trimmed brisket by weighing all the trimmings and subtracting it from the label weight.
 
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Haven't started yet going to trim it this afternoon and going to start cooking tonight maybe around 8 or 9pm figured no big deal of if it gets done early it can sit in the cooler for a long time if done too soon. Also I checked my seasoned wood supply while preparing stuff and I'm down to 6 sticks of hickory opps lol have plenty of cherry so if i run out of seasoned hickory i will put in some oak i have plenty of that too. I just cut down a hickory a month ago but it will be late summer before I can use the smaller sticks its too green right now.
 
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Oak is great for brisket. Good luck and don't let the fire go out!
Thanks. I got an ink bird 4 probe for Christmas that works with my phone I can set temperature alarms for too low and too high pit temp incase I doze off and the fire goes down. Once I get to the wrapping I'm going to finish in the oven and save some wood.
 
Ok I got her trimmed and rubbed and back into the fridge for a few hours until I fire up the pit. Was my 1st time trimming a brisket so i will get better as i do more of them but it was easier than i thought it would be. Took 4lbs of fat off trimming. Gave my dad the fat he is going to grind up some deer with it. SPG for my rub. More pictures to come I will up date yall when it's all finished.
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It hit 165 around 430am this morning I wrapped by putting it in a large foil pan and covered with foil to save the juices, finished it in the oven at 225 deg it hit 205 deg internal a little after 830 this morning. Its sitting in the cooler with towels until it's time to eat at 4 today. I'm figuring I'll have to reheat it a little by then. Do yall think it will be ok in the cooler for 6 hrs? I was going to reheat an hour before chow time.
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