4 lb brisket flat......now what?

[smokingearl]

The only reason I prefer full packers is the price. The only place here to get briskest sell full packers for 2.89 a pound and sell the flats for 5.99 a pound. So if I buy a flat it's usually about a third of a full packet for 10 dollars less. And once I have a full packer there's no way I'll not smoke the whole thing at once cuz I love to eat lol.

 

[mummel]

Plus if you want to trim the fat, you can use it for sausage making.

 

[smokinadam]

I was going to do a brisket over Christmas.  Someone in the main brisket thread said only do a whole brisket when smoking (i.e. 10-18lbs, the packer).  Costco in my area unfortunately only sells the flats, and recently started selling untrimmed flats, but still no packers.

Should I wait to find a packer before trying my first brisket?  Maybe OP should try the whole thing if the flat was dry?

I did a flat and it was best brisket all my family has ever had. I injected it with beef broth and worcheshire with onion and garlic powder mixed in. Marinated over night and next morning cooked at 225 went on the grill with little seasoning salt. Was done in 9 hours so wrapped and in went in the cooler.

 

[demosthenes9]

 
Not sure why someone would tell you to only do a full packer.

Flats can be cooked, and cooked very nicely!  For a flat, I tend to wrap a bit earlier than some, but they come out moist, tender, and quite tasty!

I run mine at 225-230, foil at about 150-160, then cook until I get a nice probe feel. (~195-205 IT)

One of the reasons is because some people erroneously believe that the moisture in a brisket comes from the fat cap..  As the flat has almost no fat cap, they wrongly think it will always be dry.

 

[demosthenes9]

 
Let me tell ya'll a story about a man who rushed a 4 lb brisket flat......

Pulled the flat from the oven at 192 degf internal.  Only had about 10 minutes to rest.  When sliced, the flavor was dead on, but the meat was HORRIBLY dry.  Lesson learned on this one.  I must give myself more time on the next.  I foiled and used a combination of beef broth and a little red wine.  I want to believe that had I let the IT run up into the 200s and also allowed it to rest for at least 45 min, she would have been tender.  Thoughts?

Just an FYI, but you can "rush" a brisket and get it to cook faster.    Just start monitoring the temp earlier and if it looks like the brisket won't be done in time, crank the chamber temp up a bit.  It won't hurt the brisket to go from 225 to 275 on the chamber temp.   You could go even higher if you want, quite a few do briskets at 325.   If you can't increase your chamber temp very easily, then pull the brisket and finish it in the oven.  

 

[mummel]

Why are briskets so difficult?  I never read threads about people messing up pork butts, and both are cooked to 203F.  Seems like foiling is the way to go with a brisket.  But how come so many come out dry?

 

[crankybuzzard]

 
Why are briskets so difficult?  I never read threads about people messing up pork butts, and both are cooked to 203F.  Seems like foiling is the way to go with a brisket.  But how come so many come out dry?

My opinion, people tend to over think them...  Low and slow, basic rub, and only look at a thermometer for numbers, you can't time one.  I've had them cook in 8 hours and up to all night long.

Foil, no foil, it's all up to the cook, I do them both ways.  I assure you, when I'm doing more than 4 briskets at a time, they don't get foil.

However, sometimes you just get a tough piece of meat.

 

[cflbob]

I should have noticed this thread earlier, but I did almost exactly the same thing yesterday.  A flat at almost 5 pounds from my local BJs Wholesale.  In my case, I had it in the smoker (MES) from a little after 7 AM till 5:45 in the evening.  IT was 195, but it never got to where a probe went in like warm butter.  It was still a bit more resistance than that.  Let it rest for half an hour and then ate a mess of brisket last night.  Right now my wife is frying up some garlic and onions in oil to reheat it.  We'll have smoked brisket fajitas. 

Rub was very simple: non-iodized salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.  Rubbed it Saturday night and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  Took it out to warm up a bit at 6:30, around the time I started the smoker heating. 

Brisket_01-10A.JPG

• cflbob
• Jan 11, 2016

Bob

 

[mummel]

 
I should have noticed this thread earlier, but I did almost exactly the same thing yesterday.  A flat at almost 5 pounds from my local BJs Wholesale.  In my case, I had it in the smoker (MES) from a little after 7 AM till 5:45 in the evening.  IT was 195, but it never got to where a probe went in like warm butter.  It was still a bit more resistance than that.  Let it rest for half an hour and then ate a mess of brisket last night.  Right now my wife is frying up some garlic and onions in oil to reheat it.  We'll have smoked brisket fajitas. 

Rub was very simple: non-iodized salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.  Rubbed it Saturday night and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  Took it out to warm up a bit at 6:30, around the time I started the smoker heating. 

Brisket_01-10A.JPG

• cflbob
• Jan 11, 2016

Bob

Was it tough?  looks like it was crumbling like pulled pork?  You saying 195F was too low?  Most people take it to 203F?

 

[cflbob]

Not really tough, but a bit dried out.  I should have gone for the 203-205 level.  Live and learn.

I either get up earlier or sit later, but it has to smoke longer.  My wife was anxious.