Advise on smoking brisket in 30" electric smoker

[zelom]

I’ve just recently purchased a Masterbuilt 30″ electric smoker. I’ve smoked some ribs and chicken in it so far and they’ve turned out great. And now I want to take a crack at smoking a brisket. But because of the size of the smoker. There’s no way for me to do a whole complete packer that's normally sold at the grocery stores. I’m going to see if I can maybe find a smaller 8 to 10 lb brisket so I can still try and please everyone. Some like the leaner meat, while others want the fattier meat. But if I can’t find a smaller size brisket with both the flat and the point? And I get a normal 12 to 14 lb brisket and separate the flat from the point and smoke them together, but on separate shelves in the smoker. Would I still be able to get both halves to cook evenly and come out as well as if I were doing a whole complete packer at around 225? If so, which way should I stack them? Flat on top of point? Or the other way around? Also, having them separated would that cut down on some of the total cook time? Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[creek bottom]

Instead of separating the flat and point, you may want to try raising the center of the brisket, sort of "draping" it over a taller rack or something to decrease the footprint. I've done 12 pounders in mine and draped it over a "beer can chicken" rack. worked great...

 

[Drevnick]

I was able to fit a full packer in my MES 30 I think it was 11lbs trimmed. It was a tight fit but it shrank down after a couple hours. Another way is to wrap a brick with foil and set the brisket on top of it.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Check this one out by Preacher Man. He put a beer can under his to get it to fit

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/brisket-nothing-fancy.287387/

 

[zelom]

Thanks everyone for the advise!!! I didn't even think about raising it to reduce the overall space needed. I have a curved rib rack that should work. So I can use it to lay the brisket over. Question? Does anyone know if lifting it will cause the internal juices to flow away from the raised area while smoking for the first 4 hours or so? I plan to put my mix of salt, pepper and garlic on it, plus a little rub I have and let it set overnight in the fridge. Then inject it with some beef injector in the morning and then get it in the smoker, and smoke it at about 225 for about 4 to 5 hours, give or take until it stalls. Spritzing it occasionally with a mix of apple juice, apple cider vinegar and beef stock. Then take it off, spritz it again real good, and wrap in pink butcher paper, and throw it back in the smoker at about 250 for about another 4 hours or so, until it reaches about 190 to 200 internal temp and is still tender to the touch. Then let is rest for about an hour or 2.

One other question. Anyone who uses the MES 30. Which rack do you set your briskets on? Top, middle, or bottom rack?

 

[creek bottom]

Use the middle rack. When checking for doneness, check it with a probe thermometer. Should feel like warm butter going in ... DONE...