Brisket Conundrum for Newbie

[valleyman0505]

After some success smoking various pork cuts, I'm ready to venture into brisket territory. We are going on vacation and bringing my MES 30 along for the week. One of our guests requested a brisket and even said he would buy the meat. So, now I have a conundrum: a whole packer cut will not fit in the smoker.

The local Costco, which is where the brisket will be purchased, has whole briskets in the range of 15-18 pounds for $3.80/pound (USDA Prime) and flats around 5 pounds (USDA Choice) for about $5.60/pound. The flat would easily fit into my smoker, but they are almost $2/pound more than the packers even with the lower Choice grading. Also, the flats seem very thin at around 1" or slightly more. So now, some thoughts/questions on my conundrum:

• Are flat cuts normally so thin?
• How much meat is really needed to feed about 8-10 adults (there are also a few kids that may or may not eat the brisket)? Keep in mind that two 5 pound flats will cost roughly the same as one $15 pound packer.
  
• How much time is needed to smoke a thin flat cut versus a whole packer (estimates, of course--I know temp is the main factor, but I need to get somewhat of a plan together)?
• What are the pros and cons of a whole packer vs a flat (other than actually being able to fit the darn thing into the smoker...lol)?
• Any advice on best ways to fit a packer into a small smoker? Separate point from flat? Fold the packer into a U shape up the sides of the smoker?

Since this will be my first test with a brisket and I will have an audience for this test, I want to make sure I do the right thing. Especially considering someone else is shelling out the $60-70 for the meat.

 

[krj]

1. It varies from animal to animal, and butcher to butcher. The flat can actually taper out even thinner at times.
2. I always figure 6oz cooked per adult, that's a hefty portion and some(women but not all) will only eat around 4, while others will eat more.
3. I recommend just figuring 12hrs for a whole packer. For a thin packer, I don't know I've only ever done wholes. This is dependent on if you wrap, temperatures, and the variance in meats. If you finish early you can safely wrap it in towels and pop it in a cooler for a couple hours.
4. In your situation, price and quality.
5. Just buy the whole packer and separate the point from the flat.

 

[petehalsted]

Remember you are likely to loose 2+ pounds of fat when you trim that packer.

Some of the advantages to packer you loose because you have to separate to fit in the MES30. But having that point for some "real" burnt ends is fantastic for sure!

There have been several threads recently about how to fit packer in small smoker, and generally the conscious seems to be, Best Choice = if it is close trim the thin end of the flat off and save for chilli, etc and leave whole. I doubt that is an option in the MES30 unless its a very small packer. Second Best Choice = Separate.

I strongly suggest you read the post for Brisket Flat Al's Way, if I was in your situation (using MES30, first time brisket) I would go with that. One flat is cutting it close for 8-10 adults if you have any big beef eaters in that group. So I would consider 2 smaller flats, or a 5 pound flat and a backup meat. I would do Pork Belly burnt ends as first course, really easy, hard to mess up, will wow everyone, keep them from revolting if the brisket takes a bit longer, and will make the flat stretch.

If you don't like Al's way, and you go with a packer instead of just a flat, definitely look at a few of the recent threads that talk about using a pan above the flat with the trimmings in it as a "self basting" method.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Also I strongly suggest doing it a day early when you cook it. Simply because things never go as planned, but Brisket is fairly easy to reheat ! <I've reheated sliced brisket by just using some beef stock in a pan, and reheating it in the oven that way in 20 minutes>

 

[valleyman0505]

Thanks everyone. I think I am going to go with the smallest packer they have in stock and then trim to fit as a whole cut. When I was at Costco yesterday, the smallest one they had was around 15 pounds, if I remember correctly. If trimmed down to 11-12 pounds, is a cook time of about 16 - 18 hours pretty close?

The guests will be arriving with the meat on Thursday, early evening. Hoping to serve for Friday evening dinner. If I get it in to the smoker around 7:00 pm Thursday, it should finish around 11:00 am - 1:00 pm with that timeline, then rest for a few hours, then serve for dinner. If the 16-18 hour estimate is close, this timeline would give me a couple hours of buffer in case things take longer, which is fine. However, if it finishes quicker, I may have to re-heat a little.

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

I did a 15.5 pound brisket earlier this year that took about 17 hours to cook but that was with my offset and I was not trying to get hot and fast. My bet is that if you get that in by late evening 10:00 to 11:00pm and then go at around 275 for the cook it will be done in plenty of time. You have the benefit of an electric that you don't have to feed to maintain temp. So I would not worry at all about it not being done. Enjoy that beefy goodness.

George