Brisket - Dividing?

[rodw]

I'm new to smoking and have made my way through ribs and chicken so far, and things have been going well.  My wife bought a 17 pound brisket today, for which I have yet to attempt in my smoker.  With what I'm reading on the forum, and the time it takes to smoke a brisket (1 1/2 - 2 hrs per lb?) it would take me a day to do this.

My question is, can I divide the brisket into 4 pieces and do one on each rack?

If so, would this allow me to smoke all four pieces within 8 hours?

Or, is cutting it at all the wrong way to go?

All and any advice is greatly appreciated! :)

 

[TulsaJeff]

The cooking time is more about the thickness than it is the actual poundage. We use the 1.5 hours per pound for estimating purposes, however, many of the larger weight briskets are no thicker than another lighter brisket. The extra weight is due to it being wider and/or longer in size.

I have never cut a brisket into quarters to smoke it so I can't say how it would turn out however, I have cut them half separating the point end from the flat end and that does seem to help.

You do have a couple of options if you are needing it to get done a lot quicker although I feel that the low and slow method produces the best result.

You can cook it hotter.. there are many competition cooks and even some folks around the forum that cook their briskets at 275 degrees and up and it gets done in considerably less time.

You can also smoke it for say 6 hours then put it into a foil pan, cover it with foil and place it in the home oven to finish. This is not my preferred method but in a pinch, it works quite well and I have done this several times in my life, out of necessity, with excellent results.

Ultimately, regardless of what method you choose, make sure to leave a thermometer in the meat since cooking by temperature is how you cook a brisket. When it reaches about 190-195 check it for tenderness according to your liking. 

 

[rodw]

I'm told (haven't see it yet) that it's 3-4 inches in height from one end to another.  I'm also told it's fatty.  Do I cut all the fat off or do I leave some on?

I was also just told its between 2-3 feet long, so I'm gong to have to cut it anyway to get it in my Brinkman.

I'm going to prepare and rub it down tonight for Saturday's smoking. 

 

[TulsaJeff]

Wow!.. that's a big one alright. You can definitely cut it in half and even into quarters if you need to and it should not hurt anything.

I recommend leaving most of the fat on there or at least about 1/4 inch all over. The fat melts during the cooking process and helps to keep the brisket basted. I like to make score marks in a crosshatch fashion through the fat and down to where the meat starts to allow more smoke to the meat.

You can discard and separate the fat once it's done cooking but while it's cooking, it's a good thing.

 

[diamond jim]

Hi Rod,

I'm a rookie smoker too.  One thing that I have learned from the nice people at SMF is that you cant rush perfection.  I think (and its only my opinion) that regardless of how you cut the meat, its still going to take time to get all the smoke flavor into it and allow the meat to "release" or break-down a bit.

I also have a 10+ lb brisket in my freezer.  I'm just working up the courage to put it in the smoker.

Good luck!

 

[smokinhusker]

Hello Rod! Jeff gave you some great info on smoking the brisket. Yep that's a large one alright! My first brisket was a 16 lb one and I cooked it the entire time in my MES40 and it took approx 39 hrs - I didn't foil it either.

Here's the link to it: http: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/120844/another-first-16-lb-brisket-final-pics

Would you mind updating your profile to include your location then swing by Roll Call and introduce yourself so we can give you a proper SMF Welcome. Thanks!

 

[pit 4 brains]

You can separate that thing quite easily and remove as much fat as you like:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/brisket-separation-technique

Take your time, don't rush it and leave the smoker closed..

 

[rodw]

Well, I divided, trimmed, slathered and rubbed it down last night.  It's sitting in the fridge until I put it on at around 6am tomorrow. Should I foil it while I'm cooking?  Do you think it will finish up by 6pm? (12 hrs)
 

Any last words of wisdom? 

 

[jesse t]

You definitely don't want to start out with the foil if that's what you're asking.  The smoke has to be able to get to it!  Many people foil once internal temp hits 160 or so.  I don't have any authority to comment on the timing issue, but it makes sense to me that 4 4lb chunks of brisket would be done well within 12 hours.
 

 

[rodw]

It came out very good for my first attempt.  I pulled it at 193 with no foil along the way.  Next time I would pull it at 180 so that it's a bit less dry.

Everyone was scarfing it down, so it must haev been good.   Made some brisket BBQ with one of them.  I don't have any pictures of when it was done, but here's a pic about 2 hours in.......

photo.JPG

• rodw
• Oct 1, 2012