SmokinAl
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soon.It's no secret that a lot of folks have a problem smoking a small well trimmed brisket flat. I to had my struggles for a while, but a couple of years ago I found this method and have been using it ever since. So I would like to share my method with all of you. If you already are successful smoking flats, then this is not aimed at you. If you are having problems getting them to come out tender & juicy, then I hope this will be of some help. So here we go!
I started out with a Choice full packer weighing 14+ pounds.
View attachment 369976
View attachment 369977
I trimmed it up & separated the point & flat, then cut the flat in half.
View attachment 369978
I really took off a lot of fat.
View attachment 369979
Then I took the thick piece of flat & the point & put them in a curing brine. The flat will be corned beef & the point will be pastrami.
View attachment 369980
Now all I have left is the thin part of the flat & as you can see it is very well trimmed. So this is about as difficult as I can make it.
View attachment 369981
Next step is to take 2 cans of French onion soup & strain out the onions.
View attachment 369982
Then inject the brisket with the liquid.
View attachment 369983
Then put it in the aluminum pan with the rest of the liquid & spread the onions on the top of the brisket. This will do 2 things. It will protect the meat from the heat & give the brisket some flavor.
View attachment 369984
It's going into the Lang today. I use a water pan next to the firebox to even out the side to side temps.
View attachment 369985
I don't need to start a big fire, cause it is so hot outside. So a couple of small splits & a big handful of charcoal will do the trick.
View attachment 369986
View attachment 369987
Then after it gets going I add a couple of more small splits & she's ready to go.
View attachment 369988
Into the smoker goes the brisket.
View attachment 369989
At about the 1 hour mark & then every 45 minutes to an hour after, I baste the brisket with the pan juices. The Lang recovers right away after opening up the door, but even if your smoker doesn't do that, this step is still very important. This helps to keep the brisket nice & moist.
View attachment 369990
View attachment 369991
The smoker is running around 250 degrees for most of the time.
View attachment 369992
View attachment 369993
Well it took about 5 hours to get to 205, I started testing it with a toothpick around 195 & it just wasn't done. I had to let it go to 205 before it passed the toothpick test.
View attachment 369994
View attachment 369995
I let it rest for about 30 minutes on the counter, then sliced it up.
View attachment 369996
As you can see it is quite tender & juicy.
View attachment 369997
View attachment 369998
I don't know why, but I felt like putting mayonnaise on my sandwich last night, with a pickle on fine china. Today it will be BBQ sauce.
View attachment 369999
That is it folks!
Thanks for looking & I hope this will help someone who is struggling with getting a flat to come out tender, juicy, & delicious!
Al
soon.
This is great Al. I will do it exactly your way very soon. The injection sounds good.
Thank you for this Al, going to dive in deep and try my 1st one for xmas. Sounds easy enough.
Hey Al,
I have an 8 lb. brisket flat - is that too big for this recipe? I saw another post with a 2 lb. and want to make sure. Any advice would be appreciated!!!
Yes you can use this with any size flat, and no I didn’t cover it. Just keep basting it with the pan juice.Also, you didn't mention (unless I missed it!) about covering it, particularly around 160 F. No cover at all?
Great. I'm going to cook the flat tomorrow for the 4th of July. I'll let you know how I make out. Thanks Al!!!
Hey Al, what did you season with? Just the soup??
It is definitely going to help me--THXIt's no secret that a lot of folks have a problem smoking a small well trimmed brisket flat. I to had my struggles for a while, but a couple of years ago I found this method and have been using it ever since. So I would like to share my method with all of you. If you already are successful smoking flats, then this is not aimed at you. If you are having problems getting them to come out tender & juicy, then I hope this will be of some help. So here we go!
I started out with a Choice full packer weighing 14+ pounds.
View attachment 369976
View attachment 369977
I trimmed it up & separated the point & flat, then cut the flat in half.
View attachment 369978
I really took off a lot of fat.
View attachment 369979
Then I took the thick piece of flat & the point & put them in a curing brine. The flat will be corned beef & the point will be pastrami.
View attachment 369980
Now all I have left is the thin part of the flat & as you can see it is very well trimmed. So this is about as difficult as I can make it.
View attachment 369981
Next step is to take 2 cans of French onion soup & strain out the onions.
View attachment 369982
Then inject the brisket with the liquid.
View attachment 369983
Then put it in the aluminum pan with the rest of the liquid & spread the onions on the top of the brisket. This will do 2 things. It will protect the meat from the heat & give the brisket some flavor.
View attachment 369984
It's going into the Lang today. I use a water pan next to the firebox to even out the side to side temps.
View attachment 369985
I don't need to start a big fire, cause it is so hot outside. So a couple of small splits & a big handful of charcoal will do the trick.
View attachment 369986
View attachment 369987
Then after it gets going I add a couple of more small splits & she's ready to go.
View attachment 369988
Into the smoker goes the brisket.
View attachment 369989
At about the 1 hour mark & then every 45 minutes to an hour after, I baste the brisket with the pan juices. The Lang recovers right away after opening up the door, but even if your smoker doesn't do that, this step is still very important. This helps to keep the brisket nice & moist.
View attachment 369990
View attachment 369991
The smoker is running around 250 degrees for most of the time.
View attachment 369992
View attachment 369993
Well it took about 5 hours to get to 205, I started testing it with a toothpick around 195 & it just wasn't done. I had to let it go to 205 before it passed the toothpick test.
View attachment 369994
View attachment 369995
I let it rest for about 30 minutes on the counter, then sliced it up.
View attachment 369996
As you can see it is quite tender & juicy.
View attachment 369997
View attachment 369998
I don't know why, but I felt like putting mayonnaise on my sandwich last night, with a pickle on fine china. Today it will be BBQ sauce.
View attachment 369999
That is it folks!
Thanks for looking & I hope this will help someone who is struggling with getting a flat to come out tender, juicy, & delicious!
Al
Hi Al - 1) THANKS! 2) when you injected with the soup, I noticed you used Campbell’s CONDENSED soup. Did you add water or did you just inject with the condensed soup after straining?