Brisket Question for a MGS 30"

[scooper]

I am planning my first brisket for Christmas dinner, along with a spiral ham and some BB's.  I am doing an all night smoke for the brisket to make room for the ham and BB's in the morning. 

I have a Masterbuilt Gas 30".  I am going to get a packer brisket at Restaurant Depot.  I know that it will not fit without some trimming, or separating the point from the flat.

I really want to leave the point and flat together for maximum thickness so it will not dry out.  In order for it to fit into the 30", will it be okay if I cut part of the flat off so the whole brisket will fit into the 30" easier? 

I love burnt ends, and do not mind if I have a good size hunk of them from the cut off piece of flat.  They'll make it into the pot o' beans if there's any left after snacking on them.

Or am I over thinking it?  Is separating the flat and point a better option?  (I'm wanting sliced, not pulled.)

 

[raptor700]

I (personally) would cut the end of the flat off and keep it for later use.

 

[scooper]

Thank you, sir. I appreciate your input.  I think that's the way I will go.

 

[SmokinAl]

I always separate the point & flat before i smoke them. You get a lot more smoke penetration. IMHO!

 

[mballi3011]

I'm with Raptor on this one and say that you should cut off some of the flat. The thin section. Leave the point and flat attached for maximum moisture while smoking.

 

[scooper]

Al, does the flat retain moisture if separated?

 

[SmokinAl]

Al, does the flat retain moisture if separated?

I have never had a problem with the flat drying out, but I always put the brisket on the bottom rack & the trimmed off fat on a rack above it, so it drips on the brisket while it cooks.

 

[chef jimmyj]

This is a good question...Try this Chef...Find the mid point between the inside edge of the Point and the end of the Flat...Slice from the bottom of the flat at this mid point but not completely through...Now flip the end of the flat up and over itself, and tie it together, so you end up with a now Shorter, Equally Thick Brisket....Half point and flat...Half Double thickness flat...This makes sense in my head!!...JJ

 

[scooper]

I have never had a problem with the flat drying out, but I always put the brisket on the bottom rack & the trimmed off fat on a rack above it, so it drips on the brisket while it cooks.

I have bags of fat in the freezer for stuff like that.  Even raw pork belly.  My wife thinks I'm nuts.  Until... she sits down to eat. 

The house will be full with 2 more adults and 2 grand kids.  Family tradition has us go out to dinner for Italian food on Christmas Eve.  So with a full house and a busy Eve., I will take the safer route and keep it whole.  As much as I know I could separate them and keep the flat moist if it was just a normal day around here, I really like Chef JJ's idea below.

This is a good question...Try this Chef...Find the mid point between the inside edge of the Point and the end of the Flat...Slice from the bottom of the flat at this mid point but not completely through...Now flip the end of the flat up and over itself so you end up with a now Shorter, Equally Thick Brisket....Half point and flat...Half Double thickness flat...This makes sense in my head!!...JJ

Chef, that is brilliant!  I was searching before I posted (some of us n00bs do that.  LOL) and found an old post where someone suggested that.  There was even a drawing.  But there were no results posted so I figured it was a flop.

I am going to go with that.  Thank you, Chef JJ.  I always appreciate your input.

 

[papagreer]

Ive never done a packer, just flats, but they are always juicy and tender in my MES 40. I like to keep my temps between 210 and 225, the lower end I found to be better. It does add some extra time to the smoke, but man they are good. I like to take the drippings, skim the fat, add some beef broth, a carrot, celery stalk and a little onion and cook that together for about 30 mins and it makes a killer au jus. Im doing a brisket for my parents who are coming into town for Christmas...cant wait! 

Either way you do it, keep the temps and the internals in check and you are going to have a nice piece of beef 

Chris

 

[scooper]

Thanks for the input Chris.  I will definitely keep the temps on the low side.  I need this briskey to take a long time. 

I like the idea of the pan au jus too.  I will definitely do that!

 

[shooterrick]

I think JJ has it correct from my perspective.  When you say a long time how long is that?  Probably gonna take a min of 8-10 hrs doubled and that is a guess.  Are you going to slice or pull?  190-195 and she will slice.  Over 200 and she will fall apart.  Also if you are real worried about moisture set the alarm and wrap with a good dose of beef broth and let it braise.  Just my 2 cents.

 

[scooper]

Rick, I just bought it today.  It is almost 16 lbs.  It's a big boy.  I am hoping it takes at least 20 hours including rest time.  I am going for a slicer, not pulled.  I will try and keep the smoker temp in the 215 range for overnight. 

I am going to go with Chef J J's suggestion.  Probably going to tie it to keep it from flopping over when I move it to the cooler or oven for holding.  I am not too worried about it drying out.  Especially with it being so big and hopefully evenly thick.  I will have some broth on hand just in case.

Slicing will probably go as:

Remove the folded over piece of flat.  Slice.

Slice the rest of the flat up to where the point begins. 

Split the rest of it in 1/2 and slice each piece across their respective grains.

I found these slicing instructions here, about 1/3rd of the way down the page, #9 (a):

http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/texas_brisket.html

 

[shooterrick]

Well I usually do 8-10 lbs flats.  Average time 8 hrs but at the SELA gathering a 9 lb flat was done at 6.5 hrs.  Sometimes you have a race horse so you may want to set the alarm from time to time and check it. 

 

[scooper]

I will keep the Maverick 732 next to the bed with temp alarms set.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Good luck... but I have a feeling your not gonna sleep very good (worrying)

 

[scooper]

Good luck... but I have a feeling your not gonna sleep very good (worrying)

With a house full of grand kids and their parents, plus their dog, I won't sleep much. 

Unless I have my quota of rum.  No worries, mon!  LOL

 

[sprky]

Keep us posted on how it comes out. and don't forget the Q-view

 

[scooper]

I will definitely take and post some pics.  It's going to be my first smoked Christmas.  I got the wife and daughter to let me make a full bbq Christmas dinner.