Brisket question please

[doug123]

With all this brisket talk I want to try one out sometime soon. I have read enough about them on here that I think I have a pretty good idea how to go about smoking one.

I was at Wal-Mart the other day and was checking out the meat. They had brisket flats and they also had nice looking sirloin tip roasts right next to them. These were both roughly the same size and shape, maybe 7 lbs or so, and the sirloin tip was only 3 or 4 dollars more.

I guess my question is, isn't the sirloin tip a better cut and won't that end up being better than a brisket?

I guess this is probably a dumb question though. I guess I'm not going to know much about brisket until I smoke one :D

Thanks

 

[jminion]

Doug
Two totally different cuts and handled differently.
Brisket is a much longer cook and needs to be taken to a higher finish internal temp.

The sirloin tip needs to be taken to about 130º internal. I smoke them at higher pit temps (275º
or a little higher). Slice across the grain and serve with a horseradish sauce.

Jim

 

[icemn62]

Doug you have not lived until you have spent hours, and hours, and hours to get that brisket up to temp. worrying that you seasoned it right the night before, worrying if the fuel supply will out last the fuel needs to get thru this long cook.

When it all gets finished, and you see your family around the table, with nobody talking, but all eating....It was worth it.

Ya gotta do a brisket. Do it over night and skip sleeping, because you are worried that something is going to go wrong.

 

[cajunsmoker]

Your right Gary, It's not so much a smoke but a right of passage. You just have to do one. Do it well and you can smoke sirloin tips the rest of your life and be happy as a clam :D . Do it wrong and it will gnaw at you until you have to try it again and again and :!: . Brisket is one of those things that you just have to do :!:

 

[icemn62]

Need to have at least 3 briskets per year under your smoke belt. Brisket on the grates, beer in the mug. Good day.

 

[doug123]

OK guys, that's good enough for me.

Brisket it is.

I'll have to pick one up in the next few weeks.

My wife already has me scheduled to do another turkey breast this weekend.

Good stuff, but I think I am finding my favorite thing on the smoker is the beef :D

 

[bigal]

Doug, you gotta do a brisket NOW! Get a packer, point and flat together, and do it! A 12#er will take about 18 hours. We like ours so that you have to slice it 1/2" thick so it doesn't fall apart, about 205*. Then make burnt ends with the point. I've done sirloin and chuck roasts, can't compare to a brisket. Any more I think I'd rather have brisket than king crab legs. I do nearly one per week, family and friends love it. Something about taking a tough piece of meat that used to be ground up for hamburger and smok' it to taste better than rib-eye.

 

[Dutch]

Doug, It's all about the CHALLANGE!! :mrgreen:

When I got back into smoking, I'd hear folks talk about how difficult, how intimadating, etc. smoking briskets are. When I finally pulled my first all-nighter, other than trying to stay awake, I thought "What the heck was all the fuss about?" Once you try it you'll wonder what the fuss was about too!

 

[smokemack]

Brisket, Doug, brisket. As stated it's like a right of passage. Don't wait a few weeks either. Hey, "why put off for a few weeks what could be done this weekend", or something like that...

 

[doug123]

I was at Wal-Mart today and they had the full briskets. One was 16 pounds or something and really looked great. I see what you guys are talking about now, I was excited 8)

I was all happy and threw it in the cart. Walked away a bit and realized, "Whoa, that is never going to fit on my smoker" :oops:

It was really big. So I put it back.

What I want to know is, can I cut them in half? Or should I just trim the thin side until it fits? I really want to smoke one but if you shouldn't cut it up I don't want to ruin it either.

Thanks :D

 

[cajunsmoker]

Hey Doug,

I never had an electric ECB, but I have smoked lots of packer briskets on charcoal ECB's. You just make it fit. :D Sometimes you have to kind of lift the middle up to get the lid on, but after it smokes a while it will settle down.

 

[doug123]

Hi Rodger,

I mean it was too long. My smoker is only 16" across and I swear this thing was at least 30" long.

Next time I'll just get one and make it fit. I'll cut some off the one end if I have to and throw it in with a pot of beans or something.

 

[jminion]

Doug
You can seperate the flat from the point by following the fat layer between the two. This will shorten up the over all lenght and allow the flat to fit on the grate, the point can be placed on the bottom grate.
Jim

 

[doug123]

Sounds good, thanks Jim.

 

[Dutch]

Doug, what Jim said!! In fact this is the cheaper way to buy the brisket. Did you look at the price of the flat and points? I had asked the Bride to pickup a packer brisket ($1.49 lb.) for me and she came home with a nicely trimmed flat ($3.99 lb). It smoked up nice, tasted excellent (even got some pic's that I still need to share) and even had some for left overs.
That's what I get for staying home and not riding "shotgun" on the shopping cart when she goes to make groceries. :oops: :roll: :P

 

[sean]

Hear that Dutch ....