First Brisket-first issue

[PatrickJ]

Hello from Philadelphia---home of the E-A-G-L-E-S!

Bought a BGE last year, have done many burns to learn, still learning to control temp, etc. Great way to kill an afternoon listening to a ball game and having a few cocktails.

First Brisket time---have been reading, planning, and the bride came home today with a present---prime brisket---6.02 lbs on the label! OK...time to belly up to the Egg

I wasn't sure of the size..only the 2 of us and 6 lbs a lot. So decided to cut in 2---DID NOT WEIGH IT ahead of time. Cut diagonally to keep general shapes...weighed to see how good I was...

I did well...except the total weight is 5 lbs...the store must have weighed it, trimmed (it was trimmed pretty well) and charged for the whole. My dumbaXX mistake.

At $7.00/lb not going to abandon it...so here's the issue

I have 2 trimmed pieces of brisket...appx 2.5 lbs each. I did the mustard/rub prep and into a vacuum seal bag for a day or so. Today is Wed so looking at either Sat or Sun.

Any advice on heat/time appx? I was planning 250 but open to more experienced folks opinions. Read Aaron Franklins epistle and he says 1 hr 15 mins appx/lb. I am assuming since I halved the 5 lb I am looking at a time that is for each sep...vs 5 lbs, now for 2.5. Yes?

I will appreciate any/all advice (yeah, I know---weigh the thing next time advice tip #1)

Thanks for reading.

 

[dcecil]

Thats a very small brisket. This is your best chance in my opinion
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/brisket-flat-my-way.277499/unread

 

[bregent]

Yeah, sounds like what you have is a very small, well trimmed brisket flat. I would probably braise it, but if you want to BBQ then Al's method looks good.

Just a tip - if you don't already have one, a vacuum sealer is a great tool - allowing you to buy and cook larger cuts and save leftovers for another day.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Al's method is probably the way to go; I get wary of any brisket under like 8-10 pounds from how much I read. Fortunately, brisket is easy to reheat from my experience with my own. In the future if you go for bigger ones, you can vacc seal it, and when you want to reheat, just use a bit of au jus or beef stock. Thats how I reheated my brisket and it kept it super tender.

Hopefully Al will be along in a bit. His method they linked even looks good to me for a normal brisket!

 

[PatrickJ]

Al's method is probably the way to go; I get wary of any brisket under like 8-10 pounds from how much I read. Fortunately, brisket is easy to reheat from my experience with my own. In the future if you go for bigger ones, you can vacc seal it, and when you want to reheat, just use a bit of au jus or beef stock. Thats how I reheated my brisket and it kept it super tender.

Hopefully Al will be along in a bit. His method they linked even looks good to me for a normal brisket!

Thanks

 

[gmc2003]

I agree, Al just posted a small brisket thread a week or so ago. Following his advice is best route to go. Also you should've probably posted this in the Beef forum instead of the cheese making forum for a better response.

Chris

 

[SmokinAl]

Well you heard from the guys, and I guarantee that my method will work for a small well trimmed brisket.
I also moved this to the beef section.
Al

 

[tallbm]

Hello from Philadelphia---home of the E-A-G-L-E-S!

Bought a BGE last year, have done many burns to learn, still learning to control temp, etc. Great way to kill an afternoon listening to a ball game and having a few cocktails.

First Brisket time---have been reading, planning, and the bride came home today with a present---prime brisket---6.02 lbs on the label! OK...time to belly up to the Egg

I wasn't sure of the size..only the 2 of us and 6 lbs a lot. So decided to cut in 2---DID NOT WEIGH IT ahead of time. Cut diagonally to keep general shapes...weighed to see how good I was...

I did well...except the total weight is 5 lbs...the store must have weighed it, trimmed (it was trimmed pretty well) and charged for the whole. My dumbaXX mistake.

At $7.00/lb not going to abandon it...so here's the issue

I have 2 trimmed pieces of brisket...appx 2.5 lbs each. I did the mustard/rub prep and into a vacuum seal bag for a day or so. Today is Wed so looking at either Sat or Sun.

Any advice on heat/time appx? I was planning 250 but open to more experienced folks opinions. Read Aaron Franklins epistle and he says 1 hr 15 mins appx/lb. I am assuming since I halved the 5 lb I am looking at a time that is for each sep...vs 5 lbs, now for 2.5. Yes?

I will appreciate any/all advice (yeah, I know---weigh the thing next time advice tip #1)

Thanks for reading.

Hi there and welcome!

As others have posted you shouldn't go wrong with SmokinAl's approach.
If you are wanting more of an Aaron Franklin style I would highly recommend you smoke and once you hit 160-170F Internal Temperature (IT) you wrap that sucker in foil with a little liquid of your choice (beer, whine, broth, etc.).

Brisket is done when it is tender. At an IT of 198F or so stab all over with a toothpic and if it goes in with no resistance it is done, if not then close it back up in the foil and cook for 1-2 more degrees and check again. I find most of my briskets done 202-204F IT. Again it is done when the toothpic tenderness test tells you it is done.

Now, this approach will get you closer to an Aaron Franklin or Texas style brisket but understand that the liquid and foil wrapping are necessary because what you have is the Flat only, it is highly trimmed, and it is small.
Flats are the problem child of the brisket and must be managed appropriately.

Again this is for a more Aaron Franklin or TX style brisket that has a larger margin of failure where SmokinAl's approach would actually be an easier fool proof approach for great tasting brisket but not exactly like what you see in Franklin's book. Which is a great read!

I hope this info helps :)