First brisket for the Super Bowl

[blackcloud]

I have been smoking for a couple of years now but I haven't smoked a brisket yet. I'm going to smoke one Sunday. EST time to eat around 7. I picked up a 16lb brisket and I figure on getting up at 5am, smoking by 6am at 220*, and hopefully done around 6pm. I am going for the 190* done temperature for pulled beef. A couple of questions.Should I split the flat and point before or after cooking? And how will it affect cooktime if I split first? I've read about collecting the juices from the brisket, do I need to cook in a pan or on a rack? I'm guessing it should be on a rack and collect the juice from when I wrap it in foil. Any suggestions for my timeline?

 

[lookwow]

Well first off the guide for PP and brisket is 1.5 hours per lb for cooking time. So that is closer to 24 hours plus you want some time to rest so you might want to start the night before if you want it done. Remember you can always throw it in a cooler for hours and it will stay hot.

As for foil i am going to put mine in a foil pan and cover at 165 IT and then take it to 195 for slicing.Should be more then enough juice int he pan for whatever you would want to do.

 

[blackcloud]

I hadn't even considered it taking 24hrs. Should I cook it whole then?

 

[jwsailor]

sounds like I should have read this first. Just cam back from the store with a 13 pound brisket for Super Bowl Sunday(I had no idea it was  one and a half hours per pound) next time it will be smaller. Been smoking for years on my horizontal grill with the offset firebox but never done a brisket. well, I broke down and bought an electric smoker. Now the question is do I use water in the smoker for the brisket or dry smoke?? 

 

[SmokinAl]

Briskets tend to stall & when I smoke them I usually calculate time at 2 hours per pound, that would include resting it in foil wrapped in towels. I also take foil mine at 165 then take to 205. They still slice nicely, but are a little more tender. You may want to split it before you smoke it. The point is better for pulling & the flat is better for slicing, and since you will have a smaller piece of meat the cook time will be shortened somewhat. If it gets done too soon it will stay hot wrapped in towels in a dry cooler for 6+ hours. 

 

[jwsailor]

thanks Al, I take it the point is the thicker end?

 

[smoke 2 geaux]

I did a 16lb packer a couple weeks ago, and it was ready in 14 hours, plus a couple hours to rest.  They really vary in cooking time.  You may want to get started Saturday evening to give yourself enough time.  Since you have an electric smoker, you can just set your alarm and get up and check on er every 3 or 4 hours.  I would use the H20 pan because it acts as a heat shield, so you don't get all that raw heat on your meat and burn the bottom of your brisket.  And yes, the point is the thick end.

 

[redneck69]

i smoked a 9 lber and 2 8 lbers on monday, i was figuring for a 24 hour smoke and it took about 13 1/2 hours to get all three to 205.  i double wrapped at 165 and added some beef broth and went from there.  i allowed the meat to rest for a few hours before i pulled it.  i used a MES40 and set the temp at 215 and had water, worchetershire sauce and chopped up onions in the water pan.

 

[mrrmobile]

When I smoke Brisket, I separate the flat and point and trim all but 1/4" +/- of the fat off.  It usually takes about 20 hours smoking time for me at 225 deg.  I take mine out at 205 deg.  But I don't cover mine with foil either, but it depends on the type of smoker you have.  My MES 40 keeps a lot of moisture in the meat and that's why I don't cover with foil.  Once they are done, I will slice the flat and cut up the point into 2" chunks, put some more rub on it and stick it back in the smoker for about 3 more hours at 225 deg.  It makes some REAL GOOD burnt ends!!!  They are well worth the extra time and effort.  Also, when I put my rub on, I will put an extra layer of cracked black pepper on the outside.  Pepper and beef just really go well together.  Happy smoking and best of luck to you!

 

[mballi3011]

I have smoked enough briskets (like most of us here) to sink a small boat. Now they are all different and smoke at their own times. You smoke them the same way everytime and no 2 will smoke the same. I always trim the fat cap only (thats the hard part) and I leave all the other fat on the brisket. After all I'm a firm believer in FAT is FLAVOR. Use your favorite rub the night before.Then into the smoker till this thing get to a temp of 165° and then wrap it in some heavy duty foil. You go right back into the smoker and take it to 195° for slicing and 205° for pulling. Then after you take it out of the smoker you want to put it into a dry cooler for atleast an hour more if you can. Now you can leave it in the cooler for as long as 4-5 hours if needs be. So give it a shot and let us know how it all comes out and don't forget the Q-view.

 

[SmokinAl]

Yes. If you search the wikis or ytube there is detailed info on how to separate the two.
 

thanks Al, I take it the point is the thicker end?

 

[jwsailor]

Man, am I glad I found this site. I seperated my brisket just like the pictures showed. I have had them in the smoker about four and a half hours, they look so good and smell even better, internal temp is up to 157 already. I plan on wraping them at 165 and let them go. I may be ready a little early, but I have my ice chest and towels standing by.

 

[SmokinAl]

Way to go. Sounds like you have it goin on. Just remember to post some pics when it's done (Qview).

 

[jwsailor]

After six and a half hours MES neat probe read 162. Checked with my old probe read 166, so I pulled them out wrapped them in foil and put them back on,. It was 11:30pm. When a woke up next morning at 5:00am the MES probe read 210 so I took them out, wrapped them with more foil, towels and placed them both in an ice chest with plenty of more towels. I planned on reheating them in the oven at 3:00pm so they could warm, rest and eat them at 5:00pm. Well at 3 they were still hot so I served them at 4:45 they were still warm enough to eat without heating again. They came out great beautiful color and great taste. As I sat watching the super bowl I realized I forgot to take pictures. But anyway they came out great and it was a great learning experience. Many thanks for all the helpfull info, I learned a lot from this site and experience. I would have never known how to seperate this 13 pound brisket or any of the other steps without this site. Again many thanks.

All together it took 12 hours and 15 minutes to cook this 13 pound brisket(seperated flat from point)

 

[SmokinAl]

No photo's?  

  That's OK I'm glad everything came out good. Just hope your a Packer fan!