Labor Day Brisket

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

I am entertaining at my place Sunday.
I am smoking a whole flat and a half a flat on the WSM 18”.

Last time my half a flat took about 9.5 hrs. I think I’m cut to go the whole flat in two and put all three on the smoker as separate pieces.

I’m a little nervous about the timing though. We plan to eat at 1 pm (Mountain Time).

so should I start the smoker at 8 pm Saturday night? Or at midnight? Please advise here.

full size flat is 7.52 lbs
half a flat is 3.25 lbs

Total: 10.77 lbs of brisket

These aren’t overly thick as they are just typical cuts from King Soopers grocery store.

If it gets done early I can always wrap in foil and towels and throw in a cooler and keep it warm and ready. I don’t really want to go past 1:30 pm for the food to be ready

 

[Chasdev]

The one key factor you don't offer is cook grate temp, how hot you cook it will dictate how long it will take.
If you cook at 225, expect to tend the fire for 16 or more hours.
If you cook at 350, expect it to take half that long, or less.
In any case when the internal temp hits 160/170, wrap it in foil or butcher paper and when internal temp hits just under 200, start probing for tenderness with a chopstick or other similar device and pull it when it's "probe tender".
If you have the time, placing the meat in an insulated cooler or a holding oven set at 160 for a few hours after pulling will help tenderize it, and will allow you to prepare in advance and still serve hot brisket.
Remember that hot meat continues to cook after pulling so if you intend to "hold" it for several (or more) hours, you might consider pulling and placing in oven or cooler before it is fully cooked, say around 195 as opposed to around 205 (just an example, not instructions).
If you are going to serve close to the time it's finished, let it cool on the counter for an hour, still wrapped.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

Ok...but what time should I aim to start smoking at?

 

[TNJAKE]

A 7lb flat isn't gonna take you 16hr. I'd plan on 10-12 max. I'd smoke till it hits stall then put in a pan with some good beef broth and cover to finish. Put it on at midnight and you should be fine. This should allow you to finish early at the very worse. Then you can hold in cooler until slice time. You will need to put the smaller piece on a few hours into the cook so they can finish close to same time without the smaller overcooking. Keep an eye on your pit and don't fall asleep and let your fire go out. Keep it between 225 and 250 and you'll be just fine on time. Good luck Hannah

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

A 7lb flat isn't gonna take you 16hr. I'd plan on 10-12 max. I'd smoke till it hits stall then put in a pan with some good beef broth and cover to finish. Put it on at midnight and you should be fine. This should allow you to finish early at the very worse. Then you can hold in cooler until slice time. You will need to put the smaller piece on a few hours into the cook so they can finish close to same time without the smaller overcooking. Keep an eye on your pit and don't fall asleep and let your fire go out. Keep it between 225 and 250 and you'll be just fine on time. Good luck Hannah

thanks Jake! You’re always super helpful. Much appreciated.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

And here we go. Dry rub marinating for 12 hours.

I’ll inject with beef broth about 8 pm.
Starting the fire in the smoker at 11:40 pm.
Briskets go on at 12:00 a.m.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

injected the briskets with beef bouillion at 8:00 pm. The darker one is MSG free broth as a friend has bad reactions to it. Lighting the fire in about an hour.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

Briskets went on at 12:05 AM MDT. Only 5 mins behind schedule. Had a slight mixup with grates being on the wrong level.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

A pit check and added some briquets and a few small slivers of hickory. I can never get enough of that hickory flavor and smell. 3:05:00 into the smoke. Meat temps at 153°. Pit temp holding steady at 268°

Will re-assess at 0530 hours.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

Well the briskets hit 196° at 7:48:18. Didn’t see that one coming. They never hit a stall either. Didn’t see that coming either. Pulled them wrapped in foil and put in the oven at 170° till 9 am. Then I’ll wrap in towels and stick in the cooler until 1 pm.

 

[TNJAKE]

Looks like y'all are gonna have some good eats!

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

I seem to recall that you were thinking about going with a different somker?
I am glad you stuck with the WSM because you're turning out some good looking Q on it.

 

[hardcookin]

Brisket is done when it's done. That's what makes things difficult.
Better early than late. They can always rest...Nice Smoke!!

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

Not happy with the results at all.

it came out tender but dry. I think my fire was too hot and I used too much salt. Dried it out.

ribs came out halfway decent.

 

[Berettaclayshooter]

My advice would be not to cut whole pieces like your flat unless you have to. That's a place for juices to escape that aren't part of that whole muscle. Also at the 160F. mark wrap in butcher paper, this does 2 things, It helps with a stall (I know you didn't have one) and that it keeps things moist but doesn't mess up your bark like foil. Also a water pan ALWAYS.

 

[BB-que]

don’t worry we’ve all been there with brisket. One thing I’ll say is that in my experience, if you don’t give your brisket 30 minutes on the counter before you rest, its gonna over cook - unless you’re pulling a little early to account for the carry over . I used to be amazed at how 3 hours in a cooler with towels used to cook the heck out of it. Now it sits on the counter for a bit before the rest/warmer and no more dry brisket. Again, just my experience.