Long Brisket... small smoker Question

[effie]

Just curious to know what the preference is on handling longer meats like a brisket.  I have a small bullet type smoker with a 15" diameter grate.  Most full briskets are 20"+ long.

fyi, getting a bigger smoker is not an option yet... :-)

Smoked 1 brisket, some steaks, and 1 small ham so far... folded the brisket last time (looked kind of like a tail)

Thanks,

Greg

 

[rbranstner]

I've cut mine in half to get it onto the smoker before  but that was before I had heard of the folding trick. So when you fold it does it take longer to come up to temp since it is technically kind of thicker? If you had a 4 inch thick brisket and you fold it in half do you now have a 8 inch thick brisket which will take longer?

 

[effie]

I can't really say if it took longer... previous briskets were roasted in a pan in the oven without folding.  On my last one (first smoked brisket) I took the narrowest portion and folded it up and over... so it was only +- 8" long portion folded over leaving its overall length at about the maximum I could fit on the grate.

It was an interesting brisket.  I asked the butcher (at the grocery store) for a smallish packer cyrovac... He came up with a 6.x lbs brisket cyrovac...  I could not easily discern a point versus flat.  I think it was possibly a flat only... I assumed it would have a point and flat, but I knew they were typically 10 lbs+- . The part near the fold fell apart when slicing like a point would but I found no specific fat layer between a flat and point like normal.  I cooked it about 10.5 hours to about an internal temp of 175 or so before pulling, wrapping, and resting in a towel laden cooler.  Flavor was good, but I would like it more moist.  This was not too unexpected as I cooked fat side down, no mopping, no wrapping in foil except for resting.

#2 I will follow closer to Jeff's latest newsletter... smoke until 150, wrap with foil, add broth, cook until 200... then finish up with some burnt ends on the grill.

 

[cricky101]

I've used my beer can chicken holder to prop up the center of a too-long brisket before. I put the holder on the rack and then lay the brisket over the top so the middle is raised up and the edges are then pulled in from the edge. After a few hours in the smoker it has usually shrunk enough to put it down flat, or sometimes I don't even bother and just let it cook laying over the rack the whole time.

 

[bama bbq]

Though I have the 22" WSM and haven't had to prop one up, I've seen others use a brick wrapped in foil and humped it up the way cricky101 uses his beer can chicken holder.

 

[rtbbq2]

Interesting idea....Don't know why it wouldn't work....

 

[dlnida]

just out of curiosity, what if you laid it on edge, looping it on itself. kinda like a standing rib roast?  just a wild eyed thought... maybe pin the overlap with a skewer?

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I wouldn't fold it...it takes away the intact whole muscle nature of the brisket by placing 2 exterior surfaces against each other (which could have surface bacterial contamination), and getting internal temps from 40-140* in 4hrs could be a challenge, to say the least.

For another option to go along with what's mentioned above, check this thread on how I did over a 12lbr in my Brinkmann Gourmet charcoaler (from my sig line):

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/98672/12lb-brisket-in-brinky-gourmet-trim-separation-w-q-view

That was a while back and I had to graze through it quick to refresh my memory...pre-smoke brisket point/flat separation, burnt ends, and a spin-off of Dutch's Wicked Beans are all in that thread. I did a lean trim of the brisket that time, but I would leave the fat-cap on if I did it all over again...just trim a bit thinner on the point while leaving as much meat covered as possible on the flat and point cuts. This is a 2-grate smoke, with each cut on one grate, and part of the flat cut off, with the remains fitted on the grate with the point. It's do-able this way, and no worries about the 40-140*/4-hr rule.

Eric