Is brining the Brisket for 6 days going to be enough time? The brisket only weighs 4.8 pounds...
Just caught this thread, and I have a couple questions to get a better picture in my mind:
At 4.8lbs, is this a "center-cut" (trimmed flat cut)?
Will you be placing the brine/cure and brisket in a bucket or a large sealable plastic bag?
Assuming full recommended strength TQ solution is used for the brine/cure, 6 days
should be sufficient for a full cure on a trimmed flat cut of brisket (not to be confused with the point cut). If this is the trimmed center cut, 4.8lbs is from a fairly heavy packer (whole brisket), and mine have run into a week-long cure at 50% strength.
I don't consider a brine/cure to be finish until the texture and color stops changing, then I give it another day or two to be sure. haven't had one not get fully cured using this method. It's a touchy feeyl kinda thing, and I use bags, but a gallon ziploc isn't big enough for the average cut of flat or point, I've found, so I cut some off as needed and cure it in another bag as needed.
Generally speaking, in terms of time for a brine/cure such as pastrami, it's irrelevent, but used as a gauge for estimates. The cure isn't done until it feels firm for a few days and the color of the brine and meat stops changing. Also, I tend the meat/brine twice daily for optimal results. Probably not what you wanted to hear/read, but some variables can impact the actual time needed, so identifying what a fully cured flat cut of brisket feels and looks like is a more reliable way.
I hesitate to say with 100% certainty that a 4 to 1 ratio of TQ would, beyond any doubt, cure the meat in 6 days. I've never used full strength, but opted for a bit longer cure time with 50% or less (8 to 1 ratio), and in the earlier days of my pastrami quests, 25% strength (16 to 1), but I wouldn't advise anyone to go that low on concentration...that's pushing things a bit there.
Let me know if there's something in specific that you may not fully understand. Just remember, curing larger pieces of meat takes patience...it's a slow process and cannot be rushed.
Eric