My 3 pound briskets

[Rinowski]

im new-ish to smoking but I’ve gotten fairly decent with my old home made offset smoker. The only brisket I’ve ever done was a packer cut which I ruined as it was the first time I’d ever attempted a smoke. I’ve learned a lot since and decided to give it another go feeling confident. My wife bought me two briskets but they’re 3 lb flats and I’m a bit worried about them drying out. Should’ve picked them myself. Anyway Tuesday night I’m going to run and inject (this will be my first time injecting) and Wednesday morning I will throw them on the smoker. Will update and add pics. Any advice for small flats appreciated

 

[Rinowski]

Here’s a pic of what I’m working with

 

[cooker613]

I’ve done numerous small briskets. The key, to me, is low low low and slow slow slow till ~160 then the crutch with a tablespoon or three of liquid. Seal tight and cook until tender, usually about 203. Good smoking.

 

[SmokinAl]

For a small flat like yours, I smoke them in a pan sitting in French onion soup.
I also baste them with the pan juice every 45 minutes or so.
You can flip them over halfway thru the smoke, but you won't need to cover them.
They always turn out nice & juicy for me. And the pan juice makes a great Au Jus!
Al

 

[Rinowski]

So last night I trimmed the hard fat off and peeled away some silver skin. Made rub of salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, onion powder and powdered beef bullion cubes. Injected with apple juice infused with a small amount of my rub. It sat in the fridge all night and has been on smoke at 225-250 for about an hour. Using charcoal briquettes and mesquite

 

[Rinowski]

I’m kind of concerned about the injection. I don’t know if it was a good idea to inject it the night before or not

 

[tallbm]

I’m kind of concerned about the injection. I don’t know if it was a good idea to inject it the night before or not

Hi there and welcome!

You will be ok. Like everyone is basically mentioning once you hit 160-165F internal temp (IT) just foil it, or pan it with some liquid and when it hits 200F IT or so go and probe it with a toothpick. The brisket is done when the toothpick goes in all over like butter. Pull and tightly double foile it and let it rest for a few hours wrapped in 2-3 towels. The rest is really important and when wrapped in towels or placed in a cooler it will keep nice and hot/warm for hours upon hours.

After 3-4 hours (I like 4 minimum) pull it out and slice it up and enjoy :)

 

[Rinowski]

Ya in the past I’ve had to rush through the rest period bc three kids all in sports and have a schedule to stick too. Should have plenty of rest time this go around

 

[Rinowski]

So I’m six hours in and my smaller of the two briskets is at 192. My bigger one is at 185 so they’re looking good. I only have one meat probe so I’m trying not to move it around too much and poke a bunch of holes in my meat and lose juice! I did notice after checking my bigger one and I went to put my probe back on the smaller one it was SUPER easy going in. Once it got to the middle there was a bit more resistance but it seems like everything is going good! ALSO IT IS VERY HARD to judge probe depth when your wrapped in foil! ( I wrapped at 160 which was almost exactly three hours into the cook.) any suggestions there?

 

[oddegan]

If it makes you feel any better I had to salvage my first 3 briskets in the crockpot before I got a handle on it.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Let us know how they turn out in the end!

I have a couple 4 pound flats in my freezer and was curious myself the best way to cook them.

 

[tallbm]

So I’m six hours in and my smaller of the two briskets is at 192. My bigger one is at 185 so they’re looking good. I only have one meat probe so I’m trying not to move it around too much and poke a bunch of holes in my meat and lose juice! I did notice after checking my bigger one and I went to put my probe back on the smaller one it was SUPER easy going in. Once it got to the middle there was a bit more resistance but it seems like everything is going good! ALSO IT IS VERY HARD to judge probe depth when your wrapped in foil! ( I wrapped at 160 which was almost exactly three hours into the cook.) any suggestions there?

Sounds like you are off to a good start.
I totally understand the whole not wanting to unwrap and probe over and over when foiling. This is why I mostly don't foil anything unless I want it to come out as "pulled" or "chopped" consistency hahahaha. With those you just let them go to like 208F and everything falls apart the way you want it too :)

If you do a whole packer brisket I would suggest not wrapping and just let it ride but first things first... get through this one, learn, and grow :)

 

[Rinowski]

So this was last night injected and rubbed

 

[Rinowski]

This is after three hours of mesquite smoke at 225-250

 

[Rinowski]

160• on the smaller one wrapped as soon as I took the pic ^

 

[Rinowski]

I’m at 198 on the smaller one right now. I just put them both in the oven after I wrapped so I can hold a more consistent temp. Soon as this small one hits 200 it’s being wrapped and put straight in the cooler. I’ll move my probe on to the bigger one and repeat. Will post pics of final product!

 

[Rinowski]

This is my smoker set up. It’s an old leaky smoker and the intake vent is seized so I leave it wide open. I use that little fan to control my airflow and temp. It actually works quite well. I use tin foil all around the lid and whatever else seam I need to fill. Not the best but I’ve got it where I can control it fairly well

 

[Rinowski]

Sounds like you are off to a good start.
I totally understand the whole not wanting to unwrap and probe over and over when foiling. This is why I mostly don't foil anything unless I want it to come out as "pulled" or "chopped" consistency hahahaha. With those you just let them go to like 208F and everything falls apart the way you want it too :)

If you do a whole packer brisket I would suggest not wrapping and just let it ride but first things first... get through this one, learn, and grow :)

I didn’t know you could let them go that high! I’m thinking I’ll probably just make sandwiches to help stretch the meat out maybe I should let them go? Nah I better stick to the plan this time! Next time I might try that!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Ya in the past I’ve had to rush through the rest period bc three kids all in sports and have a schedule to stick too. Should have plenty of rest time this go around

Resting, longer than 15min on the counter, is not only overrated it is unnecessary. Done is done and resting does not make it MORE DONE! Done is defined as probe tender, no resistance, and a few minutes for the juices to settle is all you need. The biggest fallacy is resting a butt to be pulled. You pull pork in a pan and mix in any meat juices and finishing sauce anyway so what difference does it make if you rest it? Cooler resting does have a place and is useful. If the most is ready but guests are not, place the meat in a cooler...BUT...A word of caution. The meat in the cooler is at a surface temp of 225+, it will continue to cook. If you achieve that magic that is brisket that is tender but sliceable and cooler rest it, you will likely end up with falling apart meat after a couple hours in the cooler. So practice your art then PPPPPPP no rest needed...JJ

 

[tallbm]

I’m at 198 on the smaller one right now. I just put them both in the oven after I wrapped so I can hold a more consistent temp. Soon as this small one hits 200 it’s being wrapped and put straight in the cooler. I’ll move my probe on to the bigger one and repeat. Will post pics of final product!

Remember it is done when it is tender by stabbing a toothpic in it and the toothpic slides in without resistance all over. You can more easily check this now that you have moved to the oven. Again temp with a brisket is a guide to start checking for tenderness and tenderness tells you when a brisket is done :)