Small brisket flat questions

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Time means nothing....temperature is what counts. It could be 1 hour per pound or 2 or whatever, doesn't matter. Cook to 160° or so, foil and then to 200° or so and rest. It may take 4 hours or it may take 10 hours, but you can't cook low and slow with a timer.
 
This is a great thread and timely.  I'm thinking of doing the same thing but have a different end game.  I love making smokehouse chili out of leftover brisket.  We're camping this weekend and don't have any leftovers to use.  Was thinking of getting a small 2-3lber to smoke then throw into the Crock Pot with the rest of the chili ingredients.  Question for the group...since it will be in the Crock Pot for ~10 hours...does the brisket need to be at that 200F mark or can it be less and will finish in the pot with all the other liquids and solids?
 
Glad I ran across this thread. 

I bought a Prime packer the other day. Trimmed it up, the point kept a little fat, the flat got cut into halves, one was trimmed of all fat, the other kept a thin layer as well.

Point and lean half of the flat are curing at the moment. The flat will be made into corned beef - boiled, which is why I removed the fat, so it doesn't get all gummy and icky. The point is going on the smoker to make pastrami for Christmas Day. Last year I did this with a slightly smaller piece I had picked up, and only had 5 days to cure it - ended up with a 2-3mm sliver in the middle that wasn't cured. And it came out TOUGH. I mean TOUGH... smoked to 203 internal, I don't know what the problem was. Also, very salty - only got to soak for about 8 hours before smoking. Time constraints. This year I am giving it more time.

Anyways, in relation to THIS topic, the other half of the flat I just threw on the smoker. I woke up this AM at 10 and thought it was going to be too late to cook this brisket flat. I salted it last night, left it in the fridge in a gallon Ziploc and thought I would throw it on at 6 or 7 this morning. Unfortunately, the Scotch caught up with me last night. I fell asleep around 2AM, I think, so was late getting up. The flat is pretty thin, probably just around 1.25", maybe 1.5" at the most. Total weight is 2lb 10oz.

Now that I know it isn't going to take 10-12 hours I am more comfortable putting it on. I threw it in the smoker at noon, temp is around 235 right now, outside temp is 26F with 15mph winds. Using a pellet smoker with apple pellets. Internal temp on the meat is already up in 15 minutes from 43 to 72. I am trying to decide if I want to pull it at 205 or so and then wrap and rest it for an hour or two in a faux cambro, or wrap it when it hits the stall and finish in the oven. 

I'm not a wrapping guy, mostly. I have done a ton of pork and only wrap my ribs when I pull them off the smoker, let them sit for 10-15 minutes and they are falling apart. Pork butts I have done a ton of, never get wrapped. Chuckies for pulled beef likewise.

I understand brisket is a different animal, really... I'm going to think about it, I've got a few hours before I make that choice. I'm open to ideas, if anyone is perusing the forum on this blustery day.

<edit> Oh, and I've got some bacon curing, I think I'ma put a couple of pieces of that on there, too. Been wanting to try homemade bacon for a long time, I've got about 5 lbs curing in ~1lb sections. They've been curing since Tuesday evening, so that's, what, like 84 hours or so now. I think they should be cured, they're fairly thin, too.
 
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Meh.... well, I did it to 203, took it off, wrapped it and kept it in the cambro for 2 hours. It wasn't great. Still a little tougher than I had hoped, very salty and too much pepper in the rub. I need to find a new rub, the Big Bad Beef Rub just isn't for me. I've tried it several times, and I don't think I need to try it any more.
 
 
Meh.... well, I did it to 203, took it off, wrapped it and kept it in the cambro for 2 hours. It wasn't great. Still a little tougher than I had hoped, very salty and too much pepper in the rub. I need to find a new rub, the Big Bad Beef Rub just isn't for me. I've tried it several times, and I don't think I need to try it any more.
Don't forget the probe test.  Temp is usually a decent indicator, but a probe sliding into the meat like warm butter is your best indicator.  Most of my briskets and chuck cuts are to my liking at 200F internal temp, but I've had some go much higher before they were tender.  I've had one never get tender.  Ended up cubing it and making chili. 

I'm a fan of keeping rubs simple on brisket: salt, pepper, onion, and garlic (SPOG).   
 
First time postimg on here. And I could be wrong but reading on how the brisket came out tuff. I think alot of how you cook in a smoker is trial and error. Alot factors in with just what type of smoker you are using. As far as what temp your cooking on. For instances if your using and electric smoker which in my opinion holds heat alot better 250 maybe to high and fast of a cooking temp. Also the amount of smoke your pumping into a piece of meat. In a electric smoker i tend to start a brisket at 250 for about the first hour. I feed it heavy smoke with wood chips. Then i drop it down to 225 and i give it no chips for the majority of the time. Right when i get close to the stall i give it one more big dose of smoke then i wrap it and drop my temp to 205. Then i let it cook. Once i hit that magic temp. Then i turn off smoker and let it sit in there as smoker cools. Then i let it sit a bit longer outside of smoker and its ready to go. Its important to find what works for type of smoker your using. When i started i read all types of story's. But learned that ultimately what worked for a normal smoker didnt work for a electric. After following directions for normal smokers. I found that my electric smoke was cooking food in about half the time. So its best to just mess around and see what happens. But as far as a brisket. It cant be rushed low and slow is only way. Hell ive even cooked alot of stuff at as low as 190 on my electric. It just is so well insulated. Hope this helps.
 
Does most everyone foil at 160-170 ? I got 2 7lb flats I was cooking tomorrow, and I wasn't prepared to foil, the only thing I have to foil with is tinfoil, and I read that it's not the best wrap, so does anyo e foil with tinfoil?
 
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