Small brisket to get feet wet

[steves8860]

I saw this half off. Never did anything with a brisket. Only pork items and chicken thighs. Figured I would try brisket with this small piece. Says it's a flat cut custom trim.

Plan is to put at 225 and have a thermometer in the meat.

I saw some people put in a pan or on foil from the start. I figure this is small and I'll just put on the grate after salt and pepper seasoning.

When it hits 180 wrap in foil.
When it is around 190 or so check for tenderness. Maybe go to 205.

I want this for slicing just as a practice run.

Take out and rest it in a cooler or wrapped in towel for 30 minutes.

I figure on this one I'll start with wood chips and maybe go to pellets.
Should be a very short time.

Any thoughts for this?

 

[smokerjim]

your plan sounds good to me, wouldnt be afraid to up the temp a little unless ya want more time in the smoke

 

[sandyut]

your plan sounds good to me, wouldnt be afraid to up the temp a little unless ya want more time in the smoke

I was about to say the same thing. I started doing everything at 225, but learned (here) that just takes longer.

 

[sandyut]

One thing I would say too - flats can be more challenging than a full packer. If you have a grocery/Costco or where ever you shop that has a selection, you can usually find smaller full packers in the 10-12 lb range, once trimmed they would be a couple pounds less and these cook real nice. I cook for two here and these are ideal with lots to save for later.

 

[SmokyMose]

I saw this half off. Never did anything with a brisket. Only pork items and chicken thighs. Figured I would try brisket with this small piece. Says it's a flat cut custom trim.

Plan is to put at 225 and have a thermometer in the meat.

I saw some people put in a pan or on foil from the start. I figure this is small and I'll just put on the grate after salt and pepper seasoning.

When it hits 180 wrap in foil.
When it is around 190 or so check for tenderness. Maybe go to 205.

I want this for slicing just as a practice run.

Take out and rest it in a cooler or wrapped in towel for 30 minutes.

I figure on this one I'll start with wood chips and maybe go to pellets.
Should be a very short time.

Any thoughts for this?

Sounds like you've done your homework and have a solid plan.
I don't know what kind of smoker you're running but if you bump the heat up to 240 or so it wouldn't hurt.
Too low for too long can dry out a flat. They're tricky....

 

[tallbm]

I saw this half off. Never did anything with a brisket. Only pork items and chicken thighs. Figured I would try brisket with this small piece. Says it's a flat cut custom trim.

Plan is to put at 225 and have a thermometer in the meat.

I saw some people put in a pan or on foil from the start. I figure this is small and I'll just put on the grate after salt and pepper seasoning.

When it hits 180 wrap in foil.
When it is around 190 or so check for tenderness. Maybe go to 205.

I want this for slicing just as a practice run.

Take out and rest it in a cooler or wrapped in towel for 30 minutes.

I figure on this one I'll start with wood chips and maybe go to pellets.
Should be a very short time.

Any thoughts for this?

Your plan is pretty solid.
Like the others I would bump up my smoke temp as a brisket doesn't care.

Wrapping at 180F is a fantastic idea, you never want to wrap too early or you get roast beef instead of smoked brisket.

I wouldn't bother checking for tenderness on this Flat only until 200F. It's done only when it is tender all over.
When you wrap you may want to splash 1-2oz of water in there with it just to hedge your bets.

As for resting it may want to shred more than slice with only a 30 min rest. \
***IMPORTANT*** Try and plan to finish 3 hours early. Let it rest that whole time and then eat. At 275F smoker temp it takes a little over 1hr a pound or so for my full packers to start becoming tender, sometimes longer. The meat tenderness testing will let you know.

That's it man your plan plus this info and you can nail it!

 

[SmokinAl]

A small well trimmed flat is a very hard cook.
Good luck with this!
I have a step by step for those & you may want to look at it. It may give you some ideas.

BRISKET FLAT, MY WAY

It's no secret that a lot of folks have a problem smoking a small well trimmed brisket flat. I to had my struggles for a while, but a couple of years ago I found this method and have been using it ever since. So I would like to share my method with all of you. If you already are successful...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Al

 

[steves8860]

A small well trimmed flat is a very hard cook.
Good luck with this!
I have a step by step for those & you may want to look at it. It may give you some ideas.

BRISKET FLAT, MY WAY

It's no secret that a lot of folks have a problem smoking a small well trimmed brisket flat. I to had my struggles for a while, but a couple of years ago I found this method and have been using it ever since. So I would like to share my method with all of you. If you already are successful...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Al

I had already read that, and it was helpful.
Thanks!

 

[Brokenhandle]

These guys have ya covered and know what they're doing! Another thing to try if you're bored sometime... I bought a full packer, trimmed hard fat off, removed flat and cured then smoked it... beef bacon! Then I smoked the point on my kettle.

Ryan