bgaviator
Smoking Fanatic
- May 9, 2010
- 423
- 467
I just pulled out of the freezer a 4.3 lb brisket that I got from Trader Joe’s back in August of last year. Yes, I’m just getting around to cooking it, mostly cause I forgot about it. But I figured it would be a good Memorial Day cook. Anyhow, despite my family loving the last two I’ve made, I’ve not been completely happy with the two I’ve done prior that were exactly like this piece. It’s to the point where I’m starting to question if I’m really even that big of a brisket fan!
I’m going to post a series of questions/problems I’ve had with my previous cooks and I was wondering if you could help me get this done better?
First thing’s first...this is just a Point piece based on the pics, correct? I’ve always assumed it was since it was more rounded like a roast, but Trader Joe’s doesn’t label as “point”. They just label it as brisket. But considering they had other pieces that were thinner and flat, I assumed they were selling the flat and point separate and this is a point piece? I only ask because in some vids I’ve watched on YouTube of people cooking just points, theirs look a little flatter than this. So this is leading to my confusion about what cut this is.
Next, let’s talk about time/temp. If I remember correctly last two I did at 275°. I did not wrap at all as I wanted a nice bark. This time I have a roll of butcher paper on hand I want to try using. I’ve grossly mis-timed my last two cooks in which I didn’t even have time to give the meat a rest cause I was so far behind on dinner. Is 275° still a good temp to run at? What kind of timing can I expect for this 4.3 lb piece of meat? I cook on a Kamado Joe btw.
cooking on a KJ leads me to my next question. Spritzing. Yes or no? I have always had trouble getting good bark to form using the KJ in general I think because it’s already such a moist cooking environment. I tried spritzing meat during one cook and I felt like it did nothing. My bark was goopy and the meat looked plenty moist so I wasn’t really sure if I was helping or hurting by spritzing. So is this a yay or nay for a Kamado?
next I want to talk about resting. Sounds like from feedback I’ve gotten on here on my past cooks, I’m doing a great disservice by not letting the brisket rest. This is my fault for underestimating how long the cook will take. I’d like to be able to do a proper rest this time so that’s why I asked about approximate timing. I seem to get confused about resting vs holding meat. I see some guys say they “rest” their meat in a cooler with towels...but isn’t that just really holding meat to be served later if it happens to get done too early? I’ve seen others say a proper rest is on the counter at room temp and it can be anywhere from 1-2 hours. I see a lot of people wait until the meat had cooled to around 150° before they’ll slice it. Can anyone provide clarification about what the proper procedure is? Thanks for all your assistance on this upcoming cook.
I’m going to post a series of questions/problems I’ve had with my previous cooks and I was wondering if you could help me get this done better?
First thing’s first...this is just a Point piece based on the pics, correct? I’ve always assumed it was since it was more rounded like a roast, but Trader Joe’s doesn’t label as “point”. They just label it as brisket. But considering they had other pieces that were thinner and flat, I assumed they were selling the flat and point separate and this is a point piece? I only ask because in some vids I’ve watched on YouTube of people cooking just points, theirs look a little flatter than this. So this is leading to my confusion about what cut this is.
Next, let’s talk about time/temp. If I remember correctly last two I did at 275°. I did not wrap at all as I wanted a nice bark. This time I have a roll of butcher paper on hand I want to try using. I’ve grossly mis-timed my last two cooks in which I didn’t even have time to give the meat a rest cause I was so far behind on dinner. Is 275° still a good temp to run at? What kind of timing can I expect for this 4.3 lb piece of meat? I cook on a Kamado Joe btw.
cooking on a KJ leads me to my next question. Spritzing. Yes or no? I have always had trouble getting good bark to form using the KJ in general I think because it’s already such a moist cooking environment. I tried spritzing meat during one cook and I felt like it did nothing. My bark was goopy and the meat looked plenty moist so I wasn’t really sure if I was helping or hurting by spritzing. So is this a yay or nay for a Kamado?
next I want to talk about resting. Sounds like from feedback I’ve gotten on here on my past cooks, I’m doing a great disservice by not letting the brisket rest. This is my fault for underestimating how long the cook will take. I’d like to be able to do a proper rest this time so that’s why I asked about approximate timing. I seem to get confused about resting vs holding meat. I see some guys say they “rest” their meat in a cooler with towels...but isn’t that just really holding meat to be served later if it happens to get done too early? I’ve seen others say a proper rest is on the counter at room temp and it can be anywhere from 1-2 hours. I see a lot of people wait until the meat had cooled to around 150° before they’ll slice it. Can anyone provide clarification about what the proper procedure is? Thanks for all your assistance on this upcoming cook.
