Trying my first brisket.

bjkdlr

Cooking my first ever brisket tomorrow night. I am planning to use the recipe in the Big Green Egg Cookbook for brisket with kale on pg. 307. Has anyone made this before, and have any reasons why I shouldn't follow the recipe exactly?

Here is what I have done so far. 1st, I bought a 17+ pound packer brisket, which is way to big for the recipe, the number of people I am cooking for, and I don't know if I could have fit it in the egg. So I cut about a 6 pound section of the flat, which seems to be what the recipe uses, and then I will cook the rest on a later date. 2nd, I trimmed the fat off, leaving about 1/16 to 1/8 thickness of at along the backside. 3rd, I notched one corner, so I could tell which direction the grain runs, so I can be sure to cut against the grain, and coated the whole brisket with the rub and put in the fridge covered until tomorrow.

Recipe says start at 275 for 30 mins per side, then lower to 225 and cook for 6 hours until internal temp is 190 before removing and resting. Plan to use hickory chips for this.

Wish me luck.

markprewitt

I would only suggest that you lower the temperature and stretch out the time.  I have found that if you keep all smoked meats between 180-200 degrees, you will NOT overcook them.  I just did a 16 lb brisket on ~185-190 for 18.5 hours.  It is much more tender and flavorful than when I did it for 6-8 hours total. With yours only being 6 pounds off of the flat, I would defintely not go over 200 degrees nor would I worry about flipping the meat (unless you are not using a plate setter....which you should be).  Hope all turns out well!!

lousubcap

@ markprewitt-what is the source for your mentioned temps (dome or grid)?  Reason I'm interested is that I can't figure out how you could cook a brisket to somewhere in the 190's if the heat-source is running less than that...Interesting that every brisket flat (about all I can get) takes around 1.8-2.0 hrs/# with around 250-260*F on a calibrated dome thermo.  Been consistent for years...Cooking to finish temp will not overcook meat no matter how fast or slow you get there. 

markprewitt

It is a dome thermometer, and the internal temp of the brisket gets to ~180 degrees.  I use an internal probe/monitor to check long term smoking items.  Never had an issue so far, and all meats are succulent and juicy.....and yes, cooking too high can cause the meat to overcook and be less juicy.  Cooking between 180-200 will almost guarantee that to never happen....it just takes a little more patience and preparation.

bjkdlr

@ markprewitt-what is the source for your mentioned temps (dome or grid)?  Reason I'm interested is that I can't figure out how you could cook a brisket to somewhere in the 190's if the heat-source is running less than that...Interesting that every brisket flat (about all I can get) takes around 1.8-2.0 hrs/# with around 250-260*F on a calibrated dome thermo.  Been consistent for years...Cooking to finish temp will not overcook meat no matter how fast or slow you get there. 

only 2 hours to get to done? that seems really fast, worried about when to start it now, because the recipe says a total of 7 hours. 30 minutes on each side at 275, and that is without the place setter. And then put the place setter in and cook for 6 more hours at 225. I know a lot of people say you cant overcook bbq, but I dont want the meat done at 2:00 when we are eating at 6:30 either.

markprewitt

I would say that the 30 minutes each side at 250-275 may be ok, but I would drop it down to 200 max for the next 6 hours.  That is just my opinion though.

bjkdlr

Thanks Mark, I will try it and post how it turns out

lousubcap

@bjkdlr-that's 1.8-2.0 hrs/#-so a six pounder works out to 2*6= around 12 hrs...

bjkdlr

@bjkdlr-that's 1.8-2.0 hrs/#-so a six pounder works out to 2*6= around 12 hrs...

ok thanks, completly missed the per pound. Makes way more sense now

markprewitt

No worries, I hope everything turns out great!!  Here is a pic of the 2-16 lb Boston Butts and a 16 lb Beef Brisket (middle) that I cooked 3 weeks ago.....they all turned out great!!  Just make sure you get a good season-packing on the outside (pat, don't rub) of the meat.

 

Little Steven

@ markprewitt-what is the source for your mentioned temps (dome or grid)?  Reason I'm interested is that I can't figure out how you could cook a brisket to somewhere in the 190's if the heat-source is running less than that...Interesting that every brisket flat (about all I can get) takes around 1.8-2.0 hrs/# with around 250-260*F on a calibrated dome thermo.  Been consistent for years...Cooking to finish temp will not overcook meat no matter how fast or slow you get there. 

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