First Flat! Heeelp!!!

Grillmagic

Hey fun seekers I own a 6.06 pound choice Brisket flat and would love to eat around 5:00 PM this Sunday serving 7 to 9 people. I plan on a basic salt and pepper rub (A bunch of it) and hope to do a low and slow at 250 with the platesetter in legs up and drip pan. Ideally I would love to FTC around 3 PM and need all the input I can get. I have looked at many posts including the Dr. BBQ video on the start up page of this forum and the Travis method and I am still not sure what I should do, (I forgot to mention I would love to golf between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM which means I would be 20 minutes form my XL between those times with a very helpful wife that can update me via cell phone. WHAT HAVE I DONE AND SHOULD I BAIL ON THE GOLF? I am a newbie with 800/900 ponds of lump through my XL but this is my first Brisket, I have such great past cooks I don't want to screw this up. Any help on what time and temp would be of great help.

Big Thanks.

Chuck

www.chuckkingcomedy.com  

henapple

Around during 6_9 hours...

TexanOfTheNorth

I think the first question is... will you be too worried about your brisket to enjoy your round of golf?

If you're confident about being able to hold the cooking temp you want then everything should go smoothly. You can get the flat on by 8:00am and (hopefully) be back home in time to take it off and FTC.

lousubcap

The following comments are based on 250*F calibrated dome temp.  If you plan to run 250 at the grate then your cook should go a little quicker.  Also you need to decide what method you are going to use for the cook as there is a cook-time difference between approaches.  And regardless of what is written here, each brisket will be "done when it's done" and not when the cook plans for it.

I do not use the Travis method and don't recall the Dr. BBQ approach, but if you put a 6# flat on a LBGE at 250*F on the dome I plan for 9-12 hours to get to where a probe in the thickest part of the flat feels like going thru butter-that's when it's done.  Then FTC til ready to slice and eat.  FWIW-

Here's an eggcellent read on brisket cooks-also check out Bubba Tim.

http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html

 

 

 

Grillmagic

Thanks everyone, I plan on trimming it up a day in advance then season and wrap till Sunday morning, I plan on getting the egg going around 6AM and stable 250 dome with some apple wood for smoke and on the grill by 7:00/7:30 AM

henapple

No golf then...

Grillmagic

henapple said:

No golf then...

You are correct sir no golf, I have had such great cooks with friends and family that I sure hope this goes well, hell I don't even know what you serve with Brisket. I will be serving ab'ts and pig shots.

TexanOfTheNorth

Grillmagic said:

henapple said:

No golf then...

You are correct sir no golf, I have had such great cooks with friends and family that I sure hope this goes well, hell I don't even know what you serve with Brisket. I will be serving ab'ts and pig shots.

Cole slaw, potato salad, tater tots, twice baked taters, grilled sweet potato, mac & cheese, baked beans, corn on the cob... just a few suggestions.

ads75

Grillmagic

Well it's on, I put the 6 pound flat on at 8:00 AM. at 3 hours in I believe it's stable at 260 dome it jumped to 290/300 in the first hour. I do not have a probe in it and will be checking it with the thermo pen for the first time at 12:00 I hope to eat at 5:30/6:00 How am I doing ?

Grillmagic

Just thermo penned at 12:30 and it was 160, I plan on checking again at 2:00 which will be 6 hr's total and I may foil with a little broth

TexanOfTheNorth

Sounds like things are moving ahead nicely. You are approaching stall temp so the IT may hold steady for a while once you get to it.

You really should look at getting a remote read dual probe thermometer. It makes keeping up with temps a whole lot easier.

Don't forget to post some pictures of the end results.

Grillmagic

162 at 6 hrs holding around 160 dome, I need to eat by 5:30 6:00 which is 3 1/2  to 4  hrs. I am still undecided about wrapping in foil?

TexanOfTheNorth

So you've been around 160 IT for at least 1 1/2 hours. 160* dome temp is way too low; I'm going to assume that was a typo. If not you need to be up to 225* or higher.

You're going to want to allow at least an hour for FTC so factor that in to your time.

Grillmagic

Typo on the 160 should have read 260, I just thermopenned it and I am at 7 hrs cooking and a IT of 168, Should I  raise the temp to 275/300 or should I Foil. I am with you on letting it rest for at least a hour, eating time not all that critical 6:00 to 6:30 which is 3 to 3 1/2 hours from now.

Thanks TexanOfTheNorth

Foghorn

Because it is just a flat, I would vote for foil.  I have a hard time cooking a moist flat if I don't foil.

TexanOfTheNorth

Foiling certainly won't hurt and it may help get you to the finish line on time.

Grillmagic

Foiled and back on, any thoughts on my temp I am still running 260 dome

TexanOfTheNorth

I've never foiled so I can't say for sure. Do a search for Texas Crutch and see what you can find.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

TexanOfTheNorth said:

Grillmagic said:

henapple said:

No golf then...

You are correct sir no golf, I have had such great cooks with friends and family that I sure hope this goes well, hell I don't even know what you serve with Brisket. I will be serving ab'ts and pig shots.

Cole slaw, potato salad, tater tots, twice baked taters, grilled sweet potato, mac & cheese, baked beans, corn on the cob... just a few suggestions.

White bread and pickles.

Foghorn

Grillmagic said:

Foiled and back on, any thoughts on my temp I am still running 260 dome

Anything under 300 is good.  I wouldn't change a thing.  The foil will speed things up enough.

Grillmagic

I foiled at 3:30 when it was about 170 IT and at 5:00 it was 205 in the foil. I pulled and coolered it and hope to slice around 6:00. I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks everyone.

brzelt

We are patiently waiting on the results..... :((

Grillmagic

No pic's I still don't know how to download them. It went well and tasted great, I foiled at 3:30 with a IT of 170 which was 7 1/2 hours into the cook with the dome stable at 260 95% of the time. I didn't check the foiled flat until 5:00 pm and I am glad I did as it was at 205 IT, I put it in the cooler for 1 hr while we got everything else ready. It sliced perfectly against the grain. I bought some nice buns and no one used them. Thanks to everyone that responded as it was a work in progress and I did review this post the entire cook. Packer here I come! 

TexanOfTheNorth

Well done @Grillmagic. 

We all remember our first brisket (some more fondly than others). The newness of the experience; having a pretty good idea of what you need to do from looking at pictures, watching videos, discussing it with "the guys". You're always a little nervous that you won't get it just right and that the experience may turn out a little less rewarding than you've always imagined it would. 

And then, there's those on the receiving end. Will you stand up to their expectations and will they be satisfied with the results? How will your performance compare with their past experience(s)? It's a lot of pressure!

Glad you pulled it off!

brzelt

Nice!

NPHuskerFL

I start prep on my briskets 24-48 hrs in advance. I trim (slightly). Inject with plenty of apple juice or apple cider, rub down with mustard, then dry rub with "country boy rub" (it's a rub I get from a local butcher) and mix it with light brown sugar. Then I wrap it in cellophane and put it in the refrigerator. Day of cook I pull out of refrigerator to let it get to room temp before putting in BGE. I I smoke with lump and chunks of apple wood at 225F-275F roughly 45min-1hr per# I DO NOT cover with aluminum foil as I have done it this way and we enjoy the bark and it has been a consistent family and friend crowd pleaser. The piece here is a #15 full packer. Next time I will do a flat of 6#-9# as the packer is a bit much for us to consume and I like the leaness of the flat vs packer.
>>>Hope your flat rocks! and don't forget to post pics.

nolaegghead

There are some benefits to starting to cook the meat while it's fresh out of the fridge in the 32-40F range. 

1. You can get a better smoke ring.
2. Meat is in the "safety" temp zone more.
3. Takes forever (> 10 hours) to let the temp of a thick roast to rise to room temp.

http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_letting_meat_come_to_room_temp.html

NPHuskerFL

Ok ok...I agree :-D. What I should've said was I take out of refrigerator because we need the room desperately and put on grille with meat at probably close to 41F (considering it comes out at roughly 35F)...yes I have a Taylor probe in cooler and freezer area...creature of habit I guess. Again I DO restaurant repairs etc so am very sound on keeping food in green zone both hot and cold. But, excellent point nolaegghead.