First Briskett Tonight - Help

Jethro

I am going to attempt my first brisket tonight. It is a smaller piece 3.5 lbs rectangular in shape.[p]Is this a 7 hr cook @ about 235? Is it ready to serve when it reaches 190 internal or does it really need a rest period before serving and if so how long?[p]Thanks for your help in advance you folks are the best.[p]Keep em Smokin,
Jethro[p]Have a great weekend and tip one for our servicemen and women present and past.

Nature Boy

Howdy dude.
Them little guys seem to do best cooked at 215 at the cooking level, and 10 hours seems to be about how long it takes. Because it is cookin so slow, it is often done before it hits 190. Last little guy I did cooked 10 hours to reach a tender 178. The rest in foil really helps, and I'd go at least an hour for the rest.[p]When beer thirty rolls around, I'll be tipping one in memory of our servicemen, and to all who have served and are serving. We are lucky indeed.
Have fun with the mini-brisket!
Chris

Jethro

Thanks for the tips NB.

mad max beyond eggdome

Jethro,
i do a lot of these little brisket flats, and i've had great success with the 'five hour method'. . .night before the cook, i coat the brisket heavily in sugar (white or torbinado is fine as it will all melt in by morning)... in the morning i coat the brisket good with some more sugar and dizzy cowlick. ..into the egg (indirect) at 250 dome temp for 2 hours with a good chunk of wood for smoke . ..after two hours, wrap the brisket tightly in HDAF and put back in the egg at 350 degrees till internal temp hits around 195 -200 degrees).. depending on the brisket this will take anywhere from 2 - 3 hours. ..pull it from the egg and let rest, still wrapped for an hour or so. ..careful opening the foil, the juices that collect are fantastic served with the meat.. . by doing this method you remove any risk of drying out these small, fatless briskets. . while the texture is a little different than a brisket thats simply been smoked for 10 hours, its still not pot roast either. .. .and, you don't have to stay up all night, or get up early in the morning to have one ready for mid afternoon or dinner . .. [p]oh yea, i agree with you about tipping one for our servicemen, past and present. ..[p]guy on the right is my cousin herb. ..severely wounded during the battle of bulge in january 1945. ..[p]guy on the left is my dad .. .joined the army in 1942 .. .went to west point graduating in 1947, served 30 years in the corp of engineers. . .walked out of the chosin reservoir in north korea in dec. 1950. ..still supports the military with his active involvement in the national military families association, an organization dedicated to assisting military folks and their families. . .so i too tip my hats to our vets. . .. [p]

fishlessman

Jethro,
i would set it up with a small picnic on top so that the fat runs down onto the brisket. ive never done a small brisket, but im assuming theres not much fat on it. you can have some sandwhiches the next day and get twice the meat with the same amount of lump

egghead2004

fishlessman,
hey, there's an idea.
Saturday at 4pm I am going to start a 8# picnic so it will be ready Sunday afternoon. I also wanted to try my first brisket. Maybe I'll set up a 2 level grid setup and put the picninc on top. Then Sunday morning around 5am, I'll put the brisket underneath. [p]hmmm will there still be a lot of pork fat dripping from the picnic after cooking for 12-13 hours?

fishlessman

egghead2004,
never done it, but have been wanting to, how could it be bad

egghead2004

fishlessman,
Well I tried it, but I didn't like it.
The pork butt came out great as always. The brisket, well it was tender and moist, but the bark was not tasty at all. I think the pork drippings gave it a lousy flavor. I'll try brisket again, but by itself.[p]