Small 2 lb Brisket help

ceeejay57

All the recipes I read are for much larger briskets.  I bought a small 2 lb one and am looking for information on recommended cooking temp and time. Even method of wrapping and not wrapping is up for discussions  I was planning on using the Smokelahoma brisket from Steven Raichlen's book.  I don't want to ruin this.  Thanks

lousubcap

Gotta admit I have never seen a brisket that small.  I have no idea about the Raichlen recipe but here's one that many have used with success:
http://biggreenegg.com/recipes/brisket-flat/   Keeping it from drying out will be the biggest issue.  Good luck and enjoy the cook and eats.

Photo Egg

Is there ANY outer fat at all?
Following any recipe related to a full brisket will do you little good.
I would season, wrap in bacon and slow cook it on the Egg indirect. It will be as good as it's going to get when it probes tender.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I will try to save you some time, frustrstion, and money. Grind that up in to burgers and move to plan B. I have never made, seen, ot hesrd of a success story with a 2 lb brisket. Tried it a dozen times back in the day- not one edible. Dozens posted on here. Not a single person happy. If you can make that thing great, you are a way better cook than me. 

Now- why did you buy a 2lb brisket? Is it because you dont want to screw up a larger one? That is the most common response on here. That was always my thinking too. Its completely backward though.  Some think they only have one or 2 mouths to feed so they will grab a tiny piece of flat.  Either way, Brisket does not work like that, unfortunately. 

If you want to cook something small that is bbq and awesome, a small pork shoulder or loin are great choices. If you want beef, a smoked chuck roast will give you that brisket flavor but will stay moist with the right technique. There is no right technique for a 2lb brisket (that i am aware of, anyway)

i would hate for you to spend an afternoon trying to coax something to work or have hungry people waiting for a brisket that will most likely lesve you wandering what happened. 

Hotch

If you have a roasting pan you can braise it. The way most restaurants do it "Oven Style" without a smoker. Sort of like the "Travis" method
Go for about 30 min in heavy smoke then pop it in the roasting pan with 2-3 beers and seal it up with heavy duty foil. Just keep the protein off of the bottom with a few potato halves. Shoot for a temp of 300-325. Check for tenderness in about 2.5-3 hours. Once tender you can put it back on the Egg direct for about 2-3 min a side.

Spaightlabs

Go buy ya a biggun, flat an point together (packer) if'n ya can get wo Costco or have a good butcher.

You will have lots of leftovers, but they won't last long.  If you don't want the left overs I betcha the ladies and gents down at the local firehouse would make quick work of them.

Killit_and_Grillit

I'm on the fence between @The Cen-Tex Smoker and @Hotch

Those would make some mighty fine burgers.

I did do a 3 and a half lb one "Travis" style (basically braising it) and it turned out well, too. But I would just just go low and slow on this one...will probably come out looking like a hockey puck.

ghyman

Not to disagree with the forum veterans that are so helpful on this site, and it might be beginners luck....but had a 2.5 and a 1.7 lb yesterday...and they came out great....started 220 dg until they hit 175 internal (with a probe), then tented in foil with 1/4 cup of beef broth.....300 dg until 195 temp....3.5 hours overall....and tender and flavor-full as can be.

alaskanassasin

Nice brisket @ghyman

Photo Egg

ghyman said:

Not to disagree with the forum veterans that are so helpful on this site, and it might be beginners luck....but had a 2.5 and a 1.7 lb yesterday...and they came out great....started 220 dg until they hit 175 internal (with a probe), then tented in foil with 1/4 cup of beef broth.....300 dg until 195 temp....3.5 hours overall....and tender and flavor-full as can be.

You are not going against the forum Vets. But you are basically following what most believe. You can’t expect to cook a small section of a brisket like you would a full packer brisket, and you didn’t. You smoked for a few hours then braised/steamed it. This is the only reason it came out tender. And it’s a perfect way to do it. Same principle at the Travis method.

Foghorn

Welcome aboard @ghyman.  That's a great first post.  Way to take a stab at a sacred cow.

Deluca

ghyman said:

Not to disagree with the forum veterans that are so helpful on this site, and it might be beginners luck....but had a 2.5 and a 1.7 lb yesterday...and they came out great....started 220 dg until they hit 175 internal (with a probe), then tented in foil with 1/4 cup of beef broth.....300 dg until 195 temp....3.5 hours overall....and tender and flavor-full as can be.

Curious if you had that brisket close to room temperature when you started? I’m doing this right now. I’m about 3.5 hours in with internal temp at 145. Pit temp is 220. 2.5 pound brisket. 

I had mine out for maybe an hour. Internal start temp under 50. 

ghyman

sorry for the delayed response....just saw the alert.  I had them out of the fridge for only 30 minutes, but the key to my outcome was tenting (wrapping in foil) the meat when it hit 175 and increasing heat from 220 to 300.....without tenting, mine get "stuck" at the 170ish mark and become too dry and tough as they come up to 195.

Deluca

Thanks for the response. 

I’m scratching my head on this one. I think I have a bald spot as a matter of fact. Trying to figure out how yours took 3.5 hours? Here’s my graph below. It took me 12 hours. How long did it take to get yours to 170 at 220 degrees? 

Thanks much

ghyman

You def have a puzzle on your hands.  I was at 170 at 2.5 hours.  When did you tent yours?.....or did you tent?

booksw

In my opinion, a flat brisket has to be braised and the Travis method does this as does tenting with beef broth.  BUT, the best braised brisket recipe is this one which doesn’t use the Egg at all.  One thiNo wonderful about it is that you slice the meat half way through the cook, while the brisket is still stiff enough to allow you to get the slices really thin, then when it is time to serve- there is no work to do.  It can also easily be made a day in advance.  If it were me- I would cook the flat brisket inside, and use the egg for vegetables or chicken wing appetizers...

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/nach-waxmans-brisket-of-beef-394571

Deluca

I tented at 170. That’s the dip in grill temp when I opened the egg. That was over 10 hours in. 

Not calling this a failure. I ate it at 2:30am. It was a bit dry but tasted good. Looking forward to the next one. 

I’ll look into this recipe you sent booksw. Thank you.