First Brisket...I’m confused

keener75

I picked up a big ol’ piece of “Brisket” a few months ago and chucked it into the freezer for better days. I’ve never even eaten brisket before but seeing how popular it seems to be I thought I’d give it a try on a special occasion since it is rarely sold in our area.

I realized weeks later that I had only purchased a “Brisket Point Boneless”.
I reached out to @lousubcap for advice as I had read many complimentary comments on how he loves to give brisket tips and nobody was wrong. Frank was very gracious and super informative and I want to thank him publicly. Awesome dude!
The reason for my confusion:
the label says “Brisket Point Boneless” but I think it looks like a packer after watching the video I was sent.
Any advice is welcome.
I didn’t want to keep bothering Frank with newbie questions. 

My plan is to trim the fat tonight, rub with s&p, wrap in plastic and set in the fridge. Was thinking of putting on the LBGE Friday night around midnight so would be ready around 1300-1500 hrs on Saturday. Rest til dinner time. 

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Battleborn

I’m not a brisket master by any means, but your plan to prep tonight is sound. Follow Frank’s advice and as he says “the cow drives the friggin cook!”

lousubcap

No worries here about any bother-always glad to help in whatever capacity.
That definitely is a packer but on the small side given the weight.  Treat it accordingly regardless of the label.  There is a fair amount of hard fat to remove.
Given the length, lay it over a brick or inverted rib rack to ensure all parts are clear of the direct heat until shrinkage takes over.  
I suspect the post-trim weight  will be in the low- mid 3 kg range so factor that into your timing.  
Above all, have fun with the audibles that will come your way.  
Many here will gladly offer advice throughout the adventure.  
Edit: upon further review you may want to weigh that brisket as given the pics it looks like more than 4.17 kg to me.  But I am peering thru the fog of evening and a few adult cocktails.  FWIW- 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Agreed with cap. Definitely a packer brisket and unless that is a medium egg, that brisket seems more in the 6-8kg range to me 

keener75

Trimmed up and ready for a rest.

ChrisgrillsSTLMO

Greetings-

Great thread, hope you continue to update with progress! I am still working up the nerve to give a brisket a shot, not very confident in my low and slow skills.

Cheers,

Langner91

@ChrisgrillsSTLMO, is there something in particular that you are struggling with?

Maybe start with a cheaper cut of meat to practice.  You can practice your low and slow on a $9 rack of ribs that you can finish in the oven rather than practicing on a $50 brisket.  Even a pork butt is pretty cheap in comparison, and hard to screw up.

Everyone here is willing to help!  You can be confident by Memorial Day if you start this weekend!

xfire_ATX

lousubcap said:

post-trim weight  will be in the low- mid 3 kg range so factor that into your timing.  

Until I read this I didnt realize it was CAD and Kg.  I was thinking WOW thats expensive brisket.

Good luck on your cook

six_egg

Looks like your on your way. I like it so far.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

That's a nice trim job for your first one. Only advice I would give is to round off the corners a little next time (we are really getting picky here). All the hard corners will get crispy plus when you round them off it just looks cool. Following along.

lousubcap

For those looking for brisket motivation, National Brisket Day is Friday May 28th.  Plan ahead and celebrate.  

keener75

So to continue the journey...LBGE is lit and things are happening. The June bugs are out early this year...man are they dumb!
Brisket went on at 0030 and I will monitor for at least an hour. Then I’m going to bed and hoping for the best. 

Alarm is set for 0830. Wish me luck!

lousubcap

Too late for the first part of the cook but when you check on it, you may want to foil protect the thin part of the flat to slow the cook rate and keep it from drying out.  FWIW-

keener75

Morning update...things are looking good!
Probing at 173 and I’m debating whether to wrap in foil are not. Time is not an issue as we are looking to eat around 7 hours from now.
I’m impressed how the egg held the temp @ 250 dome temp all night and still going strong.
it smells damn good too!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I usually wrap when they look like that so the bark does not get too crusty. Looks awesome by the way.  My first (20) did not look anything like that

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Just know that when you do wrap it will speed up the rest of the cook 2x or more. It will push through the stall and rise to temp pretty quickly so keep an eye on temps when/if you decide to wrap. 

RyanStl

Looking great. Any reason why you foiled the roast rack? Seems like it would prevent some smoke penetration.  I just throw a large piece of wood chunk under the brisket to prevent pooling to aid bark production 

It's a little late now, but mist important thing imo is just pay attention to the dome temp and don't let it get away on you.

dmchicago

Well????

Gamecockeggman

Did the meat coma consume him???  I hear that happens from time to time 

keener75

I’m recovering still but overall I think it was a success. We had the brother in law and his family over for the first time since last summer and they couldn’t stop raving about it. I thought it was tasty but a little on the dry side. I think I should have wrapped it. I kept probing for temp at the thickest part of the flat and it never did get over 190 deg. After 15 hours I gave up and FTC’d for two hours until it was time to eat. 

Not many leftovers so that is a good indication I guess. 

It was a fun journey and I would definitely attempt another one in the future. 

Thanks again for all the advice and tips.
No pics of the final product so it probably didn’t even happen.

bella21

Aw, it looked to beautiful to pull it before it was done. You had two hours to go, I would have left it on and bumped up the temp to 300 to finish it. Unless it was wagyu, it’s not gonna be done at 190. I’ve never had one finish before 200. They’ll say forget temp and go by feel, but it’s not gonna feel right until it’s 200ish. 

lousubcap

Any time you get rave reviews, you did well.  Congrats.
I'm a bit surprised by the protracted duration of the cook.  You may want to check the calibration of your thermos just for ease of mind.
BTW- the probing is for the feel, the temp is only a guide.  Fortunately it sounds like the FTC gave you enough carryover to get to the promised land.  
I would have taken that result hands-down, especially right out of the gate.  
Until the next one! 

CPFC1905

5th Summer of BGE-dom and finally I took the plunge this weekend too. 
With thanks to @lousubcap and @Eoin (I am still suing the fruit tree chunks you gave me on the side of the A1).
Was only 1 kg and I over ran on IT, hitting 210F.  Looked and smelt good, but it was a bit dry.  Taste was good and very tender.  Followed Ray Lampe for timings, temps, foil and coffee.  
I did struggle to keep the dome temp stable and it ran low for a lot of the pre-foil period, then I over compensated fearing a stall.  Plus it was intermittent rain, wind and sun.  But first one under my belt and I am not fully deterred. 

lousubcap

Way to take the plunge.  The smaller cuts are a whole lot less forgiving in that the finish window is quite narrow.  You did it proud.  Great outcome for the first go 'round.  Time to schedule the next one