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Beef Brisket Newbie Question...What is the best method to cook brisket and how long does it take?

makitabrad
makitabrad Posts: 8
edited November 2011 in EggHead Forum
I purchased a small cut of brisket (2 lbs) for just my family.  How long will it take to smoke it and what is the best method?  Also, what internal temp am I looking for?
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  • talltrevor
    talltrevor Posts: 54
    Good morning Makitabrad,

    I also will be cooking my first brisket today (6.5 lbs) and am looking forward to reading through the countless posts already on this forum describing in detail the best method proper times and temperatures. Because of that, you may not get the level of response you are looking for so use the search feature and good hunting.

    Oh, and there is a fantastic website that will give you a great play-by-play written by a great egghead. Not sure of the link, but you'll find it pretty quick when going through past discussions.

    Good luck on your brisket, brother.

    Trev
    I love my egg.
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  • Squeezy
    Squeezy Posts: 1,102
    edited November 2011

    Here is a thread you should find useful

    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1135073/brisket#Item_15

    Never eat anything passed through a window unless you're a seagull ... BGE Lg.
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  • talltrevor
    talltrevor Posts: 54
    Excellent Squeezy - yes those two external links at the bottom of that discussion were the same very two that keep coming up.

    I'm off to rub my meat - good luck again Makitabrad

    Trev
    I love my egg.
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  • Shiff
    Shiff Posts: 1,835
    I've never seen a 2 pound brisket - most are at least 6 pounds around here.  I generally get a 14 pound packer cut and fine  that is the best size for me.

    Be very careful with the cooking because it is so small.

    Two great sources of brisket cooking information are:

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

    and

    http://bubbatim.com/Bubba_s_Brisket.php
    Large BGE
    Barry, Lancaster, PA
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Shiff is right. The best way to cook one that small is give it an hour on the egg and steam or braise in liquid on the egg.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • talltrevor
    talltrevor Posts: 54
    edited November 2011
    Hey guys, 

    I'm confused about something...  

    it's 7:30am and my brisket's been on the egg for an hour.  The grill temp is 246 but my 6 lb cut is already at 122 degrees.   At this rate it'll be at 190 by 10am.   Does it plateau and hold at 180-190?  Do I take it off and wrap it in the cooler for a few hours?  But people often talk about 10 & 14 hour burns.   At 6 lbs, I should be easily looking at 9 hours but it looks like it will reach proper temp for brisket in no time.

    In other words....even though the dome temp is 225, can I expect the meat to hold in at 190ish till it's given up the ghost or will it logically match the temperature of it's environment arrive at 240?

    makitabrad - how did you make out?

    129 degrees.

    Trev
    I love my egg.
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  • Squeezy
    Squeezy Posts: 1,102

    First of all ... stop worrying about time!! Temp rises fairly fast in the beginning, the plateau varies, but look for it in the 150º to 165º range. I would bump up your pit temp. by 25º until you reach fork tender, about 190º and then wrap & rest until it comes down to about 140º ... if you can. Rest at least an hour in any case.

    Hope that helps.

    Never eat anything passed through a window unless you're a seagull ... BGE Lg.
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  • talltrevor
    talltrevor Posts: 54
    Squeezy!  I was hoping you'd post.

    That does help.  Just knowing it rises fast in the beginning let's me know I don;t have much to worry about.

    Wait a sec.  Isn't brisket all about 'time' and not temp?  Don't I have to let it sit long enough to make it fork tender?  Is that also solely dictated by reaching a certain temperature or the amount of time spend in a particular temperature range?

    I was just nervous that it's 8:30 in the morning and my brisket is sitting at 162 degrees.  At 1.5 hours per pound (rough rule of thumb, of course) for a 6 lb slab put me at about 4:00pm with an hour and an bit to rest.   If I follow your suggestion (which I put weight to) It looks as though I may be pulling it off in a hour or is that 'slow down' a lot more dramatic than I'm assuming and I am looking at 6 more hours on there.

    I suppose I'm still a little confused. 


    I love my egg.
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  • Squeezy
    Squeezy Posts: 1,102

    Your post is time stamped 7:43 and you say it's 8:30 ??

    Yes... time is needed but not the focus ... temp. should be your focus. Rules of thumb are fine, just don't get focused on that... Is the brisket 'still' sitting at 162º or is it still climbing?

    Being only a 6 lber. the plateau will likely be shorter.. you have oodles of time ... relax, it will happen for you!

    Never eat anything passed through a window unless you're a seagull ... BGE Lg.
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  • wvfishfood
    wvfishfood Posts: 5

    Hey Makitabrad,

    Take Squeezy's advice,  I've had my BGE for a week and 2 days -- my first cook was a 2lb brisket (we are 2 -- don't need tons-o-meat).  Anyway, the first one wasn't bad, but I liked Squeezy's advice!!!  Check out bhugg's post on 11/17 -- good info.  

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  • talltrevor
    talltrevor Posts: 54
    Squeezy,

    yeah - must be something in my settings - don;t have my time zone set in my profile setting in the forum - it's 9:17 here right now (Halifax)

    it's been 45 minutes since my last post, I bumped my egg temp 25 degrees and the meat temp only moved one degree (compared to 7 degrees it climbed while I took the 5 minutes to write that first post)

    OK - I'm squared away - just a little panic from a brisket newbie - thanks for taking the time to respond


    I love my egg.
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  • talltrevor
    talltrevor Posts: 54
    Ah - my time stamp on that post says 8:43 - so it changes them on our own screens for our own local time zones.
    I love my egg.
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  • Squeezy
    Squeezy Posts: 1,102
    edited November 2011

    Nice to have a general idea where folks are from ... been a long time since I visited Halifax ... too long!

    I'm in Ontario near London.

    So how did it turn out for ya?

     

    Never eat anything passed through a window unless you're a seagull ... BGE Lg.
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  • talltrevor
    talltrevor Posts: 54
    edited November 2011
    Hey Squeezy!  

    My brisket turned out great.  It sat at 160 for a while but as soon as I tented it (I figured if I wasn't going to marinate or inject it, I should wrap it), it spiked quickly to 192 - that, and I let my dome hit 300 as I forgot to reset my daisy wheel after I foiled it.

    So here it was, noon, and I had a tough brisket that did seem to be tender on the edges.  So I wrapped it better, stuck it in a cooler and capped the egg.  By 1:30, I could see my meat temp starting to fall and I thought I'd put the cooler by the fireplace and had a brainwave - I'll just set the wrapped brisket in the shutdown egg as the heat stays in there for a while.  That brisket sat at 180 and didn't move for three hours.

    I finished it by removing the plate setter, firing up the egg and sauced the meat and let it finish over higher heat.

    I took it off, rested it for 30 minutes and the sliced it up.    I loved it.  The meat separated beautifully and the connective tissue was just enough to allow it to 'accordion' and not fall apart on the plate.

    Thanks for all your help.
    image
    I love my egg.
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  • Squeezy
    Squeezy Posts: 1,102

    Love to hear a happy outcome, no matter how you arrive there! Shows you can think on your feet ... when Plan A goes awry there is always B & C.

    Congrats on a successful cook talltrevor !

    Never eat anything passed through a window unless you're a seagull ... BGE Lg.
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  • makitabrad
    makitabrad Posts: 8
    The small brisket I cooked turned out delicious, but was somewhat tough.  I actually think the small cut might have been part of the problem.  I pulled it off the Egg when the internal temp was at 190-195 and then let it set in a cooler for only 30 minutes as we had another family over who was ready to eat.  I also smoked a rack of ribs at the same time that turned out perfect
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  • MaxWebster
    MaxWebster Posts: 2
    Nice Bottle of Wine! The Costasera Amarone is great. I had the pleasure of having dinner with Sandro Boscaini in Ottawa a few years back. He is the Owner of Massi Wines and a six generation wine maker. Massi is the original producer of Amarone wine. Really cool guy!

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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Are you the real Max Webster? :-)) I'm not the real Little Steven either

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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