Brisket question

Aron · February 2004

I've been in the mood for brisket, so I went to the grocery store to buy one this afternoon. I had looked at some of the recipes in Wise one's cookbook and elsewhere, and all seemed to mention 3 things--a point, flat, and fat cap. The closest thing they had at the supermarket was something labeled "beef chuck--brisket." I have no idea whether this is a point or flat (it didn't say, and I have no brisket experience to tell for myself), and it didn't seem to be covered in a fat layer,so I'm assuming it also has no fat cap. Not wanting to come home empty-handed, I got it anyway, even though I know I'd have been better off waiting a while and going to a real butcher. But now that I have it, what do I need to do to prevent it from becoming too dry? Since I thought the fat cap is supposed to help it self baste, I was thinking that there might be something I could do to replace this (like basting it manually with something. Any ideas? It's only about 2.5 pounds, and I'd estimate about 1.5-2" thick. Thanks.[p]--Aron

Daddyo · February 2004

Aron,[p]This is probably not necessary, but if we don't tinker, we wither and die.[p]Rub as you normally would (I've fallen in love with Butch's Magic Dust) and let the rub sit on there and soak in at least a few hours (overnight is good).[p]Put on the grill with a fist sized chunk of wood (I like Hickory) Let it smoke for an hour (or until the wood smoke is gone). This will get you an all around smoke ring.[p]When the wood smoke is gone, totally cover the baby brisket with strips of bacon so it will self baste.[p]Let it stay like this until you finish with the plateau (your meat will get stuck somewhere near 160 degrees for a while even though it is small - that's the plateau).[p]Once you come out of the plateau and start rising in temp, take the bacon off and try to get some bark (crust) on that baby. It may cook longer than you think to go from 160 to 190.[p]After you hit 190 degrees, take it off, let it rest a little in some foil, and then start eating. I left my thermometer in last time so I could monitor the temp of my meat while it rested. When it dropped down to 160 it was time to eat, so I ate. Turned out delicious. Not by plan, just because it was time to eat.[p]I cooked a 5 pound flat this weekend and ate leftovers every day this week. Best brisket I ever had.

Brisket question

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