My First Brisket - Probably my last?

[RlsRls]

Although I use my PK360 probably 4 to 5 days a week, my low n' slow repertoir is confined to pork ribs, beef ribs. Just don't have the patience for whole packers. I keep looking around, but no one sells just the point, which I might be tempted to try. I see flats in the meat case and whenI ask the butchers behind the counter, why not points? where did they go?they don't have an answer, even the guys at Costco! Oh well, Maybe some day!

[realdocBBQ]

Try some point pastrami - you can usually get point cuts of corned beef in the stores, 2.5-4lbs, then desal overnight in a pot of water, rub it and smoke it. It's probably about 80% as good as home cured pastrami, which means easily twice as good as deli counter pastrami! Dooo eeeeeet!

[texastweeter]

I feel ya. Kinda like me and wine...just can't get into it. You shake hands and respect each other at the end of the day.

[texastweeter]

Unless you put beans in chili, then we got a problem...

[realdocBBQ]

Put up your dukes!!!

[N227GB]

Brisket? Never had it. I wouldn’t’ know “great” BBQ from bad BBQ.

<<>>

Was it tender? Oh, yeah. Juicy? You got it. Flavor? All kinds of flavor. DD and DW loved it? Check, rave reviews. Leftovers got devoured in grilled cheese and tacos. So by all accounts, a success.

So why the bad review?
As noted above, I’ve never had it. Had a vague idea about how it might taste, and was actually surprised that it tasted better than I thought it would. I expected a “pot roasty” kind of flavor, but got a rich, mellow, beefy flavor. Growing up in California during the 60’s and 70’s, the culture put an emphasis on a “healthy” style of eating. We didn’t eat anything that had a lot of fat on it, and that seam of fat that runs through a brisket (seen in photos) has always creeped me out a little. As a matter of fact, both my wife and I ate around that fat seam.

You're not a "brisket person," and that's okay. I haven't cooked a flat in years because most people I would gift some to are not big fans of red meat.

[RlsRls]

Since flats are more prevalent in stores, any tips or tricks to cooking them so they don't dry out? All the videos I've seen here and on other sites all favor the point cuts as the "money slice". And is the cook consideratly shorter since it's a much smaller piece? As mentioned above, just don't have the time or patience for a 10, 11, 12 hour cook!

[N227GB]

In my offset I would place it in the bottom part of an enamel broiler pan.

Posted from my phone.

[TripleB]

Also born and raised in So Cal, so I hear you. Californians think grilling a hamburger is BBQ. No real concept on slow n' slow, but that has changed a bit over the years with the introduction of the pellet pooper. More Californians getting into BBQ, but still very few good BBQ joints in So. Cal.

I'm a KCBS BBQ judge and I know what good BBQ is. Going to the San Marcos meat-up and going around to such BBQ places like Barbs B-Q and Terry Blacks reinforced what I know. But like you, I am not really into brisket. Smoked around probably 10-12 briskets, some bad - some good - some great. But just not my thing.

I thought it interesting that DD and DW thought the brisket was fantastic, but you - meh. I'm the same way. I'll do a brisket or ribs or chicken and everybody loves it, but me....I'd rather have a bowl of soup and salad. The reason I think this happens is because our olfactory senses gets overwhelmed by the smoke and our taste buds are fried. That and we are always super critical of our own food.

Try a chuck someday, much easier.

[McFlyfi]

"That and we are always super critical of our own food."
I think this is a big part of it. I'm pretty sure that it was pretty good, but not really my thing.