First Brisket

[bpottsy56]

I'm going to be cooking my first brisket ever on Thursday. I'm not cooking for many, so dinner time is flexible, but let's just say we're planning to eat around 7:00. I have a few questions that I'm sure many of you can answer fairly quickly for me. I'm sure these questions have been asked before on here, so I apologize, but a brief search yielded little answers to my questions...

1. I know cooking time depends on many factors, but in general, how do you estimate how long a brisket will take? I've read 12-16 hours, but my gut tells me it's not going to take that long for a 6 lb. brisket...

2. Where can I buy butcher paper? Any common chains that always have it in stock? Is kraft paper the same thing?

3. How do I make the decision on when to wrap if I decide to crutch?

4. Why does brisket take longer to cook than a pork shoulder? I ask because it seems to me that brisket is a thinner cut than most pork shoulders. I'm proficient with shoulder, so I'm just trying to gauge how different cooking a brisket will be.

Thanks for any answers you all can give! I appreciate it!

[Bruce R]

At 6 lbs, sounds like not a whole brisket, but an individual flat or point, more likely a flat. Time is going to be more a function of thickness than overall weight. As well as cooking temp. Can't imagine that it would take as long as you're projecting, especially if you crutch. Are you monitoring grill/smoker as well an internal meat temps while you cook?

When to crutch is a matter of debate. I think most people wait till the rise in internal temp stalls, but after a good bark has formed. Probably between 150-180 F. I think a lot of people buy butcher paper on line. If you do a thread search on this site, you'll see a recent thread on it. I've not seen it at any of the local grocery stores around me, but restaurant supply places may carry it. You can always use foil, which many, if not most people use. But again, that comes down to preference.

[bpottsy56]

Thanks, Bruce. Yeah it's a bit over six pounds but does include the flat and the point. I was planning on cooking on a pellet smoker at 225. Sorry forgot to include that nugget of information! So, obviously on the pellet smoker it's easy to maintain temps and I will have a digital thermometer in the meat throughout the cook. I actually think I will end up not wrapping this first one and just leaving it naked.

[ecowper]

Hi bpottsy56 and welcome to the Pit. A few things about brisket that I've learned over the years, for what it's worth. Also, I'm curious what you will cook it on?

1. Brisket is definitely a challenging piece of meat. A couple of things that make a huge difference, in my opinion, is to dry brine it 10-12 hours ahead of when you will cook it, then put the rub on about 2 hours ahead. Get it back in the fridge as soon as the rub is on. Cold is good when the meat goes on the smoker.

2. You definitely want to get the brisket into a faux cambro (or a real one) for at least an hour before you slice. This resting period makes a huge difference.

3. Brisket is the only meat I ever crutch. And not always with brisket. In this case, however, I would highly recommend it. THis sounds like a flat, and a flat can end up dry pretty easily.

4. I don't crutch, if I do, until I am well into the stall ... General rule of thumb being somewhere in the 170-180 range. I look at the bark, and when it is well set, then I crutch. Like I said, that is well into the stall, usually.

5. A brisket is done when it's done. Start probe testing after you get to an internal temp of 190. My brisket rarely gets to 203 when I consider it done. If the probe goes in the meat like a warm knife into buttah .... It's done. If it doesn't, keep going.

I've never used butcher paper to crutch, only foil. No help there ... Sorry!

For a 5-6 pound hunk of flat, I don't think it will take 12-16 hours. I'm betting it's done in 8, maybe 10.

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome bpottsy56! We'd love to get an intro from you over in the Introduce Yourself channel when you get a minute.

[Danjohnston949]

@bppottsy56, Welcome to The Pitt! You are Now Enrolled in the BBQ Univ.! Attendance and Participation are Mandatory!
Good Luck with the Brisket!
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[bpottsy56]

So here are some pics from the cook and the payoff... Overall, I am very happy with how the brisket turned out, considering it was my first time cooking one. Very juicy and jiggly with a wonderful mild smoke crust. I know I will cut the slices a bit thinner next time. Probably just a newbie mistake, but still tasted fantastic. One thing I learned, the stall on brisket takes FOREVER. I was stuck at 156-7 for nearly 2 and a half hours!

After dry brining for 12 hours and applying the rub (pepper, garlic, onion powder, chili powder)



After slicing, good smoke ring...



Burnt ends with the slices...



More slices...

[DWCowles]

B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l

[jbeck1986]

Dang that looks good! Much better than my first brisket a couple weeks ago. I am going for attemp #2 this weekend. Hope it turns out like yours. Good job

[Huskee]

Very nice! Keep up the good work. I had a brisket flat (7lbs) stall for about 3 hours last week...enough to drive ya mad sometimes.

[fuzzydaddy]

That is a fine looking brisket! It looks nice and moist, and what a smoke ring. Congrats and thank you for sharing your photos.

[RonB]

That's one good looking brisket.

[HorseDoctor]

That looks AWESOME!!!! What you have appears to be the "point end". That is the point muscle with the underlying piece of "flat". The rest of the flat has been trimmed off and sold separately or ground up. IMO: You got the best part of the deal. Franklin recommends cutting that end into thicker slices anyway, so cut to just the right thickness! Great job! I can almost taste it...

[bpottsy56]

Yeah you must be right. I was actually wondering about that. There was not much flat to slice by the end of the cook. I got maybe 8 slices off the flat before I got to the point. But, like you said, I got the good part. Ha!

[Stevo]

Excellent! What was the total cook time?

[bpottsy56]

total cook time including a 45 minute rest was about 11 hours.

[Ribber]

Man, that looks so much better than my first one. I had no smoke ring. Not sure why. I have no problem with a good ring on my butts. Congratulations!