cut brisket to smaller size?

[marshall]

I have never done a brisket and am wondering since I can only find around a 14 lb brisket, can I cut in half and freeze the other half? or should I have the butcher separate the flat and the point?, and try my first run with the point???

[kmhfive]

All of that is possible and fine. I've cooked Brisket that had been previously frozen and had good results. Think about how you will use the meat once cooked and make the cuts accordingly. Think about the grain of the meat when cutting so you give yourself the opportunity to serve meat cut across the grain for maximum tenderness.

[fzxdoc]

kmhfive makes a good point--that if you're going to cut it in half, cut it where the grain changes.

Personally, I'd smoke the whole thing because I love smoking packers as opposed to flats. Then I'd package and freeze. There is a great topic here and another one here on reheating brisket. I've followed Jerod Broussard 's recommendations for reheating and can't tell much difference between fresh out of the cambro or reheated Jerod-style.

Kathryn

And P.S. is that 14 pound brisket trimmed? Some briskets can lose upwards of 40% of the purchased weight once all the excess fat is trimmed.

[HouseHomey]

I agree with both of the above. If it's a good quality beef just go for it. The point is plenty fatty to help you out and the flat less so. Admittedly my brisket game needs a little work as I use low quality cuts and they are less forgiving. If you have the time I'm with Kathryn and kmhfive cutting correctly. And well what can we say about the Jerod guy.

[HorseDoctor]

Totally agree with fzxdoc , do the whole thing and then freeze (&vacumm pack) what you don't want right now for later use. I have NO problem eating leftover brisket that's been frozen & reheated! Only way to learn how to do a packer is to DO IT!!! Enjoy!

[gcdmd]

Another option would be to cut off the flat end and use it for corned beef/pastrami, chili, ground beef, etc., and go ahead and smoke the point end, which will still have some flat attached. I do this regularly when using my little Redi-Smok electric smoker.