Every Christmas it's my job to bring a brisket to my family's Christmas brunch. I've been running the same smoker for about 2-3 years in all kinds of weather so I have a pretty good feel for it. This year though there is a curve ball and I am trying to figure out how to adjust my cooking time.
Curve ball: my butcher was out of packers cut, but he had 2x 5lb prime flats (pre-trimming) so I went with those. I'm going to assume they'll cook a lot quicker. Looking at my brisket-cook notes I'm going to guess about 7 hours but would be interested to hear any other thoughts. Last 2 years cook time for 11 and 11.5 lbs (pre-trimming) came in right around 14.5 hours and 15 hours respectively. That broke down to about 1.3 hours per pound and then I used that to get to the 7 hour estimate for the flats.
Constants: 24" Camp Chef Smoke Vault, 3 full propane tanks. Mix of chips and chunks. Pizza bricks and a skillet to act as a heat sink (temp is dropping about 10 degrees overnight). Feeding 8 people. Brisket must be ready by 10am to get to brunch by 11am. I have a solid cooler to hold them in so finishing early (but not too early) is fine. Can't throw them in the smoker between 530PM and 9PM (church and dinner with the in-laws).
Currently planning to throw them in the smoker around 11PM. Is that too early or too late? I've never done just a flat before (let alone 2 at the same time) so I'd love to hear any sage advice The Pit can offer.
Curve ball: my butcher was out of packers cut, but he had 2x 5lb prime flats (pre-trimming) so I went with those. I'm going to assume they'll cook a lot quicker. Looking at my brisket-cook notes I'm going to guess about 7 hours but would be interested to hear any other thoughts. Last 2 years cook time for 11 and 11.5 lbs (pre-trimming) came in right around 14.5 hours and 15 hours respectively. That broke down to about 1.3 hours per pound and then I used that to get to the 7 hour estimate for the flats.
Constants: 24" Camp Chef Smoke Vault, 3 full propane tanks. Mix of chips and chunks. Pizza bricks and a skillet to act as a heat sink (temp is dropping about 10 degrees overnight). Feeding 8 people. Brisket must be ready by 10am to get to brunch by 11am. I have a solid cooler to hold them in so finishing early (but not too early) is fine. Can't throw them in the smoker between 530PM and 9PM (church and dinner with the in-laws).
Currently planning to throw them in the smoker around 11PM. Is that too early or too late? I've never done just a flat before (let alone 2 at the same time) so I'd love to hear any sage advice The Pit can offer.
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