Small Flat - Guidance Please

[RichieB]

I picked up this. It's a 2 pound flat. Choice on sale. Going to do on Kettle Saturday (1st brisket). Figure it'll be a practice run.
If I mess it up only out $12. So beyond the prep and seasoning, timing is my main question. What is the recommended length of time to be cooked based on size if any change? Any other ideas, advice on technique are welcomed. Thanks!

[Huskee]

Cook time is related to the meat's thickness, how long the heat takes to get to the center. So, 2lbs might indicate it's short but normal thickness, or it could mean it's thin and would cook quicker. In my personal experience, cooking at 225-250 mine take about 7-8hrs to come out of the stall, which is when I wrap in double layer foil, then another 90min - 2hrs to hit 200ish (195-205), then a 1-2hr hold, so mine tend to take 11-12hrs. You could probably get it done in 10 too, including the 1-2hrs hold, if it's on the thinner side, or if you wrap early. But as always, each one is different and my suggestions are only a ballpark.

[Troutman]

I typically am the guy who doesn't mess with flats, generally for me they have too little taste and are too dry. So I buy a +-16# whole packer and cut off about 4# of the flat end to make pastrami or grind into burgers. When I do pastrami it only takes about 10 hours at 275*, that includes about an hour or so of resting. As Huskee says, they are all a little different, just get a thermo device and watch your temps and you should be good to go.

[IowaGirl]

Relative newbie here, so take my words with a grain of salt.

Lately I've been learning the lesson the guys are explaining here. If you cook a full sized flat, it will take X hours to cook. Cut it in half, and the two halves are still going to take roughly the same X hours, give or take. If you only cook one of the halves, it's still ... well, you get the idea.

Like you, I'm still learning, so I agree with the idea of starting small. Once I've got the technique figured out and a little more experience, it's going to make a lot more sense to smoke larger quantities of meat rather than hover most of the day over one bitty roast.

It's also less a matter of the hours of cooking that determines if the meat is done and more about the texture. Even if you've been cooking it for 10 hours or whatever, if it feels hard and tough when you stick it with a temp probe or a cooking fork, it's still not done. It might only need another 1/2 to 1 hour to finish up, but the difference in the texture will be unmistakable if you give it that extra time.

edit: Here's a current thread about brisket that you might find useful. I'm picking up a few tips and ideas anyways. https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...o-texas-crutch

[JPGators17]

Grind it up and make 50/50 hamburgers with it and some 80/20 ground beef. Heard Sam The Cooking Guy talking about how good they are on BBQCentralShow this week. Gonna give it a try one of these days.

[klflowers]

No matter how long it takes to cook the brisket, make some of this:

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...barbecue-juice

Every time I make brisket now, I make Texas BBQ Juice. Every time. Without fail. It is that good. No, it is better than that.

OK, I really like it. Does it show?

[JeffJ]

I don't cook brisket very often. Mostly because it's more meat than I need. I do chuck roast quite a bit, usually in the 2/5-3 pound range and yes, like Huskee said, due to its thickness it stalls for a long time.

[ColonialDawg]

Don’t fear the cow. Do a practice run on a whole packer - you won’t regret it. Not saying your cook on the small flat won’t be successful, but fat is flavor and there isn’t much of it in a flat. I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed with the result. If you’re going to cook a hunk of meat for a few hours, go big. If you have a Costco, they usually have a few small packers (9-10 pounds) that would be perfect for a test run. Either way, have fun!

[klflowers]

Don't fear the cow. I may have that put on a t shirt. I'll give you a royalty.

[ColonialDawg]

Let’s do it.