I'm cooking an 8 lb flat cut brisket @ 225 tomorrow. I'm planning on wrapping it at around 150 and taking it off between 200-203.
I'm trying to figure out how long I should give myself for the cook. I was thinking about 8-9 hours for the cook and up to two hours resting? Does that sound about right or do flat cuts cook faster?
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In my personal experience you should be spot on with that, but it's never set in stone. I cook flats as long as full packers, with rare exceptions.
For me personally, it's a 12hr ordeal always (7-8 until wrapping, 2 to 200ish, 2 to cambro-hold). But I wrap mine after the stall, at 180 so that there's more bark. If you wrap at 150 you'll have less bark, but you'll save a couple hrs' time by speeding through the stall.
I always cook at 275 and wrap after the stall as Huskee says. This reduces the cook time by about 21/2 hours, 6 till wrapping, 1.5 till 200 and Cambro is the same.
I prefer to have the brisket sit in the cambro longer rather than it finishing late. It will hold quite a while in a cambro if you eliminate most of the air space.
How long it takes depends on heat penetration which depends on thickness not weight. Generally being a bit thinner than a packer you can expect maybe 20%-30% less time.
Extra time in the cambro generally doesn’t hurt anything so there’s no penalty for starting earlier than you think and finishing earlier, however if it finishes late you either eat it late or eat it tough.
I don't see what you are cooking on. I'd say listen to all of the above and start an hour or two earlier. You just don't know how long some meat is going to go.
Today we just ate a brisket. It was a large Costco packer which I divided into flat and point, leaving the proverbial ¼" fat on top of the flat. Dry brined 24 hrs, then change of plan: vacuum bagged and into freezer for two weeks. I took them out a few days ago. Today, out of fridge, liberal black pepper only.
I fused advice and suggestions from many here (special shout out to BBQ_Bill), but went faster and hotter. Two racks on the KBQ, with water pan in bottom (great for making gravy as well.) 4.5 hours at 300 (Thermoworks air probe on one of the racks), through the stall to about 170-180. First two hours with fat cap on top, then flipped. Also, per BBQ_Bill, kept the thickest ends towards the manifold where the hot smoke enters the food chamber, and switched the two rack positions half way as well.
Then wrapped in peach paper, and put in pans in 250 oven for 3 more hours. Finally, allowed to cool to about 160, then into Wolf steam convection oven at 160 for 90 minutes until family said 'cut the meat!' Was moist, great bark, tender. I could easily have used the cambro instead of the steam oven.
So, medium fast and then wrapped in the oven after the stall.
The advantages for me are:
1. I'm retired, got out of bed at 07:40, in the smoker by 08:40, double cappuccino by 9:00
2. I could stop feeding wood to the KBQ after nearly 5 hours, instead of ten
3. I could go to the gym while meat was in the oven at 250
Ready to feed 6 adults and 5 grandkids by 6 pm.
As we all know, there are many ways to cook brisket and skin cats. But, I prefer brisket over cat meat. Just sayin'
PS, I posted this with regards to time of cooking, but should I copy and paste into SUWYC?
Almost 18 lb before separating and trimming, Angus, from Costco
Bottom of flat on the left, Point on the right
Early, about 2 hours in. Swapped rack positions.
Yes, it rains in Seattle
170-180, out of the KBQ, ready for double wrap with peach butcher paper
After 3 hours at 250 (internal temps then about 205,) then cool to 160, then 90 minutes in 160 steam oven, still wrapped.
Last edited by Dr. Pepper; October 25, 2019, 11:15 PM.
Reason: Mispelling (advise vs advice), and paragraph breaks. You never stop editing!
Sweet price on that prime Black Angus packer!
Great looking finish, Luv the bark and your smoke ring is really there.
My wife just took a look at that last photo of the fatty cut and said, "Looks Great!"
(She is a brisket eating expert too!)
Thanks, BBQ_Bill In the past the Costco prime packers weren't labeled as Black Angus. I wonder if Costco has been following Amazing Ribs!!! And, thanks for all of your advice (not advise!) I just copied and pasted into my 'brisket notes' your response to DustinH who wondered about 4 at once in the KBQ.,
Since this is my first brisket, I'm going to wrap at 150 to make sure I'm done in time for dinner. I'll wrap my next brisket after the stall and compare the two.
It sounds like wrapping after the stall will take about 12 hours and wrapping before the stall will take about 10 hours (8 lb flat).
So the funny thing is that I wrapped it at 150 degrees and it's at 182 and there has been no stall. So unless it hits a stall at a higher temp my challenge is going to be keeping it in a faux cambro until dinner time.
Ok - so it would figure that I had one of the rare briskets that didn't stall even a little. From start to finish it was a 6:50 (math error corrected) cook. Even though I wrapped it in foil at 150, would I usually have some kind of stall?
My Fireboard probe shows 203 and I confirmed that temp with a Thermapen. It's now resting in a faux cambro and it's 1240 EDT and we probably won't eat dinner for another five hours (at least).
If I see the temp dropping to the 140 ballpark, should I slice it and refrigerate it (ugh)?
Last edited by MtView; October 26, 2019, 02:01 PM.
Do not slice and refrigerate! I’d throw it in my oven on the lowest setting, 170 degrees. The lower the better as long as it’s above 140. A couple hours before dinner, I’d turn off the oven and cover the brisket in towels, leaving it in the oven.
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