Flat or Point

[joeeless]

Still in the learning stage so I am a little apprehensive about smoking. the whole brisket. I saw both choice trimmed flats and points, both around 4 - 5 lbs at the market and am thinking about starting with one of those. Question is, which would you all recommend that I smoke first. I think that if I could find a small brisket, I might try the who thing, but so far I have not been able to find anything 10 lbs or less. Any advice and comments would be welcome

[RonB]

Do you prefer lean or fatty cuts? The flat is lean while the point is fatty, but should render down when properly cooked. I also think the point is a bit more forgiving as it has less of a tendency to dry out.

[Greygoose]

Go BIG or go ,,,,,,where ever you think 🤔
You will totally impress ur self or be makin’ a lot of chili
Brisket is not just you,,,,it’s the quality of the meat also
Just go for it,,,,,,,and make some burnt ends with the point

[ecowper]

I highly recommend cooking the whole packer when you start. It’s actually more forgiving and easier than cook a hunk o’brisket in my opinion. My two cents worth

[ecowper]

Also, to give you some idea of what happens with a 14 lb brisket

1. If you trim well and aggressively, you will take off 2.5 to 3 lbs and the brisket is now about 11 lbs
2. When you cook it, it will shrink about 30%, so you’re now at 7.5 to 8 lbs of cooked meat
3. Each person eating with you will have about 8-12 oz of meat, so 1/2 to 3/4 lb
4. Assuming you have some folks over, you will finish 1/3 to 1/2 of the cooked brisket
5. You will have 4 lbs, or so, of brisket let.
6. Save 2 lbs for left overs, lunches, sammiches
7. Turn the other 2 lbs into brisket hash

:-)

[joeeless]

That's a nice breakdown, but with just my wife, who eats as much as a parakeet and my daughter, that might end up with a lot of brisket for a long long time. Still, sounds worth tr;ying.

[ecowper]

Apply that breakdown to a 10 lb brisket, you will trim 2 lbs, lose 2 lbs to cooking shrink, and have 6 lbs of brisket. The 3 of you will eat 2 lbs. That gives you 4 lbs of leftovers. Some for sammiches, some for hash, and some for chili :-)

[Steve R.]

Agree with advice above. Cook the whole brisket, freeze the leftovers right away, and enjoy them in January/February when you're not going to want to get out there.

[surfdog]

Wait, what? Not going to get out there?! What the..?
Ok, I get it...it’s "winter" and yes even in SoCal we get "winter." But January/February? But come on...everyone knows that "winter" is 6 hours to 6 weeks. Sheesh LOL

[surfdog]

Gotta say I do love our pretty much 12 month grilling "season."

[Steve R.]

I mean that hypothetically, surfdog. There's a pic somewhere in the SUWYC threads of me holding a frozen beer while I tend a stickburner fire in about 0° temps.

[Panhead John]

I’d go with a large point over the flat for beginners. As RonB mentioned, it’s more fatty and a little more forgiving if you happen to overcook it. A simple rub of Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper is easy as well as tasty on its own. Remember to pull it at an IT of about 203-205 and let it rest, wrapped for a couple of hours in a cooler.

[LA Pork Butt]

I agree. The point is a little like cooking a pork shoulder. You won’t have to be concerned about it drying out like you would a flat.

[bbqLuv]

There are many good videos on youtube.com about smoking a brisket, whole brisket, and burnt ends.
Actually it is easy to make excellent brisket on a pellet grill.
I am easily confused, so I try to keep it simple.
trim, season, smoke 225-275df, wrap @165df internal, cook until probe tender.
Be sure to checkout Amazing Ribs free side for great how to on brisket.
Don't forget the PBR, and friends.

[bbqLuv]

BTW, Cooking is an ART. Grilling, BBQ, smoking are art forms. The meat is the canvas.

[joeeless]

Point taken with my apologies. Is there a way I can redirect it to a more appropriate topic or is this something that needs to be done by an admin and if so, please move it to Techniques and everything else food, which seems to be the only appropriate category

[Dewesq55]

This channel is now supposed to be restricted to "Recipes Only." There is a Read This First post at the top of the channel which explains in detail what to do. Questions about technique, etc., liked this one, are supposed to go here. I think this thread should be re-directed.

Huskee

[jfmorris]

I agree. Clean up on Aisle 3! Huskee

[klflowers]

Here is my suggestion. Get a full packer, smoke her up, eat what you like, pack the rest in a cooler with some dry ice and send her to me here in TN...

Whatever you decide to do, use this:

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/barbecue-sauce-recipes/texas-barbecue-juice

I have gotten to where I won't do a brisket without it.

[bbqLuv]

No no no, send it to me in Oregon!
TN is noted for great BBQ, we need more in OR, I'm a trying and need help.

[Panhead John]

You’re funny bbqLuv 😂. We all know Texas is a BBQ wasteland! Send it to:
Panhead John
Houston, Tex .

[Attjack]

Prime point.

[TripleB]

I'm with the posters above that state "do the whole brisket". Why - because you will eventually cook a whole brisket someday and you might as well get your experience in at the beginning. With the experience of cooking a whole brisket and seeing how the flat and point cook, you'll be able to separate those in the future if you are so inclined to cook them separately. I don't think you'll learn a whole lot by cooking them separately.......my 2 cents.

[ecowper]

my first ever brisket adventure was a flat and I made the best tasting shoe leather you've ever had :-)

[bbqLuv]

shoe leather, yep, whole brisket is the way the way to go.
I wrap, but with a hybrid, Foil in bottom and paper in top.
Mo Cason tip, got to love it.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+smoke+a+brisket&&view=detail&mid=8329F67C54DF2CB868038329F67C54DF2CB86803&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dhow%2Bto%2Bsmoke%2Ba%2Bbrisket%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

[rickgregory]

So... given that you're not having a party and with due respect for the fact that you can freeze leftovers etc... I'd cook a point and I'd take the flat and make pastrami out of it (or ropa vieja, etc). What I would NOT do is smoke a flat by itself unless it's very well marbled. It will have too high a chance of drying out.

[joeeless]

I appreciate all the comments even if I did screw up in misdirecting this post