Brisket flat on Weber Performer

[Alabama Smoke]

Purchased a 2 year old performer yesterday for $200 and it seems to be in great shape. Had planned to do a simple meatloaf for inaugural cook as they are easy and relatively quick. Then my wife shows up from Costco with a small Choice brisket flat.....about 3 lbs.

I have little brisket experience as this one will be my third........all flats from Costco and relatively small and rather thin.......this one is about an inch thick....perhaps slightly thicker.

They were apparently running behind on getting product in or selling the heck out of them because she indicated it was the last flat they had! Anyway the indicated sell by date is tomorrow! I may just freeze it but thought why not go ahead and put in on the performer. My previous two were cooked on the Pit Barrel Cooker and were only slightly larger.

Biggest concern is keeping it moist so I am thinking of injecting it with beef broth, which brings me to the reason for the post:

Since I have never injected before........Do I dry brine before or after the injection? I assume before but don't really know. Or do I add salt to the injection liquid and inject and brine together???

I assume I would apply my salt free rub just before putting meat on the fire like I normally do.

I would really appreciate any assistance you might be able to provide me.

I don't yet have a SnS for the 22" Performer but do have the charcoal basket made by SnS for my 18" Jumbo Joe. Thinking I will use it for this cook.

Also thinking I should do a dry run (WITH NO MEAT IN SMOKER) with SnS basket loaded with charcoal a day or so before. Use this to practice adjusting temp to between 225 and 250 and to see just how long my burn time will be.

Thinking a 3 lb flat will cook in around 4 to 5 hours. Wrap at around 170 degrees when bark is set, then take to probe tender. The cook time would be reasonably realistic on my PBC, but not sure about the Performer.

A lot of questions here but we have some real experts here on AR. Please chime it!!!! And thank you.

Tom

Edited to add: Just dawned on me that the PBC ran about 280 cooking those two earlier briskets. Wondering how much time will be added if between 225 and 250 due to the lower temp and I also expect the stall might be more noticeable at the lower temps?

[jfmorris]

Tom,

I would skip 225, and go for around 250 to 275 degrees. That is where I have been doing my briskets lately - usually full packers. You are right, that if that thing is only 1 inch thick, it shouldn't take nearly as long as the full packers I'm used to, which are MAYBE 1-2 inches at the thin end, and 3-4, maybe 5 at the point end. The stall might not be as noticeable on a thin flat. If you go 250 to 275, you will probably power through it faster - I notice it more at 225 for sure.

The only flats I have done were actually corned beef brisket flats, back around St. Paddy's day, and I smoked them until they hit about 150 or 160, then transferred them to a cast iron dutch oven with quartered cabbage, some carrots, onions and beef stock, and it finished out in another hour or two. Hmmm. I have a couple of those in the deep freeze. Might pull one out soon.

Once you wrap, you will be braising, and that should help reduce moisture loss. I've also often raised the temp of my Performer to 300 once I wrapped a brisket, to speed up the cook. I only do that if I am on a deadline for dinner, and things are not progressing along fast enough.

As far as the rest of your questions - you know the drill. Salt in advance, but you probably don't need to do it even overnight on a thin flat, then your rub when you hit the smoker. Personally, I've never injected. If the meat is USDA Prime, it probably doesn't need it. Then again, it is a flat.... but my personal thought is the injection will just cook out. Wrap earlier than 170 if you are worried about it being dry, at the risk of less bark.

[Alabama Smoke]

Thanks for those comments Jim! Although the fat seems to run pretty uniformly through out the flat it is labeled as Choice. I thought that was steep at $7.99 a lbs. I also noted that Costco has tenderized it, but I would assume taking it up above 200 should kill any germs associated?

I asked an employee in the meat dept how they governed the tenderizing process, etc. I have never had a problem and surely don't want to start. He indicated daily, and done by an experienced butcher.

[jfmorris]

Yes - taking it to above 160F should kill any pathogens they forced in with their blade tenderizer. Can't believe they did it to a brisket flat!

[smokin fool]

I did a flat a few weeks ago, dry brined it over night and re-dry rubbed it right before going on the grill.
No injection, I have never tried injection myself.
Smoked it of 5 hours at 280-300, pulled it at 195 inside temp and let it rest for 2 hours.
Should have let it get to 203 inside temp as I don't think the meat/fat broke down enough.
But it was dryer than I wanted so your idea of injecting should help that.
I was still good eating don't get me wrong but in my mind it could have been better.

[HawkerXP]

Inject before putting rub on before putting on grate. Put a pan under the meat on the charcoal grate with the bottom just covered with water. This will be used to catch juice's. The water will keep it from just evaporating away.

[HawkerXP]

I would think the basket would work fine. You will just need to poke the ash down and add unlit coals sooner. I'd start with 7 lit in one corner.