I smoke every other weekend. And apart from one babyback and 1 or 2 butt smokes, all I've done this year are flats. It's funny the first smoke I ever did was a brisket back in 04'. Didn't even like the cut of meat. I thought it was too pot roasty tasting...lol. Now me and my son prefer it hands down over pork. That and I finally have brisket down to where I pretty much just through it in with 2 chunks of cherry, 1.5 hours a pound and I get the same results every time......Now if I could only find flats for the same price as butt. I might be doing one every weekend...lol.

I also prefer Brisket over butts. Have you tried a whole brisket yet Bill? The point meat is awful tasty!

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Whiting:
I also prefer Brisket over butts. Have you tried a whole brisket yet Bill? The point meat is awful tasty!

Yea, the first one I did was a whole brisket and I wasn't crazy about it. Plus it's just me and my son that eat bbq. So a 6 pound flat (what I usually smoke) is plenty. If I smoke on Saturday it will last us until Tuesday.

A 6 lb. flat is just so quick and easy when you do it high heat. I do prefer pork butt myself, but it's such a big production. It's all good.

What's not to love?

Im putting my first brisket on the smoker tonight, but I think it is just a flat... weighed about 6 lbs. I hope to put it on around 9:00... at 1.5 hours per pound, I may be cooking it too soon to have for lunch tomorrow. should I wait till around midnight to put it on?

I was a ribs-only man for years. It was only a year ago that I had brisket. It was an AHA moment for me. I prefer it now to ribs or pulled pork. I can't believe my parents never turned me on to brisket. I had a deprived childhood...

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Lanier:
Im putting my first brisket on the smoker tonight, but I think it is just a flat... weighed about 6 lbs. I hope to put it on around 9:00... at 1.5 hours per pound, I may be cooking it too soon to have for lunch tomorrow. should I wait till around midnight to put it on?

At 6 lbs it is a flat. Are you going to foil at all? I foil at about 160 until a probe inserted into the thickest part goes in with little to no resistance. I find that these flats take between 1 - 1.25 hrs per pound, but don't go strictly by time. Test for tenderness. I'd say 9 o'clock is early. Even if it does take 1.5 hours per pound you'll have plenty of time if you start around 12. It'll stay warm wrapped in a cooler a good while. I've assumed you are smoking low & slow and that you eat lunch early.

Thanks Dave, I didnt plan on foiling, I thought I would just cook it low and slow... does the foiling help keep the moisture in or is it strictly to speed up the cook?

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Lanier:
Thanks Dave, I didnt plan on foiling, I thought I would just cook it low and slow... does the foiling help keep the moisture in or is it strictly to speed up the cook?

I can only tell you what my experience has been after using advice from others. It does help with moisture in the finished product. Also, you can add flavors in the foil. I find foiling makes for more consistency from cook to cook. I wouldn't pay any attention to temps once the meat is foiled except to say that I'd start testing for tender at around 185. The cooking dynamics change when the meat is in foil and temps won't correspond to tender. If you do foil, be careful picking up the package. There will be some very hot juice in it.

Thanks! Im going to wait untill about 10:00 to put it on, Ill be up early to go hunting, so Ill take it off, wrap it any put it in a cooler. One last question... I cut a lot of the fat off trying to leave a thin layer of it on. Should I leave the fat side up or down?

Low and slow, I go with the fat side up. Make sure the meat isn't below 130 for over two hours while you are gone

sounds good. Ill make sure it stays hot... thanks!

I hear ya Bill about being hooked on Brisket. Maybe me living in Texas for the first 22 years of my life has something to do with it, but brisket is just hard to beat.

It's also just me and my wife, but I purchase whole packers everytime for 3 main reasons;
1. Price. I can usually purchase a whole packer for the same price as just a flat up here. Sam's club sells whole packers at around $1.70 per pound.

2. People. It's always a good time to have friends over for some BBQ, especially when there's no good BBQ around, except your own.

3. Leftovers & Chili. While it's hard to beat left overs, in my opinion, I've started making chili with a few pounds of leftover brisket. Brisket, BBQ Sauce, some beer, cumin, chili powder, cayenne red pepper, etc., and you get some incredible tasting Chili.

In fact, just finished a 16 pounder this afternoon. Man that's some good eating. Have a good one!