Packer Prime Beef Brisket Advice

[Buck]

All,

S1 - Little Guy Owner

Soliciting some advice on how best to go about smoking my #13 Packer Prime Beef Brisket I just got at Costco.  It is untrimmed so figure maybe #11-12 on the smoker weight.

I am assuming I need to cut in half and smoke on two racks?

What is the best way to cut and smoke this baby on my S1?

 

[EFGM]

Just checked and your racks are 12x13. I suspect your packer is a little longer than that, but how much longer? One possibility might be to place it diagonally and put a empty soda can or maybe even empty veggie can, ( a little bigger than the coke can.) if this would allow it to stay in one piece great, if not, it's one to store in memory for use one day maybe. You can search YouTube for separating point from flat and watch how that's done or you can just cut it in half, I've done it both ways. One thing for sure is your going to come out with one or Two hunks of "goodness!" Be sure and take and post pictures.

 

[Pork Belly]

lay your rack on top of the brisket, cut off part of the flat to get it to fit, grind that trimed piece for burger.

 

[old sarge]

And if the flat is thin enough, you could fold it over/under just enough to fit.

 

[Buck]

Thanks for the advice going to start either tonight or tomorrow and cook through the night.

 

[SconnieQ]

A month late... but I cut the brisket in half. Put the flat fat side up on the top rack. Put the point fat side down on a rack below. I put a temp probe in both pieces, and go for 195 in the flat, and 200-205 in the point. Because of the way they are arranged in the smoker, they both seem to get to their temps at about the same time.

 

[TNVolsmokin]

A month late... but I cut the brisket in half. Put the flat fat side up on the top rack. Put the point fat side down on a rack below. I put a temp probe in both pieces, and go for 195 in the flat, and 200-205 in the point. Because of the way they are arranged in the smoker, they both seem to get to their temps at about the same time.

I have to ask, how long did it take to reach temp? I did this recently with about a 10lb  brisket. At about 6 hours I hit 195 and 210. Pulled them and let rest for an hour. The meat was very tough. Was wondering if I should’ve left them in for the amount of time for 10 lbs (10-12hours), or what I could’ve done dofferently? Thanks for the input!

 

[old sarge]

At what temperature did you have your smoker set for?  And did you or have you checked your smoker temp with a separate thermometer just to verify that your set temp is pretty close to actual?

 

[LarryD]

I have to ask, how long did it take to reach temp? I did this recently with about a 10lb  brisket. At about 6 hours I hit 195 and 210. Pulled them and let rest for an hour. The meat was very tough. Was wondering if I should’ve left them in for the amount of time for 10 lbs (10-12hours), or what I could’ve done dofferently? Thanks for the input!

Hmmm...  not what I would have expected...  that's really fast to hit 'done' and would have expected you to be in the stall at that point.  Here's a whole bunch of questions to help with troubleshooting...

• How much fat cap did you leave?
• Did you brine?
• What grade (choice, select, prime) was the brisket?
• At what temperature did you set the smoker?
• Did you put a water pan next to the fire box?
• Was it 'jiggly' when you took it out?  (I'm guessing not.)
• Have you tested your probes for accuracy?  (ice water and boiling water)
• Did you wrap at any point or open the door for any other reason once you put it in and closed it up?
• Did you do any other kind of prep?  (seasoning, injection, etc?)

         

 

[SconnieQ]

I have to ask, how long did it take to reach temp? I did this recently with about a 10lb  brisket. At about 6 hours I hit 195 and 210. Pulled them and let rest for an hour. The meat was very tough. Was wondering if I should’ve left them in for the amount of time for 10 lbs (10-12hours), or what I could’ve done dofferently? Thanks for the input!

What temperature did you set your SI for? Assuming it was around 225, I can almost guarantee that it is a probe accuracy problem. Either your meat probe, or your ambient probe. Test them in ice water (probes should read around 32 degrees F) and in boiling water (probes should read around 212 degrees F). The discrepancy is so huge, I don't know if other details can explain it. It just didn't cook long enough. Or it might have to do with probe placement. Make sure your probe was not in a fat pocket, and securely embedded with the tip in the thickest part of the meat.

 

[SuperDave]

TNV, internal temperature on a brisket is just a guideline.  At those temps you start doing the jiggle test or the toothpick probe, toothpick should go in and out with no resistance.  All pieces of meat are different so don't use IT as an absolute with regards to "done".  And I am also in the belief that your probes were not accurate in this smoke. 

 

[TNVolsmokin]

I have to ask, how long did it take to reach temp? I did this recently with about a 10lb  brisket. At about 6 hours I hit 195 and 210. Pulled them and let rest for an hour. The meat was very tough. Was wondering if I should’ve left them in for the amount of time for 10 lbs (10-12hours), or what I could’ve done dofferently? Thanks for the input!

Hmmm...  not what I would have expected...  that's really fast to hit 'done' and would have expected you to be in the stall at that point.  Here's a whole bunch of questions to help with troubleshooting...

• How much fat cap did you leave?
• Did you brine?
• What grade (choice, select, prime) was the brisket?
• At what temperature did you set the smoker?
• Did you put a water pan next to the fire box?
• Was it 'jiggly' when you took it out?  (I'm guessing not.)
• Have you tested your probes for accuracy?  (ice water and boiling water)
• Did you wrap at any point or open the door for any other reason once you put it in and closed it up?
• Did you do any other kind of prep?  (seasoning, injection, etc?)

       

Thanks for all the replies and areas to look into -
We did not brine
‘Y wife trimmed it but probably not well. This was our first and I think she left a lot of fat.
Prettt sure it was prime
I had it set to about 235 and did use a water pan
It did seem somewhat jiggly, the flat moreso
I didn’t verify the temperature probes
I only wrapped before letting it rest
And did salt and pepper rub only

I think that covers the questions others had as well,
Thank you all!

 

[SconnieQ]

One of the biggest mistakes people make is overtrimming. So I doubt that undertrimming was a problem. I only trim the really thick parts (the big globs that probably won't fully render) and leave 3/8 to 1/2 inch. I score the thicker parts of fat remaining. The fat keeps the meat moist. People can decide not to eat it if they want. Or you could trim some off after smoking. I think the fat is delicious. I still believe it was either probe accuracy or probe placement. It's just unlikely that a 10 lb brisket would be done in 6 hours. I don't really see anything wrong with your process.

 

[TNVolsmokin]

Thanks for the input! That’s what I wasn’t sure - is it still a 10lb brisket if cut in half or two 5lb briskets? I was afraid of over doing things if it was being considered two 5lb briskets.

 

[SuperDave]

Thanks for the input! That’s what I wasn’t sure - is it still a 10lb brisket if cut in half or two 5lb briskets? I was afraid of over doing things if it was being considered two 5lb briskets.

It would be considered as 2 - 5 lbs briskets, which do take longer per pound than a 10 lbs brisket but probably not as long total time as a 10 lbs brisket.

 

[TNVolsmokin]

Roughly what would you estimate? 10 hours?

 

[SuperDave]

Now that we know you cut your brisket in half, you may not have been too far away as your temps are now a little more believable. Next time when your brisket reaches these temps, just start doing the toothpick test and it may be an additional 30 minutes to an hour but you'll get the tender meat without over cooking it. 

 

[SconnieQ]

Now that we know you cut your brisket in half, you may not have been too far away as your temps are now a little more believable. Next time when your brisket reaches these temps, just start doing the toothpick test and it may be an additional 30 minutes to an hour but you'll get the tender meat without over cooking it.

+1 to what Dave said.

 

[ibanez122]

A month late... but I cut the brisket in half. Put the flat fat side up on the top rack. Put the point fat side down on a rack below. I put a temp probe in both pieces, and go for 195 in the flat, and 200-205 in the point. Because of the way they are arranged in the smoker, they both seem to get to their temps at about the same time.

I had always wondered about this when i was doing the research on this stuff..... are you cutting it directly in half or angling it when you cut in half.  My wife has been getting on me and wanting me to do a brisket so this is what im going to have to do it looks like so i want to make sure im on the same page with everything!

 

[DivotMaker]

Derek, I used to cut them right in 2, back when I smoked them in my #1.  Also putting the thick point end on the bottom, and flat end on top.  Always worked well!