Brisket on UDS?

[WyomingLawDog]

I plan to smoke a brisket this coming Sunday and has been aging in the frig this week. My wife did not buy a whole brisket and just bought a brisket flat at Sams Club, is a 7 1/2 lb brisket flat. Do I smoke it differently and what amount of time? I have been reading a lot of posts. What temp 225? Wrap at 145? I am trying to get an idea of total cook time so I know when to start to have it ready for dinner Sunday night. Rub, just salt and pepper? I am guessing to inject about 30 min before it goes on the pit? There is different ways I see people do it. What is throwing me off is it is only the flat, so I guess I don't get burnt ends. I also see the some like fat side up and some smoke it down. The brisket flat is already trimmed as it only has o be what looks like a 1/4 inch of fat on it. So this what I was thinking salt and pepper rub and injection of beef stock prior to going on smoker, smoke at 225 until it gets to 145 then pull and wrap. smoke until it gets to 195, unwrap and put back on smoker just to get the bark firmed up. Then pull and wrap again and put in a towel and in a cooler for 1 1/2 to 2 hours? Anything I am missing and what total time do you think this will take? I am just guessing based off about an hour per pound and then resting time so 9 to 9 1/2 hours, is that about right? Thanks for any help, just don't want to ruin my first brisket, cooking on the UDS. Thanks

[Rodcrafter]

These guys had a pole awhile back about fat up or down. I had always done it up, until then. But on an RF there is a good bit of radiant heat from the baffle plate. So I tried it fat down, and I like it better that way, it sorta melts the fat better, and protects the meat. As for the wrap I do that so I can count on when it will be done. Because I'm usually serving it shortly after cooking it. And know people don't want to wait. I would say yes to the 225, yes to wrap around 150, and that size will be at 150 in about 4.5-5 hours. Then about 3 more hours it will be getting done, I try to check it pretty often when it gets near 200, but there is a time when it gets soft, then it is done. I haven't been injecting in some time.

[Pete Mazz]

I'm a fan of injecting brisket and just a salt/pepper rub. I also trim almost all the fat off the meat. You've got the right idea about letting it rest. Best thing you can do IMO. I sometimes start extra early and the just put it in a 175 deg oven all wrapped up in a foil tray. That allows me to smoke other things that can take higher heat and cook faster; chicken, ribs, sausage, beans...

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

Another option to think about is Hot and Fast. I always was a low and slow guy but it was a killer when doing competitions. Last year we switched to hot and fast and saw a couple outcomes. First, we got more sleep and second our scores when up dramatically. The only thing we changed was how we cooked it. I'm now a convert and will never go back to low and slow for brisket.

[bbroper]

Can you give more details on the Hot and Fast process?

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

It's really the same process, but you cook at 300-325. You still wrap at around 150 and cook it until it reaches about 200-205. We find the key is the rest time. Once you take it off the cooker, leave it in foil and wrap it in a blanket and place it in a empty cooker for about 2 hours. Perfect brisket every time.

[WyomingLawDog]

From what I have learned so far from events I have been too (not as a cook) as a judge or spectator. The hot and fast is like smoking at 325 till the meat gets too 160 (usually about 2 hours in) then wrap and usually takes about 3 more hours for the brisket to get an internal temp of 198, pull and let it rest in a cooler for 2 hours, in a nut shell. One good think I have heard about hot and fast is there is not a stall in the meat temp. I have yet to cook a brisket either way as I am new to smoking Q (or should I say real BBQ). I became a CBJ last summer, what I have learned too date is talking with cooks at events and on this forum. Have met lots who swear by the hot and fast and others who have tried hot and fast but still like the low and slow method. Myron Mixon is a hot and fast guy, it is what works best for you and I don't know what works for me yet as this will be my first brisket this coming Sunday. My fear of hot and fast is charring my brisket. By the way anyone else having trouble locating a whole brisket? I have been finding the brisket flats but not whole briskets yet, afraid to go to the meat shop as I am sure they can get me one but price is pricey in there. I usually buy at Sams Club, I will have to see if they get whole briskets that they cut down and keep a whole one for me.

[Rodcrafter]

Sam's Club gets them if they order them. But some of the stores don't want to order them because they have found they don't sell very many. RD always has them.

[WyomingLawDog]

Sam's Club gets them if they order them. But some of the stores don't want to order them because they have found they don't sell very many. RD always has them.

Who is RD, up here in Wyoming we only have a select number of grocery stores. We have walmart, sams club, Albertsons, and safeway.

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

RD = Restaurant Depot

[Pete Mazz]

Whole briskets (packers) are way less expensive than flats. Around here the flats are ~$9.00 lb. Personally I can't imagine why anyone would even want a flat. The point is soooo much better for slow cooking. Problem is nobody that I can find will sell just the point.

[Rodcrafter]

Yep, what he said

[WyomingLawDog]

I wanted the whole brisket so I could cut the point into the burnt ends, I love them. But my wife came home with the flat and said that's all she could find, I'm sure she did not ask any of the butchers in the meat department. 9.00lb, wow we paid 6.99 lb at sams club for the flat. I am going to have to go in and talk with the butchers in the meat department and these different stores and see what I can get.

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

I'm pretty lucky here in MN for find full Packers at Sam's for $3.49 LBS. They always have tons to pick from.

[WyomingLawDog]

Ok I know I'm going to get bashed for no photos yet, but wanted to give an update on my briskets I have done on my UDS, the only good smoker I have until Frank gets them plans done on the mini gravity fed smoker, so I can build it. Can only do so much meat on a UDS, that's the down fall I have run into so far. Anyway I have done 2 briskets so far, both I think turned out really well. The 1st one was just the brisket flat I talked about earlier in this post, did it low and slow, was really good. The 2nd one was this past weekend, did a full brisket, trimmed it down and everything before I started the cook. I smoked this one hot and fast I guess you could say, had the UDS hanging steady at 300, 2 hours in had the brisket to 160, wrapped and 2 hours later my brisket was at 202, wish I would have checked it sooner, wanted to pull at 196-198 and let rest. Let it rest for 2 hours in cooler, separated point from flat and cubed point for burnt ends and put in a sauce I use of AJU drippings from cook and BBQ sauce, was really good, put the burnt end back on UDS for about 30 min to let sauce to start and set up while I let my flat rest longer. Pulled burnt ends and then pulled flat and sliced up. Turned out very good, will never by another brisket flat again unless I can't get a full brisket, those burnt ends were awesome. So far I have done a cook every weekend for the past 4 weeks on my UDS, Ribs, brisket flat, smoked ham and now another brisket. By the way, I found a cheap 16in pizza pan I use as a baffle plate on the UDS, is working great. Thanks for all the great tips guys, you guys rock, really getting this UDS dialed in .

[WyomingLawDog]

Here is a picture of the flat I cooked, looking for other pics, might still be on my wife camera.

[WyomingLawDog]

Pic of 2 Easter hams I smoked along with some pork shots I smoked, all turned out really good on the UDS.

[Rodcrafter]

Looks like some good eating.

[Pete Mazz]

Looks really good!

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

[Puff]

VERY Tasty looking, I like the smoke ring....Super tender?

[WyomingLawDog]

Puff was very tender, would pull apart with a slight pull. Had a very good smoke flavor. It looks a little dry in the pic but had good moisture still, after I sliced it, I just dipped the slices in the Aju in the foil and put them on a platter for serving. This was my first brisket which was just a flat, I smoked it with half hickory and half pecan wood. Was just rite for me as I like a smoke flavor. The family loved it but I told them to be brutally honest with me and my sister in-law and my mother in-law said they would of liked a little less smoke, all in what people like I guess. So this past brisket, just this past weekend I used half pecan and half cherry wood. They loved that as the smoke was not as powerful, it did have less of a smoke ring also, don't know if that was just different types of woods or that I also cooked it hotter and faster. Me I would of liked a stronger smoke flavor, I think that is why I like hickory so much, like I said different people like different flavor types. Maybe next time I will try a combination of all 3, hickory, pecan and cherry. I am learning a lot on these cooks, I don't worry about the time as much as I do the meat temp. This last cook upset me cause I let the brisket flat get to 202, did not think in 2 hours It was going to jump from 160 to 202 cooking at 300 wrapped, lesson learned. I need to put a probe in it and just let the probe tell me when to pull it as I used a thermopen that registers temp with in 2-3 seconds, love it, but when it showed 202 in the thickest part of the flat, I was oh crap and pulled it. Still had good moisture just wanted to pull apart while I was slicing it, so I would say just a little over done, but I believe in opening the foil to let the steam out when I pull them to stop the cooking process and then wrapping back up and letting rest wrapped in a towel and in a cooler for up too 2 hours. Still really hot when you pull out of the cooler. I am not pro by any means, I learn as much as I can from every cook and talk with many people at BBQ competitions to try and prefect my cooking techniques. Been a fun ride so far, looking forward to many more cooks to do for practice and then look to get into some competitions. God has been good to me, did not ever think I could turn out this type of product this quickly, only being 4 total cooks so far. A lot of people I have talked too so far say out of the 4 meats, brisket is the hardest, don't know but I love doing brisket.

[The Czar]

I'd eat that in an instant