Advice needed for cooking small 2lb brisket

Those sound like pretty small flat's. Use your favorite rub, or just salt & pepper. I haven't settled on an exact cooking temp for briskets yet. The last one I did at 240. Something that small shouldn't take too long, just guessing maybe 3-4 hours? Should be done at around 190-195, but use a probe or a skewer to check for doneness. If it slides in and out with little resistance, it's done. After taking it out, wrap in foil, place in a cooler and allow to rest for a while so the juices re-distribute.

Forgot to mention, check out Brisket 101 at the top of the forum.

A brisket that small will be a challenge. Most likely it's cut from the flat. The trick will be getting it to proper internal temp (190-195) while not drying it out. Once it hits 160-165 internal temp, I'd suggest foiling it with a 1/4 cup of beef broth and start probing it for tenderness around 185o. Chances are, it will need 190+/- before it's ready to go. Depending on temp it will probably take about 3 hrs, start to finish.

You mentioned that your wife bought several...if you're not happy with the outcome, raw brisket makes great burger meat

quote:

Posted by MaxQ:
Once it hits 160-165 internal temp, I'd suggest foiling it with a 1/4 cup of beef broth and start probing it for tenderness around 185o.

If you have two briskets, Smokin and Tom have always taught us to compare and decide for ourselves what we thought was best...with this in mind, I'd foil one at 150* and then follow MaxQ's advice on the other part.

Personally, I'd go do the brisket shopping and a buy a large packer. It will be easier to learn to cook with.

Experimenting is fun.

quote:

Originally posted by cal:

Personally, I'd go do the brisket shopping and a buy a large packer. It will be easier to learn to cook with.

AS they say in forum land, QFT
Quoted for truth

If you have success with a couple-great.

Slicing very thin across the grain is always an option,as is chopped beef sandwiches.

Pieces like that are cut for the famed"New England boiled dinner".
Makes a great pot roast with potatoes,carrots,and an onion,if all the practice doesn't suit you.

Turned out OK. Did 1 hr at 165, 2 hrs at 225 but was only about 140 internal temp so cranked it up to 400 for 30 minutes. It registered 160 but was medium, no pink center. A lot of juices came out of it still however. It was good, nice bark, good flavor but of course a bit tough. Cut in cross grain pretty thin so that wasn't an issue.

Now- question for you guys. Why do you want to cook brisket to an internal temp of 195????? Isn't it basically burned or over well at that point?

Brisket isn't like a steak or a roast that you'd cook to medium rare. Brisket is a very tough piece of meat that needs to cook a long time to break down. You'd think that it would be hard and crusty and burnt at 195, but it actually comes out quite moist and tender.

As you noticed, at 160 it was quite tough. Beginning brisket cooks will think the reason for that is that they over cooked it, when in reality it's actually under cooked.

At what temp and for how long would you recommend?

Tough = undercooked in most cases
Dry = means overcooked or low quality meat

Something that small you can't cook on duration. The size alone will make it difficult to guess.

Go for an internal temp of around 195 to 200. It's a range, a gauge. Best method is to push a probe into the meat and feel resistance (or very little) then it's done.

Don't be confused by rare/med rare/well done. They have no place in brisket (it's a long discussion).

Me? I'd grind it up for hamburger, it's too small to do much with.

Unless you are an experienced smoker/slo-lo cooker,you might find SmokinOkie's 101 s invaluable on virtually every product you try.

I can play around with the time obviously but have no idea as to the proper grill temp to use. Any help here?

Why sure! I'm not sure what you are cooking on, but I'd cook it around 230-240, until you foiled it then I'd turn up the heat to 275*-300*. It will finish real fast, so make sure you are paying attention.

Now this technique/temps are for what you are trying to cook this time.

quote:

Originally posted by Pelletsaurus:
I can play around with the time obviously but have no idea as to the proper grill temp to use. Any help here?

So did you smoke or grill the brisket? BBQ and grilling are two different techniques. Traditional barbecue involves low and slow cooking in the 225-250 temp range, generally speaking. You CAN barbecue on a grill (gasser or charcoal)by using indirect heat. Typically the charcoal or gas is used on only one side of the grill. Once the temp is stabilized you add the meat AWAY from the fire. A hood or dome is set over the fire and temp can be regulated by adjusting air vents.

Sorry to be long winded but I'm not sure your using a smoker or a grill.

Using a pellet grill, sorry

quote:

Originally posted by Pelletsaurus:
Using a pellet grill, sorry

But are you grilling (cooking over direct heat) or smoking (cooking indirect).

Buy a remote probe thermometer so you can measure the real temp at the grate level. I don't trust the ones that come with the smokers.

Shoot for 225 to 250 where you are placing the brisket.