Cooking brisket point and flat separately?

[Jim6820]

I have seen discussions about separating the point and flat before cooking a brisket. I have also seen folks who then stack them one on top of the other when cooking. Others cook both pieces flat on the grill. I picked up a nice brisket today at the local US Foods Chef’sStore and want to try cooking it with the point and flat separated. It has already been separated, but I’m debating which way to go. Any thoughts?

 

[Greg Jones]

Depends on what you want to end up with. Matt Pitman of Meat Church recently did a YouTube video where he cut out the fat vein, leaving the point and flat (barely) intact, then made burnt ends from the point after it was smoked. A year or so ago I did something similar, cutting out all the connecting fat but then I did not make burnt ends out of the point. I believe I will try this on my next brisket.

 

[Jim6820]

Depends on what you want to end up with. Matt Pitman of Meat Church recently did a YouTube video where he cut out the fat vein, leaving the point and flat (barely) intact, then made burnt ends from the point after it was smoked. A year or so ago I did something similar, cutting out all the connecting fat but then I did not make burnt ends out of the point. I believe I will try this on my next brisket.

Hmmm. Hadn’t thought that far ahead. Good point. I don’t think I will go the full burnt ends route. My usual procedure is to just use the appropriate outside cuts for burnt ends and the rest of the brisket gets sliced.

 

[Jim6820]

After thinking about it a bit, I’ve decided not to stack the point and flat, at least on this cook. Seems like this would kill the bark on the mated surfaces.

I’ll put them on side by side at 0-dark-early tomorrow morning and plan on pulling and wrapping them at the same temperature (about 160F) later in the day. I’ll use my TW Signals to monitor the cook; it connects and works very reliably, unlike the you-know-what.

When the IT gets to 200F, I’ll start probing for tenderness and pull each piece when it’s ready. I’m guessing the point will probably take an hour or so longer than the flat since it is significantly thicker.

The rest time in the cooler will be the equalizer for when to slice and eat; at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours, if needed.

 

[Greg Jones]

Sounds like a solid plan-good luck!

 

[Pacman]

Looking forward to results. I've done just flats and whole intact packers. That doesn't mean I haven't pondered with the knife still in my hand...

 

[Jim6820]

Looking forward to results. I've done just flats and whole intact packers. That doesn't mean I haven't pondered with the knife still in my hand...

That’s where I’ve been too, so separating the packer into flat and point is something I’ve never done—yet! One of the benefits I can see by doing it this way is that you have a way to avoid over-cooking the thinner flat without doing a bunch of grill gymnastics. We’ll see.

 

[Jim6820]

Well, the separated point and flat have been in the RT-340 for about 4 hours and they are cooking faster than I‘d like. Looks like we’ll be at wrap temp on the flat in the next hour and a bit more for the thicker point.

This was an experiment, but I’m already second-guessing it. It may have been me, but in separating the point and flat down the fat line, I wound up with one pretty thin end on the flat. Not sure how that is going to work out.

We’ll see how it turns out in the end, but I’m kind of wishing I had followed my normal procedure and cooked the brisket whole.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Foil and spritz will save the day. All will be fine.

 

[Jim6820]

Foil and spritz will save the day. All will be fine.

Currently wrapped in pink paper after the stall. Waiting for it to take off again. The proof of concept will be in the eating.

 

[SmokeOCD]

I don't have room anywhere to keep a roll of anything else. Costco sized Aluminum foil, Restaurant Depot sized cling wrap... but I would like to try it one day.

 

[Jim6820]

Well, the results are in—and, they are not good. Pulled the flat at 195F when it felt probe tender. The point never did get really probe tender, so I finally pulled it at 205F. The flat was thin and dried out a bit. It was OK on flavor, but a little dry and chewy. The point was juicy, but chewy as well. I probably should have let it go longer.

I got the brisket at US Foods Chef’s Supply and there was no indication of grade on any of the briskets there. It probably wasn’t any better than Choice, and maybe less. Not much marbling, but it was the best in the bin and in my preferred 12-14# weight range.

So, not sure if it was due to the meat grade, improper cook time or something else, but the overall grade I’d give this cook is a C-. My next brisket cook will be a whole packer, not separated.

Forgot to get a shot of the flat before I sliced it and vacuum-packed individual portions. Oops.

 

[AlphaPapa]

Well, think of it this way… someone once asked Edison if he was tired of failing at trying to make a light bulb. His reply was that he had never failed. He said he now knows over 2000 ways that you can’t make a light bulb!

Thanks for reporting back. The plan made sense. I was thinking I might give it a try also. Now I know not to.

 

[Jim6820]

Well, think of it this way… someone once asked Edison if he was tired of failing at trying to make a light bulb. His reply was that he had never failed. He said he now knows over 2000 ways that you can’t make a light bulb!

Thanks for reporting back. The plan made sense. I was thinking I might give it a try also. Now I know not to.

Thanks for that! I am familiar with that Edison comment and, he was right; it is every bit as important to find out what doesn’t work as what does. I believe rocket pioneer Werner von Braun had a similar thought, saying that he learned a lot more when a test rocket blew up than when one flew flawlessly. The flawless flight could have been a fluke, but the failed flight was indicative that something didn’t work properly.

Others have reported successful cooks with separated briskets, so I know it can be done. My failed experiment was probably a combination of a my poor choice of product, my poor preparation and my poor cooking technique. I’ll have to unpack all that before trying it again.

On the positive side, I now have a significant quantity of smoked brisket in the freezer that is suitable for making chili. We’ll go with that as a positive take away.

 

[TheRicker]

@Jim6820...Really appreciate you sharing your "journey" with us. Lots of lessons learned there.

In retrospect, do you think putting the separated point on the thinnest end of the flat could have helped. I know that it wouldn't have gotten the bark and smoke there. Just thinking whether it could've "protected" the thin part of the flat at all.

I'd love to know when you, or others, have done full briskets do you cook with the fat cap up or down? On the one hand, I've heard it said that the fat up allows the melting fat to baste the meat. On the other hand, I've heard it said put the fat side down since on a pellet grill/smoker that would protect the underside of the meat from drying out. I've only ever cooked flats and I put the fat side down. I've been generally pleased with the overall results but, clearly, the thinnest end of the flat just does present a challenge.

Again, I appreciate you, and others, sharing your experiences with us all.

 

[BillsCamino]

I cook fat side down

 

[C. Keeper]

I cook fat side down

That will never work.

 

[BillsCamino]

Does for me....

 

[C. Keeper]

Does for me....

It can't, fat side up.

 

[TheRicker]

Hmmm…sounds similar to the discussion on how much smoke is enough…very strong opinions across the spectrum.