Cooking brisket point and flat separately?

[BillsCamino]

Pellet grill's heat comes from bottom...fat down protects the meat and will also produce a better smoke ring...IMO

 

[C. Keeper]

Pellet grill's heat comes from bottom...fat down protects the meat and will also produce a better smoke ring...IMO

No way, fat side must always be up.

 

[Beach Bum]

That will never work.

Fat cap sideways??? Send me a couple free briskets and I will test.

 

[C. Keeper]

Fat cap sideways??? Send me a couple free briskets and I will test.

I think I can find you one here on the forum

 

[Beach Bum]

I think I can find you one here on the forum

I know which one you are talking about. That was a bad story. I was fortunate that my SRF delivery showed up frozen solid.

 

[C. Keeper]

I know which one you are talking about. That was a bad story. I was fortunate that my SRF delivery showed up frozen solid.

Yep, that's the one.

 

[Jim6820]

@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.

I don’t known whether stacking them might have helped. As I think about this cook, I think a couple of things contributed to the poor result. First, I have a feeling that the brisket I selected was sub-par; no real marbling. And, the flat was thinner than it appeared in the cryovac packaging. I try to find the thickest flat I can, even when cooking a full packer.

When I separated the two muscles, I probably should have left the fat vein on the flat side. As it was, it stayed mostly on the point and I trimmed it a bit from there. Leaving the fat layer on the flat, and cooking fat side down (my normal technique) might have saved the thin flat from drying out.

Also, my unfamiliarity with cooking the separate pieces at the same time probably contributed to the end result. Trying to determine when to wrap each one was challenging.

Altogether, I believe the fault of this failure was mine. I need to sort all this out before trying this “experiment” again.

 

[Greg Jones]

Great video out today from Chef Tom from atbbq.com on YouTube for separating the point and the flat of a brisket (Kansas City Brisket & Burnt Ends). Tom absolutely nails the technique in the video. I have a lot of respect for some YT smoker chefs, but I think the creativity and instructional style of Chef Tom takes him to the top of the list, close second is Matt at Meat Church.

 

[PRC]

Pellet grill's heat comes from bottom...fat down protects the meat and will also produce a better smoke ring...IMO

I agree that is what I have been doing for 12 years of cooking briskets and they have always come out great.

 

[Jim6820]

Great video out today from Chef Tom from atbbq.com on YouTube for separating the point and the flat of a brisket (Kansas City Brisket & Burnt Ends). Tom absolutely nails the technique in the video. I have a lot of respect for some YT smoker chefs, but I think the creativity and instructional style of Chef Tom takes him to the top of the list, close second is Matt at Meat Church.

Yes, that is a very instructive video. Here’s the link for others who may be interested: https://www.atbbq.com/thesauce/kansas-city-style-brisket-slices-burnt-ends

He is very good with that VERY SHARP boning knife.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Pellet grill's heat comes from bottom...fat down protects the meat and will also produce a better smoke ring...IMO

I know you said it a while ago, I just noticed this in PRC quoting you...
HOW? Or is it just "IMO"? Sure I'll go along with protects, but better smoke ring ...

 

[Pacman]

I know which one you are talking about. That was a bad story. I was fortunate that my SRF delivery showed up frozen solid.

I resemble that story.

 

[Pacman]

@Jim6820 , I actually thank you for that post-mortem. My takeaways are don't mess with the cow or you might get the horns...

AND

Simple, particularly on long cooks, always is better. My best briskets started with the best meat I could justify and not messing with it too much. Your experiment is a cautionary tale and frankly I'm grateful you tried before me!