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I take mine to 185-195 internal for slicing. Closer you get to 200 the more it will want to shred.

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I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

Thanks

smoking some chickens for a test batch of gumbo

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I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

I personally wouldnt get too hung up on exact meat temps..they are a good point of reference but not an absolute..im not sure what you are asking as far as when brisket is sliceable..as compared to it falling apart?
I dont cook flats much anymore..I prefer the full packer cut but when I do flats like i mentioned previously I cook until the fork or temp probe goes in and out easily..at that point its usually in the 190-200 range but the feel of the probe or fork is the detereming factor for me no matter where the temp is at

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First Place BBQ Sauce - 2010 NBBQA ( Natl BBQ Assoc) Awards of Excellence

Do you sharpen your fork first? How much force do you use to stick the meat?

now Im really confused
I guess my point is relying STRICTLY on temps isnt the best as ive had butts and briskets that were done before and sometimes not until well after after the "official" internal temp ...

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First Place BBQ Sauce - 2010 NBBQA ( Natl BBQ Assoc) Awards of Excellence

That's the method to use for the point of the brisket, if you're making burnt ends. Never do that to a flat, unless you enjoy the texture of shoe leather.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

While we're on the brisket subject, I was going to attempt my first brisket tomorrow all day and when I went to Costco, all they had was a cryo packed flat. The weight was 4.65 lbs. Now, that's not what I was looking for and after reading this thread about 2000 times, I wanted a full packer cut, somewhere in the 10-12 lb range. The flat I have is also a little, well, flat. It seems too thin to throw on the smoker for a 8-10 hour smoke. Should I scrap the flat and find a butcher asap? Should I still try to find a full brisket and also try the Costco flat? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

you can get them at restaurant depot..also some sams in the city have the packer cut as well...

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First Place BBQ Sauce - 2010 NBBQA ( Natl BBQ Assoc) Awards of Excellence

Thanks for the quick reply but I've recently moved up to Minneapolis and I thought Costco would work out. I have abutcher I can go to, not too far away.

It sounds like I should get a packer cut and skip the flat. I can throw the flat in the freezer for another time or application.

Of course Restaurant Depot is not open to the general public.

Depending on how much you want to spend, try Peoria Packing (cheap), Paulina Meat Market (not cheap), or Excel. You can also call any butcher to see if they have a full one in back.

You can still smoke the flat, just don't cook it as long. You can also freeze for later and try braising it.

ETA: Sorry - now I see that you are in MN.

if you can get a packer thats the way to go IMO..I used to cook a lot of flats but that was quite a few years back when I could walk into Sams and grab a nice 6-7 pounder that was a couple inches thick all the way across..hard to find flats like that nowadays ..at least where I go

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First Place BBQ Sauce - 2010 NBBQA ( Natl BBQ Assoc) Awards of Excellence

Thanks for the feedback on Friday. After some calling around, I was able to find a full packer cut at a nice little butcher shop here in MPLS. I had my choice of three different cuts and chose the smallest - an 11lb'er.

For reference, I used the WSM and started it around 6am. Natural wood lump charcoal, a few pieces of oak and one piece of mesquite. I pulled it off at about 4pm (10 hours) and topped off the water pan twice. I didn't have to reload the charcoal which was nice. The top vent stayed open and the bottom vents were open most of the time except when it felt like the smoker was running a little hot. I closed the bottom vents by 1/3.

RedHeadBBQ was right about the temps from an earlier (not mine) post. Although my digital probe read 175 (point)-185 (flat), the brisket was done at the 10 hour point. Both the flat and point were both tender and moist and the flat sliced up very nicely. I wrapped it in foil for 2 hours and threw it in a cooler that I had rinsed out with boiling water.

My only issue was my rub. I found a recipe online that called for about a dozen ingredients and I felt that it really overpowered the taste of the brisket. It produced a nice bark though and the point, after being chopped, better dispersed the flavor better than the flat. Next time, I'll probably keep it simple or not put as much rub on.

Here's a link to the picture http://www.flickr.com/photos/8435740@N05/5071793890/. Normally I would just post it here but flickr doesn't allow that now or they've done a good enough job hiding the link. I'll try it anyway though:


Thanks again for the advice. Keep up the good work...

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"It's not that I'm on commission, it's just I've sifted through a lot of stuff and it's not worth filling up on the bland when the extraordinary is within equidistant tasting distance." - David Lebovitz

Looking good. Just an fyi, flickr switched it up a little. If you right click your pic it will give you options in size, choose your size and then right click the pic again and you will get an options bar that pops up. Click properties and your pictures url will be listed and then you can use that to post the pic on here and othr sites.

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Smokin' Chokin' and Chowing

Thanks for the Flickr help. Posted the pic...

looks good Tyrus..yea its easy to go overboard on rub....its doesnt take much depending whats in the rub ..also can work in reverse on ya
had some rubs taste overpowering straight up out of the bowl/bottle but after a 10-12 hr cook its bland
all I can say is ..keep experimenting and have fun

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First Place BBQ Sauce - 2010 NBBQA ( Natl BBQ Assoc) Awards of Excellence

flats just need more attention when cooking on 'the bbq'--best pot roast is made with a brisket flat!!! imo anyway

Nice brisket looks good!

Any one smoking anything good lately? I been on a dry spell for a few weeks.

I've been abroad for the past couple weekends but really hope to 'fire up' the smoker this Sunday, maybe with some spare ribs . . . not exactly sure yet.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I am smoking a pork shoulder this weekend for football on Saturday. I am going to try "Big Bob Gibson's Championship Pork Shoulder": http://www.meatwave.com/blog/barbecue-recipe-big-bob-gibsons-championship-pork-shoulder

This will be the first time I've tried a method that calls for injecting a brine.

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Tony
Great Lakes, Better Food
http://greatlakesbetterfood.blogspot.com/

I have a slab of babybacks in the freezer( too lazy to do them this past Sunday). plan is get to them this Saturday, & possibly do another protein, or perhaps some ABT's(I havent done any in months). RO lump, pecan, and apple & the WSM.

Ive taken a big break from ribs, been busy smoking chickens and other items on the Weber kettle, and the last time I used the WSM was a few weeks ago when I smoked some tasso(cajun/creole food is my new hobby).

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I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

I did 3 racks of baby backs and a pork shoulder last thursday. Made gumbo twice this week. Traveling to DC this weekend. I will probably be smoking next weekend.

I've got some Polish sausages in the smoker right now Not terribly exciting except in that it's the first time I've fired it up in a month.

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Well I got drunk and I ate a chicken
I ate a chicken I found in my kitchen
Not just a leg and not just a wing
I'd like to let you know that I ate the whole damn thing

just mixed up a batch of my take on that injection to stick into a fresh picnic--probably inject tomorrow nite and cook on BGE sat--now that most of the wind is gone!!

Buzz

I use this injection quite a bit..it really is a good one..and a quick and simple one

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First Place BBQ Sauce - 2010 NBBQA ( Natl BBQ Assoc) Awards of Excellence

is that the one we picked up in tn.
i will probley do mine on sun.

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philw bbq cbj for kcbs &M.I.M. carolina pit masters

I injected my pork shoulder last night, it was the first time I had done an injection. It seemed like I got more injection all over the cutting board/table than I did in the meat! I wasn't quite expecting how much injection oozes out all over the place. Is this normal?

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Tony
Great Lakes, Better Food
http://greatlakesbetterfood.blogspot.com/