I have a 3.5 pound brisket I am going to smoke tomorrow. I have not smoked a brisket before.
Ideas for a rub?
What is the ideal internal temp upon completion?
I’m planning on smoking it at about 220-225. Should I shoot for 1-1.5 hours per pound?
I’ve searched here and on the tvwbb and have some ideas, but I always like getting input on this board.
I’ll post in response to my own post 
. In case there are others with the same questions as I, I found this link on tvwbb and it seems to answer all of my questions except for the personal preferences and experiences of people on this board. Brisket Selection & Preparation - The Virtual Weber Bullet
190 degrees internal. Choice of rub will vary by each person your ask. I think my last one was a basic S&P, garlic powder and paprika. Mine was 14.5 lbs and it was done in 12 hrs though my temp jumped bit overnight. Avg was probably 260 degrees. Next time I want to lower the cooking temp.
Cook at 225. Sounds like a pretty trimmed up brisket so roughly 45 minutes per lb until you reach internal temp of 190. Once you reach internal temp stick a fork in it and see if you can turn it easily to 90 degrees. If yes, you’re done. If no, you’re not. Rub 1/2 cup coarse black pepper, 1/2 cup kosher or other coarse salt. Add other dry ingredients to the rub as needed.
This thread is packed with WB experiences and opinions: Smoking a Brisket - Questions for my first time:
In my opinion, it’s risky to depend on temperature alone. Better to use the fork test: stick a fork in the flat (which, though thinner, almost always takes longer than the point - and at 3,5 pounds, the point is what you have); when you can twist it 90 degrees without much effort, it’s good to go.
The fork will turn fine in an overcooked brisket as well so beware.
That’s for sure. Just as it may not turn without great effort in a 190F brisket. So my advice is trust (your target temperature) but verify (with the fork test).
I just did one yesterday (well, started Saturday at about 9pm, and took it off Sunday about 4pm). More or less followed the approach described here
http://bubbatim.com/Bubba_s_Brisket.php
I had a full sized brisket with the deckle, total weight about 8 pounds, with most of the fat trimmed off. Temp was below 220 most of the time (except for a few hours in the early morning saturday, when I discovered it had crept up to 240 at 6am, but I don’t think that hurt it much, still in the early stages with a lot of moisture left).
I used a simple seasoning, salt and pepper, a little lawry’s garlic salt, mixed with a slurry of brown mustard thinned with a little vinegar. This was only my second attempt at brisket on the BGE, and I’d say it was a moderate success. Relatively tender, good texture, but a little dry for my tastes. I’m going to try the foil crutch next time, just because I’d prefer to have juicier meat, and don’t care quite so much about the purity of essence of perfect bark. According to my cheapo thermometer, internal temp was around 190.
Alan, maybe don’t have most of the fat trimmed off to start with to make it less dry at the end. But 19 hours sounds pretty long anyway!
Alan, your timings are sort of off the charts both here and also with your spare ribs, at least as compared to other’s experiences. Are you sure your thermometer is accurate?
Eric, Chuck, good points. I’ve had good success with pork butt, so I think the thermometer is probably OK, but I’ll check it. OK, I just checked both the BGE and meat thermometers, and they both read properly for boil water (within the accuracy of reading the lousy tick marks). I would say the cooking time I used is on the long side of normal, but not off the charts, but I’ll be trying some other combos, like running slightly higher temp for shorter time, etc. The butcher where I got this trimmed it according to how he normally does it for competition cooks that buy from him, so I assumed he knew what he was doing, but I can ask for a bit more fat to be left on. I did mop it periodically the last few hours, though I’m not sure how much difference that actually makes.
According to the stall link you put up previously all that did was slow down the internal temp from rising by adding sweat to the outside of the meat.
I’m doing a couple small pork butts today, after reading your article, and I’m not going to apply any liquid at all either by injection or mopping just to see how they turn out. Running my temp higher than you, around 270, while planning on wrapping in foil at around 4:30 for the final 2 hours. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
Brian, Yeah, I’m confused about the reason for basting or mopping as well, though I do think it a) adds flavor, and b) might prevent the outer surface from crusting and burning as much. So I think it’s still legit to baste/mop, but I don’t understand injecting with liquid.
I’ve done both, finished pork with and without wrapping. Wrapping turns out a nice result, but I’ve had excellent results without wrapping. I think it might depend on the size of the cut. If large enough, I think it can tolerate finishing unwrapped. One problem I’ve encountered with a number of methods (including oven braising and wrapping on the smoker): there is still plenty of fat being rendered even late in the cooking process, along with some liquid (or any liquid you might add). The fat floats on top of the liquid and actually kind of “fries” that section of the meat, which turns it tough and inedible in that layer. So you might want to make sure to siphon off whatever fat is in there. If you don’t add liquid at the wrapping stage, the fat will definitely accumulate at the bottom and ruin the meat in the bottom inch or so. I don’t have a real good solution for that, which is one reason I’ve stopped wrapping. But give it a try, and if time is the problem it will definitely do a decent job.
Below are 3 pictures from my first brisket smoke using a small 3.5 pounder for my first attempt. It turned out nicely. I pulled it at 195 after smoking at 220-225 for 5 hours. Next time I will wait until it reaches 200-205. It was not quite “knife going through hot butter” tender. Almost, but not quite.
Thanks for the suggestions in this thread.
Looks amazing and I love the smoke ring. 
I call the end piece.
Ok…now my turn …doing a brisket for tomorrow…will try to find one in the 8lb range…
I am just getting the flat
Over on the weber virtual board I usually see 1.5 hours per pound. I did a 6.5 pounder yesterday and it was 1:45 per pound averaging about 220 for the grate temperature, not the hood temp.
I think I’m doing 2 flats each about 7.5 lbs.
You are kind of out of my realm of experience doing 2x7.5#. I’ve done a 3.5 (picture in this thread) and then, last night, a 6.5#. The one last night was “melt in our mouths tender” but didn’t have as much smokiness in it as the first. Here is a link to TVWBB. Brisket - Midnight Cook - The Virtual Weber Bullet. If that isn’t helpful, do a search on that board. There is plenty on briskets.