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In Reply to: Re: Buying Brisket posted by Darcy on November 25, 2008 at 16:58:48:
No offense taken. I've been known to ask stupid questions from time-to-time. But odd as it may sound, I've been trying the best I know how to enjoy smoking for about 10 years or so. I'm always looking to learn more and to improve my finish product and get more enjoyment out of the whole experience. Only recently, I really started reading a lot about meat selection, grading, etc. I also try to pick up what I can from the experts and good folks here who know a ton more than I'll ever hope to know. That is the reason for my odd ball question.
The smoker is a offset with horizontal and vertical chambers made by Dave Klose. (It is a great piece of equipment and I don't do it justice)
The local bargain store had a meat case full of packers for .97/lb. Most were way too large, like say in the 15-16 pound range. So I purchased 2 of the smallest I could find in the 11-13 pound range. (Still much bigger than I wanted) Interestingly, the pacakging of the briskets were unmarked except for a little seal that said inspected by the USDA. After getting them home and taking them out of the cryovac they were not as well trimmed as I have been used to. (It is hard to describe the difference other than to say they just seemd a little bit more sloppy in the trimming, etc. then what I am accostomed to.) Anyway, I prepped them and rubbed them so they're going on the smoker Wednesday night. I also went back to the $3.99/lb higher-end store and had the meat guy pull out an entire case of the expensive briskets. These are not CAB but some branded version that is hormone free, etc. All of the briskets were considerably smaller, 8-10 lbs, but I was worried because the flats tended to taper down too thin. Each brisket was going to cost over $40.00 so I decided against uying any for now. However, just for grins I went to Walmart and bought a third brisket for about $1.99/lb. This one weighs a little over 9lb and the package says "USDA Prime"
Now with 3 briskets, all at fairly cheap prices, I can afford to expierment a little. It will be interresting to see if there is any discernable tast or presentation difference between the different cuts. (Plan is to give extra to the local food bank or homeless shelter)
Since at least some of the packers are a little heavier than I'm used to, I think I'm going to start earlier. I will probably shoot for having the meat on the smoker by 8:00 tonight and hope to pull by noon on Thanksgiving. That allows fo 16 hours. Do you think that is enough time or should I put them on even sooner? Does simply having more meat in the smoker add to the total time of 1-1.5 hrs/lb. Plan is to smoke the briskets at 250. I want to smoke a small turkey after the briskets and I would like to crank up to about 300 for the turkey for 3-4 hours.