Why did it take so long?

[mizzoufan]

The cook is done and the results were tender and juicy so no harm done, I'm just curious as to why it took 3x as long as expected.  I was cooking 2 briskets that were broken down (don't ask my why they did that) into points and flats.  I weighed up each piece and it was pretty much 4lbs on every one.  I brined overnight then rubbed and let it rest for a couple of hours. 

The flats were thin so I folded them over and tied them off.  When it was time to put them in, I put the folded flats on the top shelf then one point on consecutively lower shelves.  This is where one option for why it took so long comes in...the meat on each rack was touching the rack above.  Maybe this made it cook as one large chunk instead of 4 separate ones?  Also, I did not inject this time as I usually do. 

I was expecting ~1hr per lb based on my last cook of brisket and ended up going ~12hrs which is about 45 minutes per lb total weight.

 

[DivotMaker]

I think you have a couple of issues at work, Steven.  First, I think you're right about the meat touching - makes it like one big piece.  Also, you'll find the small cuts, for reasons I don't fully understand, take a LOT longer to cook than big cuts.  I once did a 4 lb corned beef brisket flat that took 11.5 hours!  That's almost 3 hours per pound! 

I always recommend sticking with the large cuts for brisket and butts - the more mass (7+ lbs) cook much more evenly and stable.

 

[mizzoufan]

yeah, if I'm buying I always get a 10-12lb packer cut.  But when your sister brings up 2 briskets (which they had split into flats and points for some reason) from the family farm as your birthday present, you take them and say "yay, free brisket!".  One of these days we'll figure out the science behind the small chunks taking longer than the big ones

 

[jbauch357]

I think it has something to do with the smaller cuts having less surface area for heat absorption, so they take considerably longer to cook. 

The couple times I've tried smaller cuts of beef they have taken over 3hr/lb, from now on I'm not going with anything less than 5-6lbs per cut.

 

[DivotMaker]

I joked, one time, that around my neck of the woods, we consider anything under 4 pounds a "steak!"  lol.  Maybe we should save those little ones for the grill! ;D ;D ;D

 

[Walt]

Smoke them for a few hours & then throw them in a dutch oven with a few diced onions for another 4 or 5 hours @ 225.

 

[DivotMaker]

Great idea, Walt! ;D

 

[mizzoufan]

While I'm sure it's great like that, Walt...I have to admit I see anything other than smoking all the way through and getting a nice bark blasphemy.  The only other acceptable uses for brisket are corned beef and pastrami LOL.

 

[Barrel99]

I'm with you Steven. I'll take what I can get. Especially brisket. I can deal with the smoke time. I just find getting a 1.5 lb cooked piece of meat from a 3.5 lb piece of uncooked meat to be rather ridiculous. The shrinkage is too much.