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Brisket flat cook time per pound
It can be quite common to try and understand how quickly you can cook your brisket flat.
Just so you know, brisket flats smoke at a rate of about one hour per pound of meat.
This obviously is dependent upon how hot and fast or how low and slow you happen to be cooking them at, but is a very good guideline to follow and plan ahead accordingly.
How long does it take to smoke an 8 pound brisket flat?
Since most briskets smoked at about 225 degrees Fahrenheit to 250 degrees Fahrenheit finish at a rate of 1 hour per pound of meat, you can expect an 8 lb brisket flat to be finished at around the 8 hour mark.
If you happen to be smoking it at higher temperatures such as 275 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter, then you can start to expect that 8 hour time frame to be cut in half pretty quickly.
Collagen and connective tissue within the flat will begin to render and break down a lot quicker since the ambient temperature is very hot.
How long does it take to smoke a 7 pound brisket flat?
Likewise, If you happen to have a 7lb brisket flat and want to know how long it takes to smoke it, it should take about 7 hours or so assuming that you smoked it at around 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
That’s a pretty low temperature range to be smoking anything, especially when you can be smoking it at hotter temperatures and come out with an even better piece of barbecue.
Therefore, I always recommend people to be smoking hot and fast no matter what kind of brisket they have.
Especially for 7 lb brisket Flats, you don’t want to be sitting around for 7 hours just for a small piece of meat.
Try cranking up the temperature of the smoker and put it at around 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Thank me later!
How long do you smoke a 3.5 pound brisket flat?
If you’re wondering how long you can smoke a 3.5 pound brisket flat for, just expect to be around the smoker for about 3.5 hours.
Since this brisket flat will constitute such a short cooking time even at a low temperature of about 225 degrees Fahrenheit, there’s really no difference between smoking it at a very hot temps versus very low temps.
What temperature do you smoke brisket flat?
Some may be wondering what’s the optimal temperature to be smoking a brisket flat at.
It doesn’t really matter what temperature you smoke a brisket flat at, it’s more so how quickly you want it to be done after you throw it on the smoker.
It’s really up to the Pitmasters, in other words.
If you are in a bit of a time crunch or just don’t like waiting around, then try smoking a brisket flat that you have at around 300 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter.
If you’re not in a time crunch or don’t really mind waiting around, then consider smoking it at about 225 degrees Fahrenheit to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Internal temp for brisket flat
A brisket flat is really no different than a brisket point or a whole Packer style brisket.
That means that in terms of the internal temperature and when you should actually pull the meat, you should be doing that at around 200 degrees Fahrenheit in internal temperature.
Not only that, but make sure that you can have it pass the probe test where you stick a thermometer or toothpick back in the meat and check to see if it goes in with 0 resistance whatsoever.
Having a toothpick or thermometer inserted into the flat with 0 resistance means that the connective tissues and collagen have all completely rendered down and the barbecue is now complete.
Smoking brisket flat vs whole
Smoking a brisket flat vs smoking a whole pack of style brisket can present many challenging questions to answer.
A brisket flat is basically just the front part of the whole pack brisket and is the leaner part of the meat.
It is a little bit more finicky to cook through because of how lean it is, so you have to get the internal temperature readings just right before you pull it off the smoker, otherwise it will come out dry and crumbly and be very overcooked.
But with the whole Packer style brisket, you have a little bit more leeway because the flat is basically connected to the point which is a lot more fattier in nature.
It provides quite a bit of shielding from the heat of the actual fire box and ambient temperature in it can make it a lot easier to produce amazing briskets overall.
How long does it take to smoke a brisket flat at 225
If you’re wondering how long it should take a brisket flat to be completely finished at around the temperature range of 225 degrees Fahrenheit, you can expect an average cook-through rate of about one hour per pound of meat.
That means if you have a 10 lb brisket flat, then it can be done at around 10 hours.
Honestly though, I would never smoke a brisket flat or any type of meat at 225 degrees Fahrenheit because that’s frankly too low.
You should always be considering smoking at hotter temperatures to increase the rate at which it cooks through and decrease the overall cook time and that would save you a lot of time.
How long to smoke a brisket flat at 250
If you are considering smoking a brisket flat at about 250 degrees Fahrenheit, then the cook through rate is the same as the 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
It should be cooked through at about 1 hour per pound of meat.
That is still really too low when you think about it because you spent quite a bit of time for not much gain comparatively speaking to cooking at 300 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter.
When you cook it at hotter temperatures, that time is basically cut in half compared to what you see at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Final Thoughts
The length of time that you can smoke a brisket flat for is really up to the individual.
There are coming temperature ranges that many choose to smoke it at ranging from 225 degrees Fahrenheit to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Some people have even discovered that cooking them at hotter temperatures such as 300 degrees Fahrenheit may even produce better results and only takes about half the effort and time they would take otherwise.
That’s why I always recommend cooking not only just a brisket flat but any type of brisket you have, at hotter temperatures above 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.