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How long to smoke a small brisket
Know how to smoke a small brisket is pretty important since you don’t want to let it dry out.
Letting it dry out can serve to basically have it be over cooked and not edible whatsoever.
What do you want to do, is use the estimation of about 1 pound per hour of cook time to adequately estimate how long you can be smoking your small brisket for.
This 1 pound per hour of cook time of course, is derived from a smoking temperature of about 225°F. If you happen to be smoking at hotter temperatures, then start to lean more towards about 2 pounds per hour of cook time.
How long to smoke a 2 pound brisket
Using the 1 pound per hour Mark, a 2 pound brisket should roughly take about two hours to fully cook through.
As you start to cook the small 2 pound brisket, make sure to grab a toothpick once the internal temperature reaches 200°F.
You want to test for resistance and whether or not it slides in like a stick of warm butter. That basically means that the collagen has rendered down completely and then you can finally take it off the smoker for further resting.
How long to smoke a 3 pound brisket
Regarding a 3 pound brisket, you should plan about at most 3 to 4 hours to fully cook it through.
This assumes that you’re smoking it at 225°F plus an extra hour or so to get the smoker temperature ready before you actually place to meet onto the grates.
How long does it take to smoke a 5.5 lb brisket?
It should take roughly 5 1/2 to 6 hours to fully cook a 5 1/2 pound brisket.
Basically, you just want to give the piece of meat just enough temperature to fully cook it through and so the collagen and connective tissues can run her down.
At the rate of about 225°F, you’ll be smoking it about 1 pound per hour. If that’s too long of a time, then consider smoking it a little bit hotter to get it done quicker.
Can you smoke a small piece of brisket?
You can definitely smoke a small piece of brisket, and it really does not matter how much it weighs to begin with. The only thing you should worry about with smoking any weight of brisket, is how hot you cook it and how much it weighs.
Once you understand that, then you can start to plan ahead and know exactly how quickly it will be done. When you know how quickly it will be done then you’ll know when you can expect pulled off the smoker, and then finally test for actual done this with a toothpick test.
Smoking a small brisket flat
Most small briskets are actually just referred to as brisket flats. These special cuts of brisket are basically just the Farlinger part, where the overall packer brisket has been cut in half.
Final thoughts
Since most small briskets weigh less than 10 pounds, you can start to understand how long any small brisket could potentially take to fully cook through.
Using the lowest temperature that you would ever want to smoke any brisket at, 225°F, then you should plan about at most 10 hours long in cook time.
If you have a 10 pound brisket that you consider to be small, then you most likely have a monster size flat.
Everything here is just an estimation, but should set you on your way for success in terms of understanding how long you should expect to smoke a brisket that you consider to be very small.
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.