Hot and fast Easter brisket

Been awhile since I've done a brisket and the family has been asking about it here lately so I thought Easter would be a perfect time.
Ran over to Sams and picked up the best one I could find. I gotta tell you the last year or so it seems like all the briskets I've seen were ridiculously thin especially the end of the flat.
Up at "Too damn early thirty"
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Trimmed it up and a simple rub.
A little kosher salt paprika garlic powder cayenne and Montreal seasoning.
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Wasn't able to get it on the WSM till 5:15. I was fighting the smoker the entire time. Loaded too much lite charcoal and it just took off on me. 5 hours of sleep and being still slightly intoxicated from the night before took its toll on me this morning.
Finally got it dialed in right at 300.
After 2.5 hours I wrapped it in tin foil. Temps were between 160 and 165.
Ignore the hackjob on the tin it's a real hassle getting 15+ lb'er to fit in this WSM.
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Another 2 hours passed and I started checking with my probe. Temp of brisket after 4.5 hours was 200-202. Mostly done at this point. Still
A slight pull so I unwrapped it and let it sit open for another 30 minutes to help firm up the bark. Temp ran about 205-208 when I pulled it.
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Just over 5 hours it was finished. Not bad for a 15+ pound brisket
Let it rest for 20 minutes on the counter then wrapped it again and put it in the cooler.
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It's gonna sit in there for 3 hours or so.
Once it's time to slice I throw some of those photos up.

kgressler said:

Ran over to Sams and picked up the best one I could find. I gotta tell you the last year or so it seems like all the briskets I've seen were ridiculously thin especially the end of the flat.

Click to expand...

It's true, and here is the reason:
2. What You Should Know About the “Whole Deep Pectoral Muscle”

The system used to butcher a beef carcass in the US follows a rigid process. Rather than just using the natural seams between muscles, a chart of subprimals is involved. The forequarter of the animal is separated from the rest of the animal by a cut between the fifth and sixth ribs. The thin, exposed edge of a brisket flat looks like a muscle cross-section because it is one. It’s only a portion of what is referred to as the Whole Deep Pectoral Muscle. You won’t find this cut listed on any order form from a meat supplier because that whole muscle isn’t a marketed cut of beef. It is divided into three separate cuts that all fetch a different price.

On the other side of rib number six is the continuation of that muscle. This is the beef navel. It’s a cheap cut that is commonly used for pastrami, and was used as such long before brisket became popular for pastrami.

The Whole Deep Pectoral Muscle is further separated from the brisket by a cut along the top. Above that cut line you’ll find a less familiar cut called Beef Chuck, Square Cut, Pectoral Meat (NAMP Item 115D). While a whole, boneless beef brisket (NAMP Item 120) is the more familiar cut, the pectoral meat actually fetches a higher price. As of this week, the Choice version was selling on the wholesale market for $2.82 per pound compared to brisket’s $2.21 price tag.

All of this rather long-winded (and super inside-baseball) explanation is to help understand the market forces that create long, skinny briskets. As Davey Griffin explains, the goal of a beef processor is to cut more valuable meat away from less valuable meat. While separating the brisket from the carcass, a processor can cheat a bit by separating the brisket and the pectoral meat a little lower on the animal giving more weight to the more expensive pectoral cut. To ensure consistent weights on their brisket they’ll just steal a bit of the cheap navel meat from across that sixth rib to make up the difference. Pitmasters hate these long skinny briskets because they’re too long for the shelves of a rotisserie, and the meat at the end of the flat is so thin that it becomes jerky by the time the thick point is done smoking. Because of this most folks will just trim it off right at the start which creates wasted beef and hurts a barbecue joint’s already thin bottom line. At least with this explanation a pitmaster will know what to complain about to their supplier if those skinny briskets become commonplace.

Excerpted from this blog:http://www.tmbbq.com/what-i-learned-at-brisket-camp/