The BBQ Thread

[Boone]

That is one badass looking smoker brother! Never heard of that brand but it's definitely cool.

 

[Ashburn Dave]

That is my pride and joy. A gravity fed charcoal system that will run 12 hours unattended before having to add more charcoal. The fan keeps the temp static within one degree. Now I don't get as much smoke as an offset provides since I'm only adding the occasional wood chunk, but the charcoal does taste better than my pellet smokers.

 

[Boone]

Do you use briquettes or lump charcoal?

 

[Ashburn Dave]

I use briquettes to keep the chute from jamming. I would love to use lump but its uneven form is a problem. Costco sells the Kingsford Professional Competition briquette which burns and taste great.

 

[Boone]

Pizza on the grill was pretty great…

 

[Ashburn Dave]

Pizza looks great, especially the first one.

 

[Boone]

Yeah, I think the next time I do a margherita I won’t do the cheese that comes in ‘dabs’ already but will buy a whole piece and slice it

 

[skinsmarydu]

I like the dabs...

He had the firepit going, put the grill on top, great steak and sweet potato slices grilled with peas on the side.
Then we spent a couple hours just sitting by the fire and talking, listening to all of the fireworks around.
Fabulous 4th.

 

[Boone]

To my brisket buddies...

So, I prefer the flat and I probably would never screw with a whole packer and the point except that my wife loves burnt ends.

My question is about when and how to separate the point. I have tried separating before smoking which makes it easier to do the ends because I can deal with that chunk of brisket separate from the flat cook. But I feel like the brisket overall is never as good when I do that (may be my imagination, but I think both the flat and point are much more moist and juicy when I don't pre-divide them).

But I am never sure how to handle the burnt ends prep when I keep the brisket intact (as I am doing today). If I do a long smoke session, wrap at the end, and then pull the brisket, I never want to separate then because it feels like every bit of liquid and moisture is going to run out of the brisket. If I let the whole brisket rest, that is already a very lengthy cook (setting aside that yes, I could go high heat) and then I have another several hours to separate the point and prepare the burnt ends.


I would be curious what your all's approach is when you are going to be serving both sliced flat, and preparing burnt ends?

 

[Skinsfan1311]

To my brisket buddies...

So, I prefer the flat and I probably would never screw with a whole packer and the point except that my wife loves burnt ends.

My question is about when and how to separate the point. I have tried separating before smoking which makes it easier to do the ends because I can deal with that chunk of brisket separate from the flat cook. But I feel like the brisket overall is never as good when I do that (may be my imagination, but I think both the flat and point are much more moist and juicy when I don't pre-divide them).

But I am never sure how to handle the burnt ends prep when I keep the brisket intact (as I am doing today). If I do a long smoke session, wrap at the end, and then pull the brisket, I never want to separate then because it feels like every bit of liquid and moisture is going to run out of the brisket. If I let the whole brisket rest, that is already a very lengthy cook (setting aside that yes, I could go high heat) and then I have another several hours to separate the point and prepare the burnt ends.


I would be curious what your all's approach is when you are going to be serving both sliced flat, and preparing burnt ends?

I never separate the flat, until after it's cooked, and I never make burnt ends the same day. I vac-seal & freeze the point for burnt ends down the road.

 

[Boone]

That makes a lot of sense. Probably because there's no logical way to do burnt ends with the same brisket the same day. Maybe if it was a 2 day process you could serve both the flat and burnt ends from the same brisket at the same time - but a 2 day cook is more of a challenge than I want while I'm still working.

Don't get me wrong - you CAN do it. I've done a 2 hour rest, then separated the point and done burnt ends. But it's not ideal.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

That makes a lot of sense. Probably because there's no logical way to do burnt ends with the same brisket the same day. Maybe if it was a 2 day process you could serve both the flat and burnt ends from the same brisket at the same time - but a 2 day cook is more of a challenge than I want while I'm still working.

Don't get me wrong - you CAN do it. I've done a 2 hour rest, then separated the point and done burnt ends. But it's not ideal.

Yeah...that, there's only the two of us. The flat will be at its peak flavor &,texture on the day of the cook. We vac seal slices flat into meal size portions and reheat with sous-vide.

 

[Boone]

My buddy does the same thing and swears by it. Maybe I need to get on the bus

 

[Skinsfan1311]

My buddy does the same thing and swears by it. Maybe I need to get on the bus

Reheating with sous-vide is as close to "just off the smoker" texture and taste that you can get. I usually put a small dollop if tallow in the bags before sealing.

 

[Ashburn Dave]

To my brisket buddies...

So, I prefer the flat and I probably would never screw with a whole packer and the point except that my wife loves burnt ends.

My question is about when and how to separate the point. I have tried separating before smoking which makes it easier to do the ends because I can deal with that chunk of brisket separate from the flat cook. But I feel like the brisket overall is never as good when I do that (may be my imagination, but I think both the flat and point are much more moist and juicy when I don't pre-divide them).

But I am never sure how to handle the burnt ends prep when I keep the brisket intact (as I am doing today). If I do a long smoke session, wrap at the end, and then pull the brisket, I never want to separate then because it feels like every bit of liquid and moisture is going to run out of the brisket. If I let the whole brisket rest, that is already a very lengthy cook (setting aside that yes, I could go high heat) and then I have another several hours to separate the point and prepare the burnt ends.


I would be curious what your all's approach is when you are going to be serving both sliced flat, and preparing burnt ends?

After smoking the whole packer, you can cube the point, foil pan them with BBQ sauce and smoke for another couple of hours.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Hot & Fast brisket..about 3 hrs in...

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Good night Irene! This was the fastest brisket cook that I've ever done! 3 1/2 hrs.
Admittedly, it's the smallest packer that I've ever cooked, (~ 9lbs after trimming), but damn!
The intention was to have it done by 3 o'clock and hold for a couple hours. Looks like it'll have to hold for 5-6 hours.
I've never held one for longer than 3 hours...so I'm curious to see how long it will keep in the cooler.

 

[Mark The Homer]

I'm just doing a boring little butt in my drum. I'm using Malcom's THE BBQ RUB. Three pound butt. Yeah sometimes Safeway will cut their 10 lb butts into thirds which makes them more likely to sell, and sometimes I buy the middle third.



Edit: Came out great! Kept it at 225 for the whole time. Took ten hours to get to 203, even though it was a little guy. Then I quadruple wrapped it in HD foil and held it at 150 F for 90 mins. It was perfect! Bone came out clean! Not a bit dry. I was actually kind of surprised. No pics, sorry.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Brisket was pretty damn good! Holding itc for 6 hrs did put a hurtin' on the bark, but it was tender & flavorful. This was the smallest packer that I've ever smoked and was afraid that it would be a little dry. I vac-sealed 6 meal sized portions, & the point for burnt ends down the road.

 

[Mark The Homer]

Did wings last night. Wife said they were "the best yet" which says something. They were basically perfect. Crispy and crunchy on the outside, juicy in the middle. And yes, I am now employing the SF1311 method of applying the sauce at the table on the plate. Works great!

I'm using the cracked lid method, indirect, which enables me to cook them without having to flip them. See hand mirror and grate-level temp gauge. The rendered chicken fat drains into a halfmoon pan below keeping the Weber clean. All I have to do is sit there and keep the temp between 400 and 425. Forty mins and they are done.

Check that folding chair out! It's from the 1960s, made in America. Made out of steel. Folds completely flat. Best folding chair ever.

I should probably think about trying to lose some weight, huh...