What's for Dinner?

[Skinsfan1311]

Is it an actual brisket or are you using another cut and smoking it like a brisket? I smoked a Bison brisket last weekend that was awesome. Very lean.

Chuck roast, smoked like a brisket.

 

[Boone]

I’ve done that once but I think I rushed it. That bark is hellacious! I make a really tasty tender brisket but bark is weak. I do wrap wit butcher paper and sometimes foil but even when I’ve skipped the wrap it’s nowhere near what you’re getting. What’s your secret?

 

[Skinsfan1311]

I’ve done that once but I think I rushed it. That bark is hellacious! I make a really tasty tender brisket but bark is weak. I do wrap wit butcher paper and sometimes foil but even when I’ve skipped the wrap it’s nowhere near what you’re getting. What’s your secret?

Thanks!

I cook at higher temps....225 is too low and takes too long. I try to keep the grate temp for chuckies between 275 - 300 range and wrap when the bark is firmly set. Don't wrap when it hits the stall, unless the the bark is set. By firmly set, it should pass the "scratch test" i.e. if you scratch it with your fingernail and it rubs off, it's not done. A good bark means that it adheres to the meat and wrapping should have no effect on the bark, once it's set. If you inject, pat the meat dry, (bark sets better when it's not damp), don't spritz or anything like that. Just throw it on the smoker and don't peek until it's hits 165-170 and has that great bark.

After it has set, I use butcher paper, on occasion, but my go-to is to stick the meat in a disposable foil pan, (preferably the one that's been sitting under the meat), and cover it tightly with foil. If there's not enough liquid, I'll add a 1/4 cup of warmed beef broth to the pan. At that point I don't use the temp probe anymore. I choke the smoker down to ~ 250 and, 2 hours after wrapping, I'll probe the meat, (through the foil). If it goes in like butter, it's done.

As you can make tender briskets, you probably don't need me to tell you this, but I will anyway. One of the most critical, (and often overlooked), steps is to let the meat rest. By rest, leave it in the wrapped pan for a minimum of one hour. At this point I'll stick a remote thermometer probe in, just to make sure that it stays in the safe food temp zone above 140. Since you have a great bark anyway, it won't have much affect on it. If you need to rest it longer, Google "Faux Cambro" I always start early. It's better to rest the meat for hours, than have a bunch of hungry people sitting around waiting for the food to be done. That, and it's much easier to time the side dishes.

For brisket, I quit doing them low and slow. I do them hot and fast now. Basically, I crank the smoker up to 375 and follow the steps above. Fat side should be place towards the heat source, if possible. It cuts hours off the cook time and, as you can see, I get a great bark and tender brisket. My recommendation is to only use a whole packer PRIME brisket. I imagine that you don't make it too often, so might as well get a really good one. Most Costco stores have them, and they're reasonably priced. There's no substitute. It's impossible to get the same results with a lesser grade brisket. Trim most of the fat off of it, (which kills me because I end up trimming an average of 3-4 lbs off of a 12lb brisket), but that's okay because you can freeze the fat to lube grill grates, or render it make tallow. That's because a good bark doesn't form on fat. Rub does not penetrate fat. Surface fat does not "baste" the meat.

BBQ, cooking, (and whiskey ), are some of my I could go on, and on, and on, and on and.... you get the idea

 

[Boone]

Thanks. Good stuff. I do brisket OFTEN. I have an injection recipe I love. I will definitely try drying the brisket as much as possible - great tip. I also rest, although not always a couple of hours. Interestingly enough, even though I do my briskets at 225 to 250 (usually until I get to 165 or 170, then wrap), they rarely take all day. I think 7-8 hours is max and sometimes quicker. I typically buy the brisket flats from Costco as trimming them is easier, and although I do sometimes do a full brisket and make burnt ends, they aren't my favorite.

I have tried a high heat brisket before - it was drier and less tender than I prefer. But you know how it is, sometimes you just get a more challenging piece of meat. I may need to give this another try. I meant to ask you - what kind of smoker are you using (looked like maybe a komodo of some type from the photos)? I have a Big Green Egg.

Nice to have another BBQer around. For a football board, our membership doesn't seem to be chock full of us

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Thanks. Good stuff. I do brisket OFTEN. I have an injection recipe I love. I will definitely try drying the brisket as much as possible - great tip. I also rest, although not always a couple of hours. Interestingly enough, even though I do my briskets at 225 to 250 (usually until I get to 165 or 170, then wrap), they rarely take all day. I think 7-8 hours is max and sometimes quicker. I typically buy the brisket flats from Costco as trimming them is easier, and although I do sometimes do a full brisket and make burnt ends, they aren't my favorite.

I have tried a high heat brisket before - it was drier and less tender than I prefer. But you know how it is, sometimes you just get a more challenging piece of meat. I may need to give this another try. I meant to ask you - what kind of smoker are you using (looked like maybe a komodo of some type from the photos)? I have a Big Green Egg.

Nice to have another BBQer around. For a football board, our membership doesn't seem to be chock full of us

I'm a Weber whore. I own 4 kettles. 3 gassers, (2 portable...a Gas Go Anywhere and a Q2000), and an 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain. They're workhorses. The kettles range in years from the late 80's to the 2005. The main gasser is a Weber Genesis Silver B from 2001..but I digress...

I did the brisket on the WSM. I also smoke on one of the kettles with a Slow n' Sear insert, (Google it). Those BGE's are bad-ass and there is definitely one in my future.

I rarely do just flats anymore and quit buying anything but whole Prime packers. The quality of the brisket is paramount, IMHO. I can get great results with Choice, but I only make 'em a few times a year, so I go with Prime. Brisket is the only meat that I pay for Prime, because it makes that much of a difference, in my experience anyway.

You can't post about an injection recipe that you love, and not share it I dry-brine w/kosher salt a day, or so, ahead of time and inject with "Better than Boullion" beef broth and a splash of Worchestershire right before it hits the smoker.

 

[Boone]

I’ll definitely post it when I have a minute. My first smoker was a WSM - I used to be a member of a great forum https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ but they changed their format some and I lost interest.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Cedar planked salmon

 

[Boone]

Looks awesome. I'm doing some ribs and sausage on the smoker tonight, spanish rice to go with.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Looks awesome. I'm doing some ribs and sausage on the smoker tonight, spanish rice to go with.

Sounds great!
I'm probably going to spin a bird, tomorrow, w/some grilled asparagus & sautéed cherry tomatoes and whatever starch Mrs. Skinsfan wants.

 

[Boone]

Man - I am ****ing in love with this Traeger. Everything I've done on it has come out great. I'm a big fan of shredded beef sandwiches so giving those a try on the Traeger. Put my favorite Meat Church brisket run on a 3-4 lb sirloin roast. Smoking it for 3 hours, then going to throw it in a foil pan with some cut onions, garlic, and beef stock, cover with aluminum foil with the heat cranked up. Shred it, top sandwiches with some smoked gouda, and the au jus. Little pasta salad on the side.

If anyone were to ask me, I can either buy a charcoal grill, gas grill, or a smoker - which one should I get.... I would tell them (without hesitation) get a pellet grill. This thing is so versatile. Love my gas grill and BGE but honestly, there's not much this can't do and it's so easy...

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Beef.
It's what's for dinner.

 

[Boone]

Home today, decided to work Saturday instead. It's a dreary day here in North Kakalakee with rain in the forecast, so not inclined to grill. Going to do a Spanish/Cuban/Mexican dish, very simple, called Picadillo. Basically, a ground beef dish with onions, peppers, garlic, and tomato sauce, some spices, capers, green olives, and I'm going to add some diced potatoes. Served over rice. Hispanic comfort food basically.

 

[Win4us]

Son is graduating from culinary school and had a graduation dinner last Thursday. They served this red pepper soup that everyone went crazy for, wasn’t even aware of such things. It had onions in it so I didn’t partake. It’s not the recipe we had at the school but pretty similar for an idea.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

This Roasted Red Pepper Soup is loaded with flavor and taste! In less than 45 minutes time, you'll be enjoying this hearty and creamy soup!

feelgoodfoodie.net

 

[Win4us]

Home today, decided to work Saturday instead. It's a dreary day here in North Kakalakee with rain in the forecast, so not inclined to grill. Going to do a Spanish/Cuban/Mexican dish, very simple, called Picadillo. Basically, a ground beef dish with onions, peppers, garlic, and tomato sauce, some spices, capers, green olives, and I'm going to add some diced potatoes. Served over rice. Hispanic comfort food basically.

How’d it turn out?

 

[Boone]

How’d it turn out?

It was really good. We ate it for 3 days afterwards

 

[Boone]

Did a couple of tri-tips (actually they were Picanha's but I sort of use them interchangeably) on the smoker last night... We had some for dinner last night but today, they got cubed and along with some diced bacon are going in the chili pot.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Gave the smoker a workout this weekend.
Pork belly burnt ends
Brisket (hot and fast)
Mrs. Skinsfan made "Confetti Corn" It's an Ina Garten recipe and it's very, very good.

 

[Boone]

That brisket looks ammmmmmaaaaaazing! Great bark and looks juicy and tender... I've only tried hot and fast once and it was drier than I like... I am definitely not doing it right

 

[Skinsfan1311]

That brisket looks ammmmmmaaaaaazing! Great bark and looks juicy and tender... I've only tried hot and fast once and it was drier than I like... I am definitely not doing it right

Thanks! It's really easy.
I trim a lot of the fat, (rubs do not penetrate fat), dry brine the night before.
Inject with some beef broth at least an hour before cooking.
Crank the smoker to 350 and cook fat side down, (or towards the heat) until you get a good bark, ~ 170 degrees. Note that the bark will be darker on the side that's towards the heat.
Stick it in a disposable aluminum pan, cover with foil, (crimp tightly) and stick back on the smoker for 2 hrs. After wrapping, you cook by the clock, (not temp), so don't worry about the temp probe. After 2 hours, a probe should go in like butter. If it doesn't, let it go for another 30 minutes and probe again.
Take the brisket out of the pan, wrap it very tightly in foil, and rest for at least an hour in a cooler stuffed with towels. At this point, for safety, I do put a remote probe in to make sure that it stays in the safe zone, (above 140 deg)
I wanted extra juice, to sop up with bread, so I added a cup of
Brisket is the only meat that I wrap and, as you can see, it has no affect on the bark.
One of the slices, (on the thinnest part of the flat), was drier than I like, but the rest of it was perfect.

It was a 10 1/2 lb brisket, (after trimming). and cook time was 7 hours.

 

[Boone]

I prefer doing the flats only (I make a mean burnt end but honestly not my favorite thing as I don't have a sweet tooth). Assume you are doing whole packers? I almost always inject and rub, wrap (either with foil or pink butcher paper), and rest in a cooler. So the temp would be the major change. I will give your method a try and thanks!