Ok guys I need some advice. I’m about to smoke my first brisket this week. What do you guys do to prep, what do you season with, what temp do you cook to? I’ve done several racks of ribs, pork butts, fish, and many other things so not a novice but haven’t ever done a brisket.
I'm not the brisket guy, so take this for what you paid for it...
You'll want to get it to about 200* or a little under, which seems crazy for beef, but not for this cut. Keep the smoker around 225*, a little higher when you first put it on. Once I hit internal temp I lay an old bath towel in a cooler, wrap the foiled meat in a towel and put a couple more on top to fill airspace. The meat will hold like this long enough for a shower and a couple hrs of much needed sleep after many hrs of watching the smoker / drinking more than one should.
For seasoning I just mix up some brown sugar, salt, paprika, black pepper, little fine red pepper and tiny bit of cumin. A little allspice (not just for pies) is good too. I've injected with low sodium beef broth before, but don't think it does much for it.
Allow more time than you think to get it ready. Temp will come up pretty steady at first, but getting that last bit takes a while.
You'll want to get it to about 200* or a little under, which seems crazy for beef, but not for this cut. Keep the smoker around 225*, a little higher when you first put it on. Once I hit internal temp I lay an old bath towel in a cooler, wrap the foiled meat in a towel and put a couple more on top to fill airspace. The meat will hold like this long enough for a shower and a couple hrs of much needed sleep after many hrs of watching the smoker / drinking more than one should.
For seasoning I just mix up some brown sugar, salt, paprika, black pepper, little fine red pepper and tiny bit of cumin. A little allspice (not just for pies) is good too. I've injected with low sodium beef broth before, but don't think it does much for it.
Allow more time than you think to get it ready. Temp will come up pretty steady at first, but getting that last bit takes a while.
I have been into competition BBQ since I was 13..real competition, not beer league nonsense!
This is what i do for briskets I cook at home...you can't make a meal out of a competition brisket...you'd be sick as hell lol
Prep starts the night before
I always buy whole briskets and trim the the top down removing all fat and silver skin...I leave a good amount of deckel though(fat connecting the flat and point)
I trim the bottom down to about a 1/4" avoiding making bald spots as much as possible..once the trimming is done I do a light coating of a finely ground lemon pepper (salt free) and place it in the fridge until the next day when I'm ready to cook.
When I'm ready to cook I mix equal parts salt, 16 mesh black pepper, and garlic powder and apply it liberally over the whole brisket...I will let the brisket sit seasoned until my fire is up to temp and pouring thin blue smoke...if it's a dry brisket and the seasoning isn't stick ing well I will coat it in regular ass mustard just to give my seasoning something to stick to....the mustard will in no way alter the flavor of the meat at all...it's simply there to make the seasoning stick, so it's not important to use a special/fancy mustard
Smoker temp depends on fuel...I personally use Kingsford competition as my heat and throw in Post oak splits for flavor...with this set up Incan run from 250-350 on temp depending on how fast I need it cooked...woods like pecan should never be taken over 235 degrees or it gets sooty...
But usually I'll set my BBQ guru on my pitmaker sniper to 255 and I walk away ..I wrap the brisket in either foil or butcher paper when it reaches the color I want ...then I leave it cooked wrapped until it probes butter tender..
Ribs can cook on a timer..but brisket is done when it's ready. ..I've had kobe and wagyu briskets probe tender at 185-215 and USDA prime probe tender at 193-220....every brisket is different
Bench
Please post recipe. Loves me some good soup.
Trim some of the thick fat any grey looking fat and a lot of the wedge of fat in the middle out. I cross hatch the fat side about halfway through.
A little Dale's liquid marinade, fiesta steak rub, and southwest rub, no damn sugar of any kind. Rub liberally.
50% minimum oak, I like 30% mesquite 20% pecan. 100 % oak is fine, no damn charcoal.
Run fire at 225 thin white smoke.
Put a thermal probe into thick end .
When internal temp hits about 155-165 degrees Fahrenheit , about 6 hours for a medium size 14 lb, that is when it starts to sweat and stall. wrap brisket in heavy duty foil tight and be careful not to get any holes in it. I like to place wrapped brisket in an aluminum pan to keep from poking a hole in it.
DO NOT PUT IN PAN AND COVER WITH FOIL wrap tight and place in pan.
You can bump up the heat to 250 if you want. Cook till internal temp hits 200-205 f . Remove from heat Carefully open up top of foil to vent some steam for about 10 mintes then close tight and let rest an hour.
This will yield a tender quality brisket every time just trust your temperatures doesn't matter the size same 2 important temperatures.
Some people like pink butchers paper instead.
Some folks like salt and pepper only.
A little Dale's liquid marinade, fiesta steak rub, and southwest rub, no damn sugar of any kind. Rub liberally.
50% minimum oak, I like 30% mesquite 20% pecan. 100 % oak is fine, no damn charcoal.
Run fire at 225 thin white smoke.
Put a thermal probe into thick end .
When internal temp hits about 155-165 degrees Fahrenheit , about 6 hours for a medium size 14 lb, that is when it starts to sweat and stall. wrap brisket in heavy duty foil tight and be careful not to get any holes in it. I like to place wrapped brisket in an aluminum pan to keep from poking a hole in it.
DO NOT PUT IN PAN AND COVER WITH FOIL wrap tight and place in pan.
You can bump up the heat to 250 if you want. Cook till internal temp hits 200-205 f . Remove from heat Carefully open up top of foil to vent some steam for about 10 mintes then close tight and let rest an hour.
This will yield a tender quality brisket every time just trust your temperatures doesn't matter the size same 2 important temperatures.
Some people like pink butchers paper instead.
Some folks like salt and pepper only.
Learned a lot about smoking meat at this site.... https://www.smoking-meat.com/?awt_l=WkW.NA&awt_m=3h9acfWe8XioVWb
Well, family gathering got postponed so I’m going to throw the brisket into the freezer to wait for another day. I don’t want to smoke it only to have it go bad before it gets eaten. I’ll update once I actually smoke it and let y’all know how it turns out! Thanks for the advice everyone!
Butcher got us a 23lb green ham for making charcuteries. 
gained more weight just looking at all the grilled meat . yum sort of surprised no salmon grilled or creative veggie alternative .
I have one of those in the shed, used to take it out on the boat, good for brewing coffee or making a few fish and prawn skewers or other small snacks. What prompted that question??
Well, it's from your end of the pitch, for one, and for two, it's a brilliant idea that falls way short on execution. You can see from the food itself that the heat is very poorly distributed across the cooking area. I can imagine it for very simple purposes as you describe; that poor steak was abused.
Agreed mate, I did not buy the one I have, it was a gift. Would not waste money on that one.
Are you sure that’s not a fat chicks thigh?
Thanks bud!
Wife decided she wants to go on the Keto diet to knock off 10lbs. I said hell yes that's too easy and great eats!
First experiment, Jimmy Dean sausage, over sauteed spinach, pepper jack cheese, and topped with a stirred egg. Nom nom nom!
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Sos, my sixth piece.
Sorry for the dirty plate pix.
Brings back old memories of midnight chow hall.
Sorry for the dirty plate pix.
Brings back old memories of midnight chow hall.
Haven't had SOS in years that's on the menu for tomorrow
I make a metric shit ton of Italian from scratch....but this week I decided to go Cuban...
Good change of pace
Bench
Good change of pace
Bench
Flipping channels recently and came across show on sous vide. Heard of it but never gave it much thought. Guess I shouldn't have been surprised when a search turned up several comments here so figured I'd give it a try. Didn't want to buy some cheapo unit only for it to underperform/fail and didn't want spend $100+ on a whim that will probably be used only once. So decided to see what I could cobble together from stuff on hand (Igloo 25qt, immersion heater & scrap PVC) plus a $6 pump from Amazon and a $4 PVC fitting since I didn't have a 1" npt tap. Test run this afternoon and it held 135F for several hours no problem. An hour after turnoff it had only dropped 2 deg so think it will work well. Plan is to grab a cheap beef cut to experiment with this weekend. Any tips?
It's Anova and you should have bought a Joule. Been doing Sous Vide for years
That was one of the units I looked at but for $10 I've got a complete thermostatically controlled, circulating, insulated 4gal machine!
4 Gallons!! Damn...that is a big ass machine. I have no use for anything that big.
I have friends that have built their own as well. They work pretty damn well. I researched the little ones and really love the Joule. Truth be told, I don't use it for a lot other than steaks or other meat items. It is good for poaching fish like black cod as well. I made short ribs once that took 60 hours of cooking. Damn they were good but totally impractical as a method.
I have trouble typing on the phone. The Joule is not available down here in Aus as we run 230 volt power, also seems quite expensive compared to the Anova and many others that are available now.
Well, obviously, then, you live on the wrong continent on the precarious underside of this planet.
They are close in price here and Joule has a really amazing reputation. Not saying anything bad about Anova. Know a few people that have them and turn out great food.
They all seem to work well, the Joule does look to be more compact. My Anova was a gift so came at the right price.
Just started 3lb "mock tenderloin." Never heard of it before but was cheapest they had (still $4.19/lb) and supposed to be a pretty tough cut. Running at 135F, recommended times seem to be anywhere from 10hrs on up. Sounds like though you can't go too long?
And occurs to me I could never buy the Anova - reminds me too much of statistics!
And occurs to me I could never buy the Anova - reminds me too much of statistics!
You usually don't want to go too far over the time. When I cook filets that are about 2" think, they take 2 hours and I can keep them in for an extra hour. I have never tried that though
The tougher cuts like chuck need longer to make them tender, regular steaks only need to come up to finish temperature but holding them at that temperature does not seem to hurt. Apparently that is how restaurants manage to serve meals quickly. Chuck comes out the same after 24 or 36 hours.
So my still after 34 years of putting up with me wife is always looking for new flavors to play with.
In her quest for some Dales seasoning marinade that I use on grilled and smoked meats of all kinds.
She found a flavor I am unfamiliar with
I may not taste or try this product and in my defense claim religious exception.
In her quest for some Dales seasoning marinade that I use on grilled and smoked meats of all kinds.
She found a flavor I am unfamiliar with
I may not taste or try this product and in my defense claim religious exception.
It says Caribbean, is it safe to assume you could have "jerked cock"
Here is a little torment.
And maybe a tip for BBQ noobs.
2 things about the picture.
#1 absence of thick grey smoke,
Keep it thin white and wispy.
#2 shine on those ribs is from a blend of hardwoods and dry rub no sauce on there.
Do not put this rub on beef ever,
But for ribs, pulled pork and chicken it's gtg.
Adkins Western Style Barbecue BBQ Seasoning 16 OZ All Natural https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014G6YYHI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_v8pMDb2KR50ZA
And maybe a tip for BBQ noobs.
2 things about the picture.
#1 absence of thick grey smoke,
Keep it thin white and wispy.
#2 shine on those ribs is from a blend of hardwoods and dry rub no sauce on there.
Do not put this rub on beef ever,
But for ribs, pulled pork and chicken it's gtg.
Adkins Western Style Barbecue BBQ Seasoning 16 OZ All Natural https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014G6YYHI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_v8pMDb2KR50ZA
Ok, I'm sold on Sous Vide! Was shooting for 30hrs but stopped at 29 so I could sear on grill before running out of daylight. Mock tenderloin was perfectly pink throughout, very flavorful and almost fork tender. A few more hours might have been done it but surprisingly tender for what's supposed to be a pretty tough cut. Definitely worth more experimentation.
I have made them by partly cooking some bacon, onion and mushroom in the pan before adding the batter...
what are the round things, potatoes?
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