LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 14, 2014 13:41:07 GMT -5
Salivating like mad over here. That's some fine work you've done. And don't worry about the smoke ring. It's pretty, but it's flavorless.
What was the total cook time on the brisket?
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Post by pairesta on Jul 14, 2014 13:46:19 GMT -5
No matter how many times I read that smoke rings don't mean anything, I have to get one when I smoke meat or it's a failure. So I know what you mean.
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Jul 14, 2014 14:50:48 GMT -5
It was in there around... seven, eight hours. Four and a half or so in the open, the rest in a triple-layer foil wrap. No crutch.
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Post by pairesta on Jul 15, 2014 8:27:56 GMT -5
Wait, isn't wrapping it in foil the crutch?
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Jul 15, 2014 10:28:55 GMT -5
I thought the oven was the crutch...
Eh; what the hell do I know?!
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Post by pairesta on Jul 17, 2014 10:21:22 GMT -5
Here's a huge pet peeve of mine. Articles or barbecue places that advertise "awesome" or "perfect" brisket and then the photo they use has the brisket look dry as a bone.  Look at that. There's no smoke ring. The meat's gray and looks dry, dry dry. Nice bark, that's about it. |
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Jul 17, 2014 12:01:22 GMT -5
It's probably been done in the classic food photo style, with some Xerox primer and coffee grounds rubbed on the outside, a few slices taken off, and the exposed bits cooked with a hot iron or clothes steamer.
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Jul 17, 2014 12:02:13 GMT -5
Also, the fatcap's been trimmed, so if it WAS actually smoked, it WOULD be bone-dry.
Could also have been done proper, but sliced cold, which makes it seem dry.
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Post by pairesta on Jul 17, 2014 13:22:51 GMT -5
I didn't even look at the article until after I posted the pic. It's a Stubbs recipe, so basically it's there to promote the barbecue sauce (hence the big globs of it on the meat).
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Jul 17, 2014 14:01:30 GMT -5
Ah. Well, it'll need it!
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 24, 2014 7:35:57 GMT -5
1. You're going to want a sauce unfortunately. And making your own would be a nice touch. They are kinda fun to make. Do this: 1 cup ketchup, 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (or just fish sauce!), 1-2 tablespoons chile powder, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1-2 tablespoons onion powder. Simmer together, taste, and adjust for seasoning. (Maybe throw in some sambal for heat). Yes, make it ahead. It will get better as it sits. Thanks again for the recipe. Made this last night. Simple and actually very tasty. Although I do love sambal, I wanted to keep the flavor pure so I added some heat with cayenne pepper instead. Good recipe to have in the back pocket. |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 28, 2014 7:46:05 GMT -5
I'm lame and I suck, so I failed to get any photography from Saturday's barbecue. You'll just have to take my word that everything came out really well.
36 guests, and rave reviews pretty much all around. I got a couple "best brisket I've ever had"'s, which is always a point of pride, and more than a couple recipe requests. The few vegetarian guests seemed really pleased that all six sides I made were vegetarian.
Unfortunately it was just so hot outside, so the backyard couldn't handle overflow like I hoped it would. It got pretty crowded, but everyone seemed to have a good time.
Had some chicken leftover, but no brisket or sausage of course, so my brisket taco plans have been momentarily dashed. (I have some uncooked brisket leftover, so I think I'll do a braise with coffee grounds and chile powder. I saw it at a Mexican restaurant on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives once. Now I just need to go back and figure out what that dish is called.)
Zach? Mexican braised beef with coffee?
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Post by pairesta on Jul 28, 2014 8:30:42 GMT -5
Hard to believe it was 80 just a week ago. It's brutal outside.
Glad to hear it went well! Did you sleep at all the night before? How long was the brisket on?
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 28, 2014 8:48:35 GMT -5
Hard to believe it was 80 just a week ago. It's brutal outside. Glad to hear it went well! Did you sleep at all the night before? How long was the brisket on? I went to bed a little early and got up around 2:30am to get the smoker started up. Put the meat on around 3:00am, then I went back to bed until 7:00am. The brisket spent 8 hours on the smoke and then another 3 in the oven, first at 225 to finish it along, then at 200 for the last hour or so just to hold it while I finished the meal. Black, peppery bark, rosy smoke ring all the way around (/brag), tender slices that just held together. Really happy with how it turned out. |
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Post by pairesta on Jul 29, 2014 9:01:39 GMT -5
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Post by pairesta on Jul 29, 2014 9:04:51 GMT -5
Cooked 9.5 hours, exactly 1 hour per pound. Did not crutch; I wanted to see what would happen. What happened was overcooked point and undercooked flat as you can see in these pics.
  
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Post by pairesta on Jul 29, 2014 9:07:54 GMT -5
It was better than I was secretly fearing it was going to turn out; everything I read said to prepare yourself for it not to work the first couple times. Yeah, I was disappointed, particularly in the flat portion (bottom), but I don't like that part anyways. (Note how I jinxed myself by posting that "bad brisket" photo above; it looks the same!) I probably will crutch next time just to help with heat distribution. I did love that bark though. "Like candy!" My wife cried after our sample. That's exactly what you want to hear. It really is amazing how just salt and pepper does it perfect. Even our son gobbled his share and wouldn't stop asking for more.
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Post by pairesta on Jul 29, 2014 9:11:28 GMT -5
Served a mustardy potato salad from a Robb Walsh recipe on the side, along with watermelon, spongy whitebread, and cheapo pickle chips. It was heavenly. As much as I'm kicking myself over it, whenever I unwrap it to slice for lunches the past few days, I beam with pride.
Also had problems with temp control. After reviewing it obsessively in my mind the past few days I decided that I added way to big a chunk of wood (like, the size of my hand) and once that caught fire it jacked the heat up to the 300s. Which helped the cook time but probably contributed to the uneven cooking of the two cuts. So that, too will be remedied next time.
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Jul 29, 2014 10:25:45 GMT -5
Zach? Mexican braised beef with coffee? Delicious. |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 30, 2014 9:44:32 GMT -5
Machaca is what I was thinking of. I'ma hunt me down a recipe and make some tomorrow. With pickled shallots and my leftover ricotta salata from Saturday.
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Jul 30, 2014 15:34:27 GMT -5
I love brisket a ton but I've been too busy this summer to do any. Sadly I don't get a serious ring on mine (perils of my particular smoker but the flavour is definitely still amazing. Since I've been making corned beef a fair bit over the past year I'm thinking of going for the next step in that and turning my next one into a proper pastrami.
I am super sad that I'm out of my homemade pancetta though. It's simply too difficult to control the temp/humidity during the summer to make any more til october at least.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 30, 2014 16:05:52 GMT -5
I love brisket a ton but I've been too busy this summer to do any. Sadly I don't get a serious ring on mine (perils of my particular smoker but the flavour is definitely still amazing. Since I've been making corned beef a fair bit over the past year I'm thinking of going for the next step in that and turning my next one into a proper pastrami. I am super sad that I'm out of my homemade pancetta though. It's simply too difficult to control the temp/humidity during the summer to make any more til october at least. Mmmmm, legit homemade pastrami is something I want to do this year. |
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Jul 30, 2014 16:09:55 GMT -5
Yeah, I figured now that I've got my corned beef down to pretty much the exact level of brining I like it was time to try pastrami.
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Jul 31, 2014 12:34:48 GMT -5
I trust you wont make a...  ← ⌐○-○  ...hash of it. YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! |
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dＬᵒ
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Post by dＬᵒ on Jul 31, 2014 23:26:20 GMT -5
So I got a cheap charcoal grill and looking over Amazing Rib's guide I've done a water pan cooking with some applewood chips on some burgers (came out to how I liked but a bit overdone for the fams) and NY stip steaks, slightly over did to a medium - but not as much as I thought they might of and since I mis-timed by thirty min the seemed to of benefitted by sitting in the fridge a bit. If there's a next time before moving I think I'll try to choose a fatty cut and bit of a marinade in red wine with real kosher salt and pepper (Montreal got almost to be too much) and put on two different oven thermometers over the zones. So a question I have for everyone else: would palm leaves and wood be safe for making a fire/smoking? I could easily get some around here but I worry that it might have something in it that could taint the food - like terpenoids in pine can. |
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Jul 31, 2014 23:51:13 GMT -5
Use fruit or nut wood. Apple, peach, apricot, cherry, pecan... Corn cobs also work. You can make an aluminum fo heat shield to put between your meat and the heat, too, so you don't have to rotate as much to avoid one half being hammered.
I had a steak that was grilled over juniper once, and it was delicious; the wood added an almost lime-like taste. I wouldn't use coniferous woods to smoke meat, though. Too much creosote.
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Post by pairesta on Aug 1, 2014 5:18:24 GMT -5
I got curious and googled "Can you smoke palm wood" and apparently it's too soft and wet to do much good with, ditto the leaves.
Amazing Ribs has a pretty extensive burger essay, if you haven't seen it. I used that to make the burgers on July 4th and they were really great.
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 10, 2014 15:53:55 GMT -5
Home curing three kinds of bacon this week -Pepper and Herb -Maple/Bourbon/Pepper -Chipotle/Maple Can't wait.  |
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Post by Lt. Broccoli on Aug 10, 2014 18:50:04 GMT -5
Our barbecue actually caught fire today. That was pretty cool.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2014 19:56:32 GMT -5
Guys, after being a vegetarian for I'm not kidding about twenty years, and after gently venturing into meat eating over the last year, I finally worked up the courage to order brisket at a barbecue joint last night, in front of my veg family and everything. And I was so so sad - it was good, don't get me wrong, but not completely awesome the way I hoped it would be. I look at all your mouth-watering photos and I can't help but feel I've been somewhat ruined for anything less than perfect. So thanks for that! Seriously though, please come here and fix some righteous meats for me.
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