The Barbecue Thread

I think alot of the stalwarts cook hot and fast. Both Kreuz and Smitty's do, Franklin cooks around 275-300, not sure about the Muellers, and Cooper's actually cooks it very hot, like 700 degrees, for two hours and then wraps and puts it in a warming oven to finish.

I think a big key is the butcher paper. It breathes, so it lets smoke in while absorbing fat and juices from the meat. The paper was completley soaked through when I went to remove it.

Yeehaw, Luling City Market. I had that 'cue in 2002 after burning every part of my anterior body not covered in a swimsuit on the Brazos in May or June. Good times! They didn't even complain about my quaffing of Busch (heavy). I know, it's heretical to be drinking that instead of Pearl/Lone Star, especially at a revered 'cue joint.

That's the problem with whole brisket. Even with the promise of ample leftovers, I feel silly cooking that big of a cut for just the three of us. It's always for a big party, which is when I'm least inclined to take risks. All the more so now since most anyone I'd be cooking for has tasted my brisket at this point, and they love it. I hate to mess with that. You can buy smaller or half-briskets, but they never come out the same for me.

This in mind, the chicken thing is easy for me to time out, because I'm an unabashed crutch-er. After smoking the brisket to my desired point, I pull it, double wrap in heavy foil and park it in a low oven (200-250). In this state, it can coast for anywhere from an hour to the end of linear time*. I'll put on my birds next and take'em nice and slow. when they're done, the brisket will probably be fine, too. Seriously, you can take your chicken from raw to done all within the "perfection" window of a brisket, I think.




*That's a slight exaggeration, but you get my point.

Yeah, I think I'll go with my standard method. Get up stupid early (or stay up stupid late) and throw it in then go back to bed and crutch wrap it when I get up for real. Doing the brisket for the party I did the pull and let sit in an insulated cooler for a couple hours wrapped after that too and it turned out pretty amazing.

The fact that I got more or less nothing meat wise (and nothing but pan scrapings of my Modernist Mac side) last year is making me overcook this year I think but whatever. Leftovers will be great.

When do you do it?

First off make sure it fits on your smoker. Remember that it will shrink by 50% but you may need to prop it up a little at first so it doesn't burn on the edges or lid.

You may have to do hot and fast after all! Otherwise it may end up taking a very long time, if you figure the standard hour or hour and fifteen per pound.

One thing I learned--and it's ridiculous how long it took to sink in given that everything out there says it--is to not get fixed on internal temp. Don't pull it until it probes like a knife going through soft butter at the thickest part of the flat. (i.e, right before where the flat meets the point, going in from the top).

It's better to overestimate than underestimate. It needs two hours when you take it off the heat to set and rest completely. After that you can put it in the oven, still wrapped, at the lowest possible temp.

What kind of smoker is it?

Ah. OK. Yeah I'd think you're gold then, other than probably having to start it late the night before and checking it a couple times. Say, maybe, 10 pm or so. Then check it I dunno around 2 am and then plan on getting up at 6. You can either go all the way unwrapped or wrap it after you get up, but then start probing for tender every hour or so.

Ugh, it cooked so fast, it's basically ready now. Going to have to tight foil wrap it and hope it doesn't lose too much moisture.

It finished in probably ~10 hours... I let it go a bit long on the smoker then tight triple wrapped it with some broth and let it sit for a while before giving it a long slow reheat in the oven. The last two hours I let it sit in my dad's warming cooler.

It was pretty good. Texture wise it was a bit further than I usually take it as I like the flat to slice a bit more evenly but it was still freaking delicious, a good chunk of the point was pretty much too soft to serve easy but I just left that for last and I'm going to rough chop it and make chili tonight or tomorrow I think. The flavour was fantastic though and I got some of the best bark I've ever gotten on the meat itself.

The birds turned out amazingly well as well with really moist flesh and a great applewood smoke flavour. Pulled them out right at the end and broiled them quick to get the skin crispy. Served it all with spicy black eyed peas, a ginormous dish of baked mac and cheese and an ultra garlicy caesar salad. (OH and four bbq sauces)


I probably only have about 2 pounds left of the brisket after a few extra people showed up but when you consider a few people weren't beef eaters people it kind of shocked me.

Beef prices, you guys. Goddammit.

Checked out the briskets at Kroger the other day; not one whole brisket going for less than $50. Granted I don't splurge on such a big cut often, and it is a ton of meat, but still I'm used to spending between $20-30 for a brisket.

Bryan Norton of Texas BBQ Treasure Hunt added to the conversation with some by-the-numbers breakdown of BBQ restaurant cost. Most interesting to me was his revelation about the costs of the SWAG ("Stuff We All Get"), like $25,000 a year on "free" bread or $60k a year to supply a condiment bar.

His tips for supporting local BBQ restaurants are also interesting, things like buying a better variety of meat and buying non-meats, paying with cash, etc., to help these restaurants avoid incremental costs. I don't know, maybe this is a bigger conversation than just BBQ, but how do y'all feel about simply patronizing a restaurant not being enough? Now you have to order a certain way!

I'm taking my parents to Pecan Lodge tomorrow night and am unreasonably excited. The best barbecue they've had so far has been from Rudy's and Salt Lick. Good stuff, but they're still gonna be blown away, and it's going to be fun to watch.

We spent the past weekend visiting my brother in Austin. Since no visit there would be complete without barbecue, we decided to go to Freedmen's. My brother also drove me by Franklin's, which still had a wrap-around the block line going at close to 1 pm, complete with people on lawn chairs and sipping out of coolers. La Barbecue's line was about Pecan Lodge-length, meaning probably only an hour wait.

Anyways, Freedmen's you just walk in, get a seat, and order off a menu. And the barbecue was fantastic. If that's the second tier barbecue in Austin then you really are spoiled there. Meltingly tender brisket with a crunchy, peppery crust. Our two year old couldn't stop gobbling it, even as he made hissing, gurgling noises from the spice of the pepper, but he just powered through it. The next morning he had pepper all over his diaper and some other side effects though.

My parents had a County line directly behind their house in Houston, up until about two years ago. I haven't been there in decades, but my dad would go whenever he wanted a BBQ fix and said that right before it closed it got really good again.

Umm, Super Bowl?