What I learned about smoking brisket over the last year
Donald Bones
last year or so (I really love brisket). To shorten the story, I've
mopped, flipped, turned, sprayed with apple juice, and just about
everything else you could think of. End the end, what kept them moist
and tender was for me to leave them alone. After a rub the day before,
they'd smoke for 8 or so hrs, then I'd wrap them in foil for a few more
hours. Then towel 'em up in the cooler overnight, and in the morning
there was a nice pool of juice, and they were falling-apart tender. No
mopping, no injecting, no nothin'. A few times, they reached 205
degrees, but didn't dry out at all.
Now, to compensate, I did leave a little more of the cap on top, but my
only consequence was not much of a ring on the top. But the taste and
amount of moisture was a more than fair trade. I guess if you're going
to contest, though, that's a no-go.
Curious to know what you all think, and how you do what you do with your
briskets.
db
Duwop
> Okay, so I've done about 1, sometimes 2 briskets a month for about the
> last year or so (I really love brisket). To shorten the story, I've
> mopped, flipped, turned, sprayed with apple juice, and just about
> everything else you could think of. End the end, what kept them moist
> and tender was for me to leave them alone. After a rub the day before,
> they'd smoke for 8 or so hrs, then I'd wrap them in foil for a few more
> hours. Then towel 'em up in the cooler overnight, and in the morning
> there was a nice pool of juice, and they were falling-apart tender. No
> mopping, no injecting, no nothin'. A few times, they reached 205
> degrees, but didn't dry out at all.
Really appreciate the report, am planning to attempt my bi-annual
brisket and was a little at a loss on how to go about it (haven't been
happy yet). Your report, as succinct as it is, told me what's what.
And it happily goes along with my preferred hands off, don't mess with
the meat approach.
Thank you.
Donald Bones
My pleasure. I try not to get too verbose, as my meager 7 or so years of
Q'n will become all too obvious. :) I know there's folks here that have
been doing it since I was in diapers.
I did take shots of the second or third one I did with the "don't futz
with it" method. You can find those here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phxlefty/LastBrisketOf08#
I'm happy to list my steps if you need them.
Thanks,
db
Duwop
Naah, I've read enough on cooking brisket to just have confused
myself. It always seemed more complicated than it should be,
especially since everything else I cook pretty much follows these two
steps: 1. (simple) rub 2. cook.
Your post refocused me.
Thanks for the offer though. Did you find that rubs make much of a
difference? Or not so much?
Donald Bones
(snip)
>>
>> I'm happy to list my steps if you need them.
>>
>
> Naah, I've read enough on cooking brisket to just have confused
> myself. It always seemed more complicated than it should be,
> especially since everything else I cook pretty much follows these two
> steps: 1. (simple) rub 2. cook.
>
> Your post refocused me.
Glad I could help. But you're right - either I've been really lucky not
to have jacked up any of the dozens I've cooked, or some people make it
harder than it is. The hardest part for me when I started was keeping
the temp steady. Once you know your smoker, and how much fuel to
initially use to keep a certain temp with futzing with the inlets all
day, and when to refuel and throw on more wood to keep it steady, the
rest is gravy.
>
> Thanks for the offer though. Did you find that rubs make much of a
> difference? Or not so much?
I've noticed a pretty big difference, yeah. I've gone from the Texas
chili power and paprika based rub, to a more sweeter Kansas City
influenced rub, and like it a lot better. I grew up in Oklahoma, so I'm
caught between the two. I use my own often enough, but there are a
couple of rubs on the shelf that are really good. It prolly makes more
of a difference to me since I go pretty heavy on it. Some folks swear by
a little salt and pepper, and I guess that's fine, too. Not for me,
though. :)
Duwop
> Duwop wrote:
>
> (snip)
>
>
>
> >> I'm happy to list my steps if you need them.
>
> > Naah, I've read enough on cooking brisket to just have confused
> > myself. It always seemed more complicated than it should be,
> > especially since everything else I cook pretty much follows these two
> > steps: 1. (simple) rub 2. cook.
>
> > Your post refocused me.
>
> the temp steady.
I don't even care about that any more, just try to keep it in a range,
how broad that range is depends on the cut of meat. Ribs being the
most restrictive, but everything else it doesn't matter all that much
so let it run from 225-300 with spikes going higher of course. That'll
change a bit depending on if I'm using wood or lump for fuel. Wood
runs hotter, sometimes a lot. Lump seems to run 225-275. I understand
that brisket isn't very sensitive to heat either.
> > Thanks for the offer though. Did you find that rubs make much of a
> > difference? Or not so much?
>
> I've noticed a pretty big difference, yeah. I've gone from the Texas
> chili power and paprika based rub, to a more sweeter Kansas City
> influenced rub, and like it a lot better. I grew up in Oklahoma, so I'm
> caught between the two. I use my own often enough, but there are a
> couple of rubs on the shelf that are really good. It prolly makes more
> of a difference to me since I go pretty heavy on it. Some folks swear by
> a little salt and pepper, and I guess that's fine, too. Not for me,
> though. :)
You gonna share it, or is it a secret?
Brick
Don't try to fix what don't need fixing. I confess though, that I learned
in a mere
two years or so to leave stuff alone in the smoker. My only caveat has to
do
with eveining out the heat exposure on individual items when I have the
cooker
overloaded. Which seems to be too often lately. And I usually turn butts
180�
after about 4 hours in the cooker for the same reason. I never turn stuff
over.
When I take stuff out of the cooker, I treat it the same way you do. I've
often
hit 205�F in a butt, not that I'm proud of that,but I've always gotten away
with
it. I've never had a bad or even poor brisket.
--
Brick (Youth is wasted on young people)
Brick
Memorize that process until you can't forget it Duwop. I know it's
complicate with a lot of detailed steps (2), but you can do it.
Rub doesn't matter all that much if you don't shred and mix the meat.
It does matter if you particularly like the bark by itself as some here
do. Never, never let TFM� get close when you're shredding a smoked
butt. He'll filch the bark like an expert pickpocket and you'll never
notice
until you go to mix it in with the pulled pork.
Donald Bones
Top secret, dammit!
I'm really big on Schneider's. They make a few, but the one that's just
called BBQ Rub is my favorite. Bone Suckin' makes a decent one, too.
Donald Bones
>
>
> Don't try to fix what don't need fixing. I confess though, that I learned
> in a mere
> two years or so to leave stuff alone in the smoker. My only caveat has to
> do
> with eveining out the heat exposure on individual items when I have the
> cooker
> overloaded. Which seems to be too often lately. And I usually turn butts
> 180�
> after about 4 hours in the cooker for the same reason. I never turn stuff
> over.
> When I take stuff out of the cooker, I treat it the same way you do. I've
> often
> hit 205�F in a butt, not that I'm proud of that,but I've always gotten away
> with
> it. I've never had a bad or even poor brisket.
Cool. I've noticed if the smoker is full, I may have to turn whatever's
farthest to the edges, especially poultry. Never had to do that with
brisket or butts, though.
I've had butts at 205, too. Still juicy, but the meat seemed to dissolve
in the mouth. I'm good with that, too.
db
Nunya Bidnits
Donald Bones <d...@ohmz.zb> typed:
> Brick wrote:
>>
>>
>> Don't try to fix what don't need fixing. I confess though, that I
>> learned in a mere
>> two years or so to leave stuff alone in the smoker. My only caveat
>> has to do
>> with eveining out the heat exposure on individual items when I have
>> the cooker
>> overloaded. Which seems to be too often lately. And I usually turn
>> after about 4 hours in the cooker for the same reason. I never turn
>> stuff over.
>> When I take stuff out of the cooker, I treat it the same way you do.
>> I've often
>> gotten away with
>> it. I've never had a bad or even poor brisket.
>
> Cool. I've noticed if the smoker is full, I may have to turn
> whatever's farthest to the edges, especially poultry. Never had to do
> that with brisket or butts, though.
> I've had butts at 205, too. Still juicy, but the meat seemed to
> dissolve in the mouth. I'm good with that, too.
>
> db
Don't put your poultry furthest from the edges for a couple of reasons.
1. Food safety. In the coldest part of the smoker there's a chance it sits
too long in that temperature danger zone. The temps and timing of poultry
and big cuts of red meat don't generally mix safely.
2. Best cooking practices. Poultry needs higher heat and a faster cook than
pork or beef for best results, especially if there's skin.
Put the poultry in the hottest part of the smoker and rotate other stuff
instead.
MartyB in KC
Donald Bones
>
>
> Don't put your poultry furthest from the edges for a couple of reasons.
>
> 1. Food safety. In the coldest part of the smoker there's a chance it sits
> too long in that temperature danger zone. The temps and timing of poultry
> and big cuts of red meat don't generally mix safely.
>
> 2. Best cooking practices. Poultry needs higher heat and a faster cook than
> pork or beef for best results, especially if there's skin.
>
> Put the poultry in the hottest part of the smoker and rotate other stuff
> instead.
>
> MartyB in KC
>
Thanks, Marty. I generally don't mix poultry in with the big cuts, but
occasionally I'll throw some wings down on the hot end. I hadn't (at
least consciously) considered No.1. How cold is too cold as far as
that's concerned?
db
Nunya Bidnits
Donald Bones <d...@ohmz.zb> typed:
IIRC for food service it's 3 hours between 40-140F, but I'm not sure if it's
the same for raw chicken, it might be less. I'm sure someone here knows the
specifics.
However I'm sure about the 40-140 thing. That is the temperature danger zone
where harmful bacteria multiply the fastest.
MartyB in KC
Mort Adella
"Donald Bones" <d...@ohmz.zb> wrote in message
news:Tu7_l.194540$6p1.1...@en-nntp-02.dc1.easynews.com...
I've only done a few briskets. After reading your results, I'm going to
simplify things. I wondered about mopping and if it makes a real difference.
Dana K6JQ
> Okay, so I've done about 1, sometimes 2 briskets a month for about the
> last year or so (I really love brisket). To shorten the story, I've
> mopped, flipped, turned, sprayed with apple juice, and just about
> everything else you could think of. End the end, what kept them moist
> and tender was for me to leave them alone.
Amen.
> After a rub the day before,
> they'd smoke for 8 or so hrs, then I'd wrap them in foil for a few more
> hours. Then towel 'em up in the cooler overnight, and in the morning
> there was a nice pool of juice, and they were falling-apart tender. No
> mopping, no injecting, no nothin'. A few times, they reached 205
> degrees, but didn't dry out at all.
Good stuff. One comment about injecting - it's not really
to increase moisture in the meat, it's really about seasoning
the meat.
Great post.
Dana
Donald Bones
Thanks, Dana. Saw your pics, btw - outstanding.
db
Lew
--
Lew/+Silat
Donald Bones
> Donald how long did you leave the meat in the cooler?
>
>
it around 6:30 the next morning. Still very warm to the touch then.
Couldn't wait for lunch so I had a brisket breakfast. :)
db
Dana K6JQ
Thank you. For me, brisket has gone from just a challenging piece of
meat
to cook 5 years ago to something I really like today. Your note very
succinctly
summarizes a long learning curve for anyone that reads it.
Cheers,
Dana