I think I've cooked my last brisket
Pierre
Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
clod.
Rolled the dice this weekend and picked one up at Sams (you have to ask
for it). It weighed 19 lbs. Had a decent fat cap on it, lathered it
up with plenty of salt, black pepper and cayenne. Sat on the counter
for 2 hours, and into the smoker it went.
Kept the cooker at 225°-250°, with an occasional spike to about
280°. No mopping, peeking, or turning. Added a little more water to
the water pan in in the Bandera once. Used good lump, and hickory
chunks. 14 hours later, internal was 193° and ready to come off.
The resulting meat was so juicy, extremely tender, and so falling apart
gorgeous, and more importantly, packed with flavor. This meat, was
just too reminiscent of a pork butt, ready to pull and shred. But it
was beef. There was enough smokey bark to flavor all of the meat when
mixed back into it. Had a tomato based spicy sauce(little on the sweet
side) on the side, but could have used a peppery vinegar and tomato
concoction. There was about 13 pounds of smoked meat when it came off
the smoker.
So, I wonder, why would I want to bother with a finnicky brisket?
They're more apt to come out dry (at least in parts), cook unevenly,
have a high ratio of shrinkage? The chuck roll, has so much more
flavor and moisture due to its higher fat content, and pulled like a
champ. It required no basting, turning, or any babying whatsoever.
I know that part of the challenge of this hobby is to take a piece of
tough stringy meat such as brisket and transform it into something
wonderful, but if you love full flavored barbecued beef with a minimum
of the pitfalls associated with a brisket, you should give this cut a
whirl. Got plenty for burrito's mixed with hot gardinera, or kick butt
beef hash with potato's and onions.
Pierre
eelhc
it's a great alternative to the brisket. I'm not sure if I'm done with
Brisket yet though... I still like the texture, But I'll definately
be cooking more chuck roll and less Brisket.
My experience/comments...
I didn't have a big dinner party planned so I had the butcher cut a
21#er into 11# and 10# cuts and cooked the 10# 1st.
The 10# went 10hrs to get to 190* with the cooker cooker at ~250*. It
pulled well and was very moist but there was still a lot of
fat/connecting tissue when I pulled. I suspect a lower, slower, longer
cook would've been better.
I really like it. The bark is more robust + flavorful and I swear the
meat was more tender than pork butt or brisket. My wife is really not
a big fan of bark and prefers the inner meat instead (oh the
humanity!!! found out after we got married ;)). She didn't think it was
better/worse than pork butt. Perhaps a little more "flavor neutral".
I think this is an ideal dish for a large gathering. It's a very
forgiving cut of meat so timing for guests is less problematic and
there is always someone in a large gathering who won't can't eat swine.
It can literally feed an army.
I think cutting the chuck roll in 1/2 may have inadvertently been a
good move. It "splits" extremely well. The fat/connecting tissue is
marbleized throughout and I'll bet I can take a 20 pounder and cut it
into 1/3s and do very predictable 9hr cook. If you like the bark/more
smoky flavor, than splitting the large cut will certainly yield more of
it. Why fuss over a cooker overnight if one doesn't have to? I think
I'll split the remaining 11#er into 2 for the next cook.
Since my wife is not a big fan of the bark... when I pulled, I stacked
these bits apart from the "heart" meat and food-saved them into a
different bag. I think I'll make burnt ends with these for lunch one of
these days.
Kevin S. Wilson
>I know that part of the challenge of this hobby is to take a piece of
>tough stringy meat such as brisket and transform it into something
>wonderful,
I'd say a shoulder clod qualifies as a "piece of tough, stringy meat."
--
"Danked," the past participle of "dank", is used to refer to someone
who replies to his own post on an online forum posing as another person
(see "Internet sock puppet") but forgetting to change his username . . . .
This was an act of stupidity meriting a name of its own, and because the hapless
contributor's username was Danks, the term "dank" or "danked" emerged.
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danked
JohnO
> ObBBQ: Gogint o Ray's BBQ in Austin tonight. Never mind that they
> found a dead body in the field out back yesterday (so decomposed
> they don't even know what gender it was).
>
It seems Pierre isn't the only one to have cooked his last brisket.
-John O
Default User
> I think I've cooked my last brisket.
> Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
> or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
> interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
> clod.
>
> Rolled the dice this weekend and picked one up at Sams (you have to
> ask for it).
What was the cost per pound? Packer-trimmed briskets are rarely a good
price at the supermarkets here. I don't know if the clods would be any
better price or not.
Brian
--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)
Pierre
Default User wrote:
> Pierre wrote:
>
> > I think I've cooked my last brisket.
> > Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
> > or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
> > interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
> > clod.
> >
> > Rolled the dice this weekend and picked one up at Sams (you have to
> > ask for it).
>
>
> What was the cost per pound? Packer-trimmed briskets are rarely a good
> price at the supermarkets here. I don't know if the clods would be any
> better price or not.
>
>
>
> Brian
Brian: 1.98 lb.
eelhc
$1.99/# for ful packet cut brisket... He'll also separate the flat and
charges me the same $1.99/# for the flat with the fatcap.
eelhc
lower than a Brisket but not significantly.
Kevin S. Wilson
<swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote:
>On Tue, 25 Jul 2006 08:45:42 -0600, Kevin S. Wilson wrote:
>
>> On 25 Jul 2006 06:57:33 -0700, "Pierre" <cow...@aol.com> wrote:
>>
>>>I know that part of the challenge of this hobby is to take a piece of
>>>tough stringy meat such as brisket and transform it into something
>>>wonderful,
>>
>> I'd say a shoulder clod qualifies as a "piece of tough, stringy meat."
>
>It must have taken you an hour or more to find something snide to
>say about that post. And then you spit this out just out of
>spite.
You're a putz, Swertz, and you prove it every single day. You also
don't read so good -- mostly because you are always so eager to hump
my leg in a follow-up that you don't comprehend what you've read. Let
me try to clarify things for you. (Forgive me if I use a polysyllabic
word now and then; I know they give you trouble.)
1. The OP implied that cooking a shoulder clod isn't a challenge,
because the challenge of BBQ is to "take a piece of tough stringy meat
such as brisket and transform it into something wonderful."
2. By extension, the OP was also saying that a shoulder clod is NOT a
tough, stringy piece of meat.
You with me so far, Son? These are the sort of inferences that most
adults of average literacy and intelligence make quite naturally and
easily while reading. You, however, seem to be struggling mightily.
3. I rejected the implicit claim that shoulder clod is NOT a tough
stringy piece of meat.
4. In rejecting the implicit claim, I was implying that cooking a
shoulder clod is every bit as challenging as cooking brisket or any
other piece of tough, stringy meat.
All of that isn't exactly subtle, Swertz. It's just that you can't
keep up with the discussion because you're so droolingly eager to hump
my leg. You do it time and time again.
You will now snip out this lesson in reading comprehension and hump my
leg once more. That's understandable. The lesson certainly makes you
look like a newbie fool.
Snip away, monkey-boi.
frohe
> I think I've cooked my last brisket.
Tis a sad day in BBQville <bowin head for a few moments of silence>
--
-frohe
Life is too short to be in a hurry
Default User
>
> Default User wrote:
> > What was the cost per pound? Packer-trimmed briskets are rarely a
> > good price at the supermarkets here. I don't know if the clods
> > would be any better price or not.
> Brian: 1.98 lb.
Ok, thanks (also to eehc for the info as well).
Spud
-- mostly because you are always so eager to hump
> my leg
>
>
Kev,
You forgot The Sock Puppet. Buddy, your material is getting a little dated
and worn. Even junior high wantabe's don't say "Boi" anymore. Please do
some research (on BSU time) and get some fresh zingers. Please, I'm your
friend and trying to help you. You need some new lines. Even Kent is
working hard on his stic (sp) and improving. You can to. Now get out there
and hussle! Do it for the Smurfs!
Your pal, Spud
Buzz1
"Pierre" <cow...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1153835853.7...@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
I think I've cooked my last brisket.
Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
clod.
for just a meal ya can't beat brisket but when I need quatities of beef--the
chuck roll always gets the nod!! great hunk of meat with good beef
flavaour!! plus it is a no-brainer to cook!!--imo aanyway
Buzz