Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Brisket practice

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Brisket practice

    This weekend I practiced doing another brisket. This was the third one I've done now and it turned out decent like the others. This time I injected it with no sodium beef broth (about 2oz. worth) and salted it 24 hours in advance. Previously I had only done the dry brine alone. It was also the first time I got a full packer from Sam's and trimmed it into 3 pieces. The point is still brining to turn into corned beef which will then become pastrami. The flat was cut into two pieces and one of these was the one cooked. The last piece is vacuum sealed for another day.

    I put it on the Weber kettle with Slow-n-Sear at 8:30am and it went from 40° to 150° in about 2 hours if I remember correctly. At 2pm with the temp just reaching 160° I wrapped it in butcher paper to help it along. The temp dropped to 149° and it took a little over an hour to get back to 160°. At 4pm, I cranked the heat up from around 240° to 350° and the temp started slowly rising again. It hit 200° at 5:30pm and I pulled it off and put it in a cooler wrapped in a towel for an hour.

    When sliced up it had a great bark and the thinner edges made for some good burnt ends. It had a slight smoke ring but not as much as some other cooks, but it tasted great. I didn't notice that the injecting made any difference as it was still a bit on the dry side. Not horribly dry but I was thinking it would be a bit less dry than the two previous attempts. It seemed about the same in that regard.

    It still made a great meal and there are leftovers for other meals this week! I suppose I'll just have to keep practicing some more (oh darn!). But that will wait a bit more as this weekend it should be time to try the pastrami.

    Attached Files

    #2
    What grade did you buy? The last packer I got at Sams was prime and it blew the choice and Angus away for moisture in the flat.

    Comment


    • kizeroy
      kizeroy commented
      Editing a comment
      The first two I got there were Prime but they were already trimmed flat sections. This time they only had whole packers in both Prime or Choice Angus. I went back and forth several times but got the Choice Angus this time for two reasons. It was bigger (14.5lbs vs. 11lbs) and it was marked down to $3.20/lb. So I figured I'd give up a bit on grade and get more to experiment with. Think I'll just stick with their Prime options going forward.

    #3
    Appears to be a fine attempt. Longer resting may be beneficial. Also lots of other hacks out there from injecting phosphates to using tallow to help increase mouth feel. Keep playing with what you know and search for the small amount of knowledge to put your brisket over the top. Good luck !!

    Comment


      #4
      I'd be all over that brisket, only thing I can add....needs beanz....

      Comment


        #5
        Looks great!

        Comment


          #6
          you done good.

          Comment


            #7
            The initial temp rise from 40-150 is REALLY fast. When you say it was 200 degrees where is this - Point, Middle, or Flat? Try wrapping in foil that will help with the moisture. Also be sure to add some moisture when you wrap and put the larger point end towards the heat. Lastly separate the aujus from the oil and pour that over the flat if it is a little dry. No one will know but you.

            Comment


            • kizeroy
              kizeroy commented
              Editing a comment
              All three of my brisket cooks so far have been the flat only. And all rose in temp quicker than I thought they would...to 150° in 2 hours or less. The first two I wrapped in foil and this one used butcher paper. I'm still pleased with the results but will continue to try improving as I go.

            #8
            It looks good to me.

            Comment


              #9
              When I read your post, I thought to myself, "this guy is having a lot of fun". I like the way you are working your way up the brisket learning curve to eventually land on the technique that works best for you and your smoker. Not everyone has the patience to change only one or two variables and to smoke the same cut repeatedly until they're satisfied. That's how pitmasters are made. Congrats!

              Kathryn

              Comment


              • kizeroy
                kizeroy commented
                Editing a comment
                Of course! The only way to improve is to keep trying. I've done ribs so many times that I feel I have a good handle on those. Brisket is one of those things I've always wanted to try, but the time demands were too much. Starting small has allowed me to give it a shot and work from there. Might eventually move up to smoking a whole packer later, but I'm enjoying the ride in the meantime!

            Announcement

            Collapse
            No announcement yet.
            Working...
            X
            false
            0
            Guest
            Guest
            500
            ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
            false
            false
            {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
            Yes
            ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
            /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here