Combining my Family's Tradional Jewish Brisket with Smoking Techniques

[Baltimorelger]

Yeah, the rest period was basically nonexistent as well. Gives me something to tinker with next time!

[Draznnl]

Congrats on a successful experiment. And L'Shana Tovah.

[Draznnl]

Perhaps smoke the day before. Pull it at 160. Give it an ice bath. Refrigerate until the day of. Braise, rest, slice and serve.

[smokin fool]

Yeah earlier start would have possibly helped for tenderness and briskets really benefit from a good rest.
Keep in mind the piece of meat you buy next time will cook different than this one did.
All the planning in the world can go out the window depending on the brisket that you buy.

[smokin fool]

Fantastic cook, absolutely nothing wrong with that brisket.
Nice job.

[Baltimorelger]

Photos of the finished product. 1st is the cut down the middle. Nice smoke ring, but a little dryer than hoped.

2nd is it coming out of the oven (my wife may have cut a small piece off when I wasn't looking)

3rd & 4th are the slices put back into the sauce to try and get them softer.

Overall the taste was awesome (even with the firmer texture). True soft jiggly brisket in this sauce would be awesome though and I'll hopefully get to take another shot at the next major Jewish Holiday.

[Baltimorelger]

The results!

Good: Good smoke ring, using a salt/pepper rub and getting a little bark really amped up the flavor with the braising liquid (added a great peppery note to the overall dish). Smoke and sauce were an awesome combination.

Cons: Timing. I started smoking later in the morning than planned, pulled it at 160 with decent bark (but in the future would have liked to run it longer), and then to ensure that it was ready to eat by dinner time, rushed the braise (in the oven in the liquid at 350). Let it do it's thing for about 3 hours and while it temped in the 200s, the meat wasn't as tender as desired (my cutting skills also didn't help). While there were some pieces that were perfect (some of the point), overall it wasn't as soft as it could have been.

Overall: Next year I will cook it the day before or get up super early and let it ride out out until it's super soft/jiggly without the pressure to get it on a plate.

[Donw]

Great. This style brisket is still our favorite preparation for brisket. We vac pack lots for great Winter meals.

[Baltimorelger]

Interesting approach!!! Definitely could consider for next years approach.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

stupid thought here... next year, why not braise until a certain temp (maybe 165-180?). Wrap in foil and ice bath... when cool enough chuck it in the freezer, then smoke it semi-frozen until it's done? It would have the braised flavorings your family loves, gain the smoke and bark you want.

Braising would remove a lot of the smoke I would think, so doing it backwards makes sense in my mind, and the quick chill followed by a little time in the freezer would in theory allow it to absorb more smoke (since smoke absorption supposedly happens the most at lower temps)

[Baltimorelger]

Ok! We’re well into the process. My kid is sick so some of my plans had to shift (smoked in the pellet vs PBC as just easier to let it do it’s thing, and didn’t monitor the times as close as I liked. Spent a few hours between 220 and 250 with competition pellets. When it hit 160 I threw it in a roasting pan with all the ingredients (next year will try the suggestion of smoking the sauce as well). Now it’s in the oven at 350. IT is currently 170 so we have a ways to go but smells great.

[Beefchop]

ecowper and Draznnl it's all about the contrast! sweetness of the applesauce contrasted with the saltiness of the latke, or perhaps the creamy goodness or rich sour cream just makes it more better!

[Dr. Pepper]

Beefchop Thanks for the links. The North African honey/harrisa chicken over a bed of garbanzo beans sounds great. Will have to try that. I would probably spatchcock the bird (I simply cut along one side of the backbone, I don't remove it)

[Dr. Pepper]

Well, somehow we found ourselves both groups: 1st a dollop of sour creme, 2nd the apple sauce on top.
If you do the braise followed by the smoking (BQ?), you might want to place your brisket on a rack over a tray in the fridge to allow it to dry a bit before smoking? Maybe only an hour? What do others think?
Also, do you think we can start a QBQ thread? Ernest, show us your Passover/Hanukah KBQ/braise creds!

[efincoop]

+1 to that ^^^^