It sounds like if I put the paper-wrapped point into one of those pyrex pans, tent that with foil, and then pile on the rest of the sleeping bag in the cooler/FC, I'll basically be doing what the boat does - catch any jus etc. while it rests. Sounds like a plan
And hey! It's probably not too soon to take that puppy out of the chestie and put it in the fridge so it can start to thaw
Last edited by DaveD; February 14, 2022, 07:22 PM.
Howdy folks, figured I'd just use this thread to document this cook... here's the hunka meat in question, before & after trimming, and then all salted up for overnight dry brine. It's a point, 5lb/2.2kg, 100% grass fed from Crowdcow, using a source from New Zealand.
Forgot to get a good shot of this side before I started trimming... here's the kinda-before & after.
Fat cap side:
Brined:
Going to cherry-pick nuggets of wisdom contributed here Game plan is to run at 250-275 until the bark sets to my liking, then wrap with butcher paper the rest of the way. Pull at probe tender/203ishF, then deposit wrapped point into pyrex baking pan, tent that with foil and place in the FC with the old sleeping bag for insulation and rest for a couple of hours.
I know you're all counting on me... I'll try not to let you down!
Last edited by DaveD; February 18, 2022, 01:05 PM.
Thanks Kathryn, I just added that detail -- it's a point only, grass-fed, NZ sourced. I mentioned that way up top but this was a good place for a reminder
Only other comment I would make is however you decide to rest it, I've found it best to let it sit on you counter wrapped for an hour or so to let the cooking process stop before putting it into an oven or cambro. In my experience if you take it out of the cooker at 200+ degrees, wrap it tight with whatever and put it into a tight vessel it will continue to cook. You endanger turning it into pot roast. I want mine to slowly reverse itself.
That's been a successful strategy for me anyway, others may disagree or think it unnecessary. But oh the results....
This is a very good point. I absolutely want it to cool slowly from the 200ish down to a reasonable approach to serving temp. I shall build that step in. Thanks! And that does look stupendous...
I have been using the foil boat method also mentioned in this thread because my wife wants the juice to save for stew gravy later on. Her stew comes out amazing with some smoked brisket and the gravy made from the brisket drippings.
An absolutely gorgeous morning for firing up the smoker! 30F/-1C in calm cloudless skies - for now. There's a strong cold front on the way, which will arrive about midday and bring fairly strong winds, probably 20mph/32kph or higher with stronger gusts (much like yesterday was here).
Brisket looks nice and deep red after overnight dry brine. Rubbed with a mix of 3 tsp/15ml each of ground black pepper & garlic powder plus 1 tsp/5ml of celery seed (which seems to promote smoke ring formation).
Followed Meathead 's tip of sliding a toothpick in along the grain as a marker for later in case it's not visually obvious anymore. Instrumented with one wired probe and my Meater+.
Because I did a full clean of my smoker after last cook, I ran the box to ~350F/~175C for 15 minutes to burn off any soap residues, then put it on the low-T SMOKE setting and popped the brisket in. It did an hour on SMOKE and then raised the temp to a target 250-275. I have an aluminum drip pan under the brisket to catch whatever falls - I have no sense for what to expect there, but if there's enough drippings I'll try to think of something useful to do with them...
60 min on SMOKE + 30 min at target:
The Meater+ is reading within a couple degrees of the wired internally, but about 25F/15C cooler on the ambient side. My guess was that it was a bit too close to the surface and thus affected the boundary layer of the still-cold meat, so I tugged it out just a bit after I took that photo. Within half an hour, it's now only about 10F/6C different. I'm sure as everything heats up that difference will get less and less.
It's already warmed up to just above freezing and the wind is a few hours away... More later!
Last edited by DaveD; February 19, 2022, 08:31 AM.
Another hour in, IT 120F/49C, temps holding well at 250ishF/120ishC measured on the underside of the rack holding the drip pan. The probe clipped to the underside of the top rack reads about 215ishF/102ishC, no doubt reflecting the thermal mass of the meat between the two probes. Gave it a spritz when I topped up the water pan. And the Meater+ ambient reading is now within only a few degrees of the top rack T, as expected, and the internal readings continue to be identical.
Last edited by DaveD; February 19, 2022, 09:39 AM.
"...plus 1 tsp/5ml of celery seed (which seems to promote smoke ring formation)."
That's because it contains nitrites. Celery seed is often a prominent ingredient in those lying packages of bacon etc that say "uncured" because they don't have added sodium nitrite. They DO because it's in the celery seed.
I wondered what it was about celery seed that did that... saw it mentioned in several places (which I don't remember now) and have used it in most of the rubs I've done on beef. One of these days I will try an experiment where that's the only variable for comparison to see if it really makes a diff. I certainly get great smoke rings, but maybe I would anyway.
Just about five hours in now, and we're in stallsville right on cue at 149F/65C. No surprise, there is plenty of liquid visible on the surface... Temps of the Meater+ ambient and the upper-rack T probe remain 40ishF/20ishC degrees below the temp just under the drip pan (which has hardly anything in it btw).
Bark has a ways to go yet before it's time to wrap, I reckon...
Bark looks good enough for me, so into the paper it goes. Had a bit of an adventure after getting it back in - the circuit breaker tripped for the circuit my smoker is plugged into, but fortunately having all the T probes in there (SnS 500) it was immediately apparent. But I lost a step or two there right after wrapping and returning the meat to the smoker. And OMG... did it smell good!!
ITs are on the rise nicely now.
Last edited by DaveD; February 19, 2022, 01:09 PM.
Alrighty, we have a winner! Came out fabulous. Probably could have rested a bit longer, but we were ravenous and that aroma...!! The flavor of that New Zealand 100% grass fed beef was outstanding, the whole mouth-coating beefy goodness thang going on. Corn on the cob and a green salad to go with.
Game plan is to run at 250-275 until the bark sets to my liking, then wrap with butcher paper the rest of the way. Pull at probe tender/203ishF, then deposit wrapped point into pyrex baking pan, tent that with foil and place in the FC with the old sleeping bag for insulation and rest for a couple of hours.
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