Great brisket with a fresh new side
Howdy!
I cooked a brisket (choice grade, from Creekstone Farms, weight approx 14 lbs) yesterday. I did it real simple, with just salt and pepper. I applied both salt and pepper the day before. It was real cold yesterday so it took a while to fire up the kettle. I started at 8am on Saturday, and at 9am it was ready, so I put the brisket on together with some apple wood chunks.
Outside temp was -2 °C (28 °F), so I had to refill briquettes not only once, but twice(!). But, the Slow 'N Sear delivered, as usual. I really like that little device. The built-in water reservoir is so convenient (and needed). I held it steady at 115 °C (240 °F) for 6.5 hours, then bumped it up to 150 °C (300 °F) for the last 1.5 hours. Total cook time was 8 hours. I pulled it when the inner temp was 90 °C (194 °F), which in my book was just a bit early, but it felt probe tender, so I wrapped it.
Note: I didn't do any spraying, basting or wrapping (Texas Crutch). I simply put the brisket on the grate, and only opened the lid twice, once to refill water and briquettes, and the second time for more briquettes.
The bark was out of this world, almost sticky, with amazing flavor. The brisket passed the pull test, and I've come to appreciate both the fatty (point) slices as well as the leaner (flat) slices.
Lessons learned:
1. Buy good meat quality to begin with, it helps tremendously.
2. Should I have wrapped (Texas Crutch)? I may do that next time, just to get the flat part even more moist, but this is nit-picking. Not sure it was actually needed.
3. I felt really confident all the way through the cook, being able to tweak, test and probe and knowing how to correct things if it went one way or the other. What a great feeling!
The side(s)
I made two sides. One classic coleslaw (nothing new under the sun, but I really like it). To match the (somewhat) greasy brisket I figured I need something fresh, definitely low carb, so I made a new side order yesterday. Here's what you need:
Serves: 4
1 zucchini
8 mushrooms
1 lemon (zest + juice)
salt
Dice the zucchini and mushrooms. Heat up a frying pan so it's real hot. Add the zucchini and mushrooms to the pan, sprinkle just a dash of oil (use very little), and give it some color for 30-50 seconds max. Remove the pan from the hob and pour all the lemon juice and zest into the pan. Stir a little, and add salt to taste.
What's good about this side? Well, the lemony flavor adds real freshness, and it complements brisket perfectly. Will definitely do this many more times.
Brisket with rub
Brisket just placed on the grate. It's a big sucker
About 4 hours in
Here's a real nice wine we found. Kinda funny name, but it was good
Check out the bark
Sliced and ready to eat. Ain't that a beauty?
Here's my plate (sorry for a bad shot), but you can see the zucchini side to the right
I cooked a brisket (choice grade, from Creekstone Farms, weight approx 14 lbs) yesterday. I did it real simple, with just salt and pepper. I applied both salt and pepper the day before. It was real cold yesterday so it took a while to fire up the kettle. I started at 8am on Saturday, and at 9am it was ready, so I put the brisket on together with some apple wood chunks.
Outside temp was -2 °C (28 °F), so I had to refill briquettes not only once, but twice(!). But, the Slow 'N Sear delivered, as usual. I really like that little device. The built-in water reservoir is so convenient (and needed). I held it steady at 115 °C (240 °F) for 6.5 hours, then bumped it up to 150 °C (300 °F) for the last 1.5 hours. Total cook time was 8 hours. I pulled it when the inner temp was 90 °C (194 °F), which in my book was just a bit early, but it felt probe tender, so I wrapped it.
Note: I didn't do any spraying, basting or wrapping (Texas Crutch). I simply put the brisket on the grate, and only opened the lid twice, once to refill water and briquettes, and the second time for more briquettes.
The bark was out of this world, almost sticky, with amazing flavor. The brisket passed the pull test, and I've come to appreciate both the fatty (point) slices as well as the leaner (flat) slices.
Lessons learned:
1. Buy good meat quality to begin with, it helps tremendously.
2. Should I have wrapped (Texas Crutch)? I may do that next time, just to get the flat part even more moist, but this is nit-picking. Not sure it was actually needed.
3. I felt really confident all the way through the cook, being able to tweak, test and probe and knowing how to correct things if it went one way or the other. What a great feeling!
The side(s)
I made two sides. One classic coleslaw (nothing new under the sun, but I really like it). To match the (somewhat) greasy brisket I figured I need something fresh, definitely low carb, so I made a new side order yesterday. Here's what you need:
Serves: 4
1 zucchini
8 mushrooms
1 lemon (zest + juice)
salt
Dice the zucchini and mushrooms. Heat up a frying pan so it's real hot. Add the zucchini and mushrooms to the pan, sprinkle just a dash of oil (use very little), and give it some color for 30-50 seconds max. Remove the pan from the hob and pour all the lemon juice and zest into the pan. Stir a little, and add salt to taste.
What's good about this side? Well, the lemony flavor adds real freshness, and it complements brisket perfectly. Will definitely do this many more times.
Brisket with rub
Brisket just placed on the grate. It's a big sucker
About 4 hours in
Here's a real nice wine we found. Kinda funny name, but it was good
Check out the bark
Sliced and ready to eat. Ain't that a beauty?
Here's my plate (sorry for a bad shot), but you can see the zucchini side to the right
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