Smoked 6 beef cheeks for the first time today, on the PBC. They were not all the same size. One was sliced in half, half the thickness, making me wonder how to deal with that. Then, trimming was a challenge. My knife skills were challenged and I got better at that. Lots of fat and silver skin. Even with a sharp boning knife it took time, I would say take your time, have patience. Got past that.
These were supposed to be taken to 210 according to one site I saw. When I saw that the thin pieces were at 195 I tested them by poking and they seemed really tender, so pulled those off and tried them. They were tough, put them back on. They looked burnt. They all looked pathetic. I took them all up to 210, thinking I had a bust and might as well ride it out.
So, they turned out really tender and moist somehow. Lots of collagen I assume. Even the thin pieces, they all need to get to 210. But I could not tell that there was any rub on them, and could not tell they were smoked. I assume that is because by the time they were done that the outside was charred. So flavor was lost. I am going to use the meat for tacos, barbacoa. So I don't count this as a loss, it was a great learning experience. The meat turned out as promised, even though I lost faith midway.
These were supposed to be taken to 210 according to one site I saw. When I saw that the thin pieces were at 195 I tested them by poking and they seemed really tender, so pulled those off and tried them. They were tough, put them back on. They looked burnt. They all looked pathetic. I took them all up to 210, thinking I had a bust and might as well ride it out.
So, they turned out really tender and moist somehow. Lots of collagen I assume. Even the thin pieces, they all need to get to 210. But I could not tell that there was any rub on them, and could not tell they were smoked. I assume that is because by the time they were done that the outside was charred. So flavor was lost. I am going to use the meat for tacos, barbacoa. So I don't count this as a loss, it was a great learning experience. The meat turned out as promised, even though I lost faith midway.
Comment