I have never made a "traditional" brisket. I've done several sous-vide briskets that I have finished on the smoker and they're good. In fact, when I started smoking meats, I generally did sous-vide first. Over time this method has soured on me because:
1. Sous-vide isn't very fun compared to firing up the smoker.
2. While sous-vide gives me perfect results for some things, it's just not the same.
3. More bloody plastic and I am trying to cut down on more and more disposables.
I still sous-vide with some regularity. There are a bunch of cool dishes (like medium rare brisket) that you can't make any other way. It's magic with eggs. I love it for steakhouse burgers. Oh yeah, and chicken breasts! Many of these items cook fine in glass or silicon bags too.
This week, I wanted to try a real smoked brisket and see how it came out. Even with my experience I was a bit nervous. It's a big hunk of meat and a big time investment. Who wants to screw it up and waste all of that? (I would have made chili I guess.) I've never done a Texas crutch before! Wrapping ribs is too much work and pork should doesn't seem to need it.
So... I did a brisket for the first time and I was trying to go "authentic" (or something). I trimmed it, salted it, let it sit for two days and then got busy.
The rub was black pepper and nothing more.
I used mesquite for the wood.
I cooked it in my kettle for about 9 hours overnight at 225ºF. The bark had set. I wrapped, cooked for another 3-4 until it hit 203ºF. It was probe tender and I tossed it in the faux cambro for another two hours.
This is the first time I have dug into brisket without any sauce. Seriously. When I cut it the juices poured out just like I see in the YouTube videos. It was awesome.
I didn't get much of a smoke ring but... that was about the only complaint I had, lol.
1. Sous-vide isn't very fun compared to firing up the smoker.
2. While sous-vide gives me perfect results for some things, it's just not the same.
3. More bloody plastic and I am trying to cut down on more and more disposables.
I still sous-vide with some regularity. There are a bunch of cool dishes (like medium rare brisket) that you can't make any other way. It's magic with eggs. I love it for steakhouse burgers. Oh yeah, and chicken breasts! Many of these items cook fine in glass or silicon bags too.
This week, I wanted to try a real smoked brisket and see how it came out. Even with my experience I was a bit nervous. It's a big hunk of meat and a big time investment. Who wants to screw it up and waste all of that? (I would have made chili I guess.) I've never done a Texas crutch before! Wrapping ribs is too much work and pork should doesn't seem to need it.
So... I did a brisket for the first time and I was trying to go "authentic" (or something). I trimmed it, salted it, let it sit for two days and then got busy.
The rub was black pepper and nothing more.
I used mesquite for the wood.
I cooked it in my kettle for about 9 hours overnight at 225ºF. The bark had set. I wrapped, cooked for another 3-4 until it hit 203ºF. It was probe tender and I tossed it in the faux cambro for another two hours.
This is the first time I have dug into brisket without any sauce. Seriously. When I cut it the juices poured out just like I see in the YouTube videos. It was awesome.
I didn't get much of a smoke ring but... that was about the only complaint I had, lol.
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