I picked up a Prime brisket at Costco the other day because, why not, right? I was inspired by this recipe at ChefSteps. With that I said, I am making a bunch of modifications (to the point it's basically a different recipe) but, I'm curious about how sound the changes are:
No liquid smoke because I'll smoke this after a chill anyway.
I think this makes sense.
Lower temp and longer time.
I want a smoke ring without using curing salt (also, not brining, see below). I'm cooking 140ºF for 48 hours instead of 155ºF for 24 hours. A few questions:
1. Is this too long? I've done short ribs for 48 hours, but brisket isn't short rib.
2. In theory I should be able to get a decent smoke ring. Cooking meat to 155ºF makes it pretty hard because you're pretty close to the zone where you can't get a smoke ring anymore.
3. Since I'm cooking and well below well-done, am I going to experience a stall when I smoke it?
No brine.
Generally, I sous-vide nekkid. However, with such a large chunk of meat (about 8lbs once all the fat was trimmed) I want the salt to penetrate. I generally dry brine, but since this thing is going to be in sous-vide for a couple days why not let it "brine" in its own juices. Plus, salt is absorbed faster when cooking. So, I glazed and salted before bagging this time.
Should I inject?
I didn't inject with brine or anything else before cooking. Should I even bother? The salt should penetrate fine during the cook. Do I really need any extra juice?
Trip to the smoker.
They finish theirs in a fairly hot oven (325ºF). I'm going to a more typical 225ºF in the smoker. I'm seriously considering freezing first. I figure the frozen brisket plus another layer of the glaze should hold the rub (I'll go with BBBR, I think the one at ChefSteps uses entirely too much sugar for beef and at the lower cook temperature it won't caramelize very well).
I'm not sure how long the smoker will take, but it theory I could toss this in before work and grab it 9 or 10 hours later when I get home, especially if it hits a stall (will it?). If I'm going to go to the trouble of smoking it anyway, should I reduce the time in sous-vide?
No liquid smoke because I'll smoke this after a chill anyway.
I think this makes sense.
Lower temp and longer time.
I want a smoke ring without using curing salt (also, not brining, see below). I'm cooking 140ºF for 48 hours instead of 155ºF for 24 hours. A few questions:
1. Is this too long? I've done short ribs for 48 hours, but brisket isn't short rib.
2. In theory I should be able to get a decent smoke ring. Cooking meat to 155ºF makes it pretty hard because you're pretty close to the zone where you can't get a smoke ring anymore.
3. Since I'm cooking and well below well-done, am I going to experience a stall when I smoke it?
No brine.
Generally, I sous-vide nekkid. However, with such a large chunk of meat (about 8lbs once all the fat was trimmed) I want the salt to penetrate. I generally dry brine, but since this thing is going to be in sous-vide for a couple days why not let it "brine" in its own juices. Plus, salt is absorbed faster when cooking. So, I glazed and salted before bagging this time.
Should I inject?
I didn't inject with brine or anything else before cooking. Should I even bother? The salt should penetrate fine during the cook. Do I really need any extra juice?
Trip to the smoker.
They finish theirs in a fairly hot oven (325ºF). I'm going to a more typical 225ºF in the smoker. I'm seriously considering freezing first. I figure the frozen brisket plus another layer of the glaze should hold the rub (I'll go with BBBR, I think the one at ChefSteps uses entirely too much sugar for beef and at the lower cook temperature it won't caramelize very well).
I'm not sure how long the smoker will take, but it theory I could toss this in before work and grab it 9 or 10 hours later when I get home, especially if it hits a stall (will it?). If I'm going to go to the trouble of smoking it anyway, should I reduce the time in sous-vide?
Comment