All Things Brisket

[Mortimer 88]

....and the smoke is done.  Seven hours is enough for me.  If I ever use this type of smoker again, I can easily drop the meat down a level towards the dying coals.  Since the temp gauge did not work, I had no idea the actual temperature, and did not want to take a chance the meat might fall into the danger zone.  I had to cut the brisket in half so it would fit in the oven. (small oven, home built in early 60s, strange). Wrapped in foil, brisket is finishing in oven at 275 degrees.  Total smoke time 7 hours, with many reps of me throwing the wood chips.  It seemed to work.  Soaked the wood chips in water, and every time I threw chips, and occasionally some charcoal, the smoke picked up.  I saw plenty of smoke ring.  Will let it cook for at least 8 hours.  

How'd it turn out?

[ROFL BOX 6,647]

I have to use a water bath in my BGE or the flat will dry out on me. I put a pyrex casserole dish on top of the plate setter, directly below the brisket and fill it with hot water.

There is a lot of back & forth / conjecture / argued science about the water vapors from steam may or may not being small enough to in any way penetrate meat, whether chicken, pork, beef, etc.

YMMV.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[DDD Dad 14,251]

Yep, I always have a pan of water under brisket

Pour a beer or coke or Dr Pepper in the pan instead.

[Lurch 5,921]

There is a lot of back & forth / conjecture / argued science about the water vapors from steam may or may not being small enough to in any way penetrate meat, whether chicken, pork, beef, etc.

YMMV.

My understanding was that it’s not to penetrate the meat, but rather to keep the humidity up, thus reducing loss to evaporation

[Lurch 5,921]

Pour a beer or coke or Dr Pepper in the pan instead.

... which is why I can’t image doing this would improve the cook

[DDD Dad 14,251]

... which is why I can’t image doing this would improve the cook

But it smells good while you cook.

 

What do you have to lose? /no cr

[NateHitch 1,282]

My understanding was that it’s not to penetrate the meat, but rather to keep the humidity up, thus reducing loss to evaporation

This was always my thinking, and I was under the impression that a water pan helps stabilize the temp and prevent big dips or spikes. But now that I think about it I don't fully understand why I use a water pan, I just do it because you're supposed to

[Godzillatron 292]

First time using a water pan in my ceramic. One of the better briskets I’ve done

[Godzillatron 292]

First time using a water pan in my ceramic. One of the better briskets I’ve done

Since I can’t figure out how to post 2 pictures at once here’s the final

[orangecat92 306]

On 7/4/2020 at 10:18 PM, Mortimer said:

How'd it turn out?
 

got a smaller than expected smoke ring, but the meat was tender, but not falling apart.  For taste I give it a 7 out of 10.    Plenty juicy, after letting the meat rest for 20 minutes.   Rib rub from Kroger's was good.  I have brisket tacos and sandwiches for several days.  I think the improvement necessary is having a working thermometer inside the smoker and having wood available to increase the heat throughout the smoking process instead of just wood chips and charcoal.  I used a bunch of wood chips.  

I wonder if there would have been a difference had I not had to cut the brisket in half to get it to fit inside the oven? 

Btw, I should have taken a picture of the brisket when I first squeezed it into the smoker.  The brisket wouldn't fit laying down, so I curled up the brisket, still fat side up.  It just squeezed into the top level of that smoker. 

 

[DDD Dad 14,251]

got a smaller than expected smoke ring, but the meat was tender, but not falling apart.  For taste I give it a 7 out of 10.    Plenty juicy, after letting the meat rest for 20 minutes.   Rib rub from Kroger's was good.  I have brisket tacos and sandwiches for several days.  I think the improvement necessary is having a working thermometer inside the smoker and having wood available to increase the heat throughout the smoking process instead of just wood chips and charcoal.  I used a bunch of wood chips.  

I wonder if there would have been a difference had I not had to cut the brisket in half to get it to fit inside the oven? 

Btw, I should have taken a picture of the brisket when I first squeezed it into the smoker.  The brisket wouldn't fit laying down, so I curled up the brisket, still fat side up.  It just squeezed into the top level of that smoker. 

 

You can always just use an empty beer/coke can wrapped in foil underneath it for the first few hours to get it to fit.

[Anastasis 23,395]

On 7/4/2020 at 7:43 AM, RMac5 said:

Fuck yeah, that looks great.  Where did you get the bread recipe? Make some with shredded brisket when you finish those two beast.

Listen to this man.  He is pre-med.

 

Brushed this batch with salted butter when they had about 10m left, made a huge difference. 

 

Cross posting with no fucks given.

 

\Kolaches. Brisket and cheese, brisket egg and cheese, ham and cheese.

Edited July 6, 2020 by Anastasis

[DDD Dad 14,251]

Listen to this man.  He is pre-med.
 
Brushed this batch with salted butter when they had about 10m left, made a huge difference. 
 
Cross posting with no fucks given.
 
\Kolaches. Brisket and cheese, brisket egg and cheese, ham and cheese.

[Chewbacca 7,730]

My understanding was that it’s not to penetrate the meat, but rather to keep the humidity up, thus reducing loss to evaporation

Yep. Especially in CO, my brisket would be jerky without it.

[freyguy 4,245]

17 lb'er Prime from HEB.  $3.99/lb

19hrs on the Big Joe @250F.

I got a chubbie while cutting it.

[CycleTex87 2,953]

I wrapped mine at about 175, then let it cook for 3 more hours, but the flat was dryer than it should have been. Still learning the Kamado.  Old school WSM never let me down. 

[freyguy 4,245]

I never tried wrapping mine yet, maybe someday I will.  This one was a weird cook, it had a double stall at 160 & 192, and ended 3 hrs before dinner time.  So I triple wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven to bridge the time gap.  The extended crew nearly devoured the whole thing, so barely any leftovers 🙁.

[Both Tacos 1,805]

Listen to this man.  He is pre-med.
 
Brushed this batch with salted butter when they had about 10m left, made a huge difference. 
 
Cross posting with no fucks given.
 
\Kolaches. Brisket and cheese, brisket egg and cheese, ham and cheese.

I'm not gay, but if you cook like this all the time I'll give it a try.

[Bevo&Pevo 5,026]

All I can say is the brisket, baked tater with grilled onion and cold tea was F'n delish.

[Braff Zacklin 13,418]

On 7/6/2020 at 9:30 AM, Anastasis said:

Not sure if anything can top brisket tacos for repurposing (better than the original application, in my opinion), but this ... this could end up being option 1B.

[Anastasis 23,395]

6 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Not sure if anything can top brisket tacos for repurposing (better than the original application, in my opinion), but this ... this could end up being option 1B.

They were awesome.  My oldest boy was slamming them. 

Funny you mention brisket taco, cause I am a huge fan of brisket on a warm tortilla with pico as well. I was actually thinking that it might be interesting to mix the chopped with some pico before rolling up the kolache.  Acid and onion from the pico might set it off. 

But to be perfectly clear, rolling a taco is a lot easier. 

 

ETA: One thing that I learned about makings those was that rolling the dough very thin was necessary, use smaller circles of dough with more stuffing than you think you need, and try to minimize the amount of dough on the bottom by stretching it over and creating the seam. You can see what happens in the brisket kolache in the top picture with too much dough "pinched off" vs the bottom brisket kolache and was more an operation of pulling the dough and overlapping thin stretched out pieces to create the seam. After I got the hang of it, I had some kitchen shears handy so that I could trim the dough back and keep from getting a ball of bread on the bottom. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by Anastasis

[Chewbacca 7,730]

Not sure if anything can top brisket tacos for repurposing (better than the original application, in my opinion), but this ... this could end up being option 1B.

Brisket quesadillas are pretty fucking amazing.

[Braff Zacklin 13,418]

45 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

They were awesome.  My oldest boy was slamming them. 

Funny you mention brisket taco, cause I am a huge fan of brisket on a warm tortilla with pico as well. I was actually thinking that it might be interesting to mix the chopped with some pico before rolling up the kolache.  Acid and onion from the pico might set it off. 

You don't think pico would make the kolache too soggy? But I like the direction you're going. My only thought for improvement as I was salivating over your pics was maybe the inclusion of pickled jalapenos.

As for brisket tacos, I posted this on TOS a few years back, but I prep mine as if they were fajitas: grilled veggies, avocado, pico, sometimes cheese or crema, etc.

So many strong flavors, but they all compliment one another.

 

[thunderlounge 7,757]

9 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

9 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Not sure if anything can top brisket tacos for repurposing (better than the original application, in my opinion), but this ... this could end up being option 1B.

Brisket quesadillas are pretty fucking amazing.

 

Don't forget brisket tamales. (Try using brisket tamales to make tamale dressing. Fucking. Amazing.)

 

[dad 557]

10 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Not sure if anything can top brisket tacos for repurposing (better than the original application, in my opinion), but this ... this could end up being option 1B.

NOTHING can top brisket tacos with some avocado and salsa. 

[dad 557]

10 hours ago, Anastasis said:

They were awesome.  My oldest boy was slamming them. 

Funny you mention brisket taco, cause I am a huge fan of brisket on a warm tortilla with pico as well. I was actually thinking that it might be interesting to mix the chopped with some pico before rolling up the kolache.  Acid and onion from the pico might set it off. 

My kid and I have been baking shit lately to try to get him off the games so this is another good option. I wanted to say for your pico idea I would think that it would taste much better if you keep it like you did but afterwards cut a slice into them then you can add pico or bbq sauce or whatever suits your fancy. If you add the pico before the cook it's gonna make the pico soggy and hot which isn't as appetizing as fresh cool pico with crispier tomatoes and jalapenos. Just a thought!

[ZB'Tejas 593]

On 7/6/2020 at 9:47 PM, freyguy said:

I never tried wrapping mine yet, maybe someday I will.  This one was a weird cook, it had a double stall at 160 & 192, and ended 3 hrs before dinner time.  So I triple wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven to bridge the time gap.  The extended crew nearly devoured the whole thing, so barely any leftovers 🙁.

Finished product looks great and has a really nice smoke ring. You didn't wrap at all? What type of fuel did you use?

[Jerry Callo 8,665]

My list of brisket re-purposing just this past weekend:  breakfast taco with fried egg (bacon optional), brisket grilled cheese sandwich, sliced brisket on martin's potato rolls, and jalapeno poppers with brisket chunks and cream cheese.  Other times:  brisket quesadillas, brisket fried rice, and brisket chili. 

Brisket is my favorite leftover probably followed by smoked pork shoulder.

[thunderlounge 7,757]

3 hours ago, dad said:

or bbq sauce

 

da fuq is this?

[dad 557]

 
da fuq is this?

In a brisket kolache? Yeah I wouldn’t say that’s much of a stretch... I’ve had billions of rolls stuffed with brisket and bbq sauce in my life.

[ROFL BOX 6,647]

6 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

da fuq is this?

Quote

or whatever suits your fancy

Personal preference confuses you?

[freyguy 4,245]

3 hours ago, ZB'Tejas said:

Finished product looks great and has a really nice smoke ring. You didn't wrap at all? What type of fuel did you use?

HEB lump coal (mesquite), nothing else.

I normally get the Central Market bag, but my HEB has been scarce on that since COVID started.

[thunderlounge 7,757]

1 hour ago, ROFL BOX said:

Personal preference confuses you?

No. But putting sauce on good brisket sure does. 

[baboso 6,050]

21 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

21 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Not sure if anything can top brisket tacos for repurposing (better than the original application, in my opinion), but this ... this could end up being option 1B.

Brisket quesadillas are pretty fucking amazing.

Brisket leftovers repurposed into anything are pretty fucking amazing.  Shit, I've made brisket omelets, tacos, nachos, enchiladas, grilled chee, whatever.  Best part of the whole fucking thing.

[Anastasis 23,395]

7 hours ago, thunderlounge said:

No. But putting sauce on good brisket sure does. 

We're talking kolache man, not sliced brisket. Kolache.

[Braff Zacklin 13,418]

33 minutes ago, baboso said:

Brisket leftovers repurposed into anything are pretty fucking amazing.  Shit, I've made brisket omelets, tacos, nachos, enchiladas, grilled chee, whatever.  Best part of the whole fucking thing.

 

[thunderlounge 7,757]

41 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

We're talking kolache man, not sliced brisket. Kolache.

 

 Brisket kolache, specifically. To each their own, it is. Sinners be damned. 

[TheFlyingBoat 906]

5 hours ago, baboso said:

Brisket leftovers repurposed into anything are pretty fucking amazing.  Shit, I've made brisket omelets, tacos, nachos, enchiladas, grilled chee, whatever.  Best part of the whole fucking thing.

This x 1million.

 

So far I've made brisket mi goreng, brisket tacos, brisket breakfast tacos, brisket scrambles, brisket potato salad, brisket nachos, brisket grilled cheese (or melts for any pedants out there), brisket (both cold cuts and toasted) on toasted ciabatta or brioche with various aiolis (adding things like shishito peppers, banana peppers, and other chilis work wonders), brisket quesadillas, and brisket fried rice. And yes adding brisket in front of every dish was absolutely necessary be causing adding brisket it a dish makes it new and better than it did before it had brisket and it deserves that oomph in the name. God bless brisket leftovers.

[AustinMT 952]

19 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

My list of brisket re-purposing just this past weekend:  breakfast taco with fried egg (bacon optional), brisket grilled cheese sandwich, sliced brisket on martin's potato rolls, and jalapeno poppers with brisket chunks and cream cheese.  Other times:  brisket quesadillas, brisket fried rice, and brisket chili. 

Brisket is my favorite leftover probably followed by smoked pork shoulder.

Brisket leftovers are definitely perfect for repurposing, and as you say you can do a lot of different things.  I’ve come around to think that if you are just reheating the meat and eating the meat without repurposing  (say, a few slices of brisket you’ve saved in a ziplock v. A ziplock of properly-cooked pulled pork) the pulled pork holds up better.  Still prefer brisket

[luke duke 6,387]

Brisket leftovers repurposed into anything are pretty fucking amazing.  Shit, I've made brisket omelets, tacos, nachos, enchiladas, grilled chee, whatever.  Best part of the whole fucking thing.

[Lurch 5,921]

Really pleased with this one. Spicy mustard base, ample salt, two coats of pepper with one very coarse. Let it roll overnight between 210-220* and never looked for 10+ hours. Pulled around 200-205 when butter probe everywhere. Skipped the towel/cooler and just let it rest unwrapped on counter for 90 mins. Perhaps my best yet

 

 

[NateHitch 1,282]

That bark makes my weiner happy

[Lurch 5,921]

Yeah, Anastasia has been hammering home the point on pepper, so I committed this time.

I got some Castle butcher grind pepper a while back and it’s pretty aggressive so I don’t feel like it can be the only pepper I use. So, instead I did a full coat of generic grocery store coarse ground, then went back with a final coat of the butcher grind, much of which fell off even after the cook.

I’m not sure how much spice the spicy mustard leaves behind, but between it and the two peppers, there was some nice heat in the bark

[NateHitch 1,282]

I've done mustard and just about every other binder and after hours and hours of cook time they never leave behind a flavor profile. I just use olive oil or whatever oil I have on hand now. I will use hot sauce on beef ribs, I think with the shorter cook time the spiciness does come through

[McFly 606]

Mustard fan here. Doesn’t impart flavor. Little 8 pounder. No wrap. Ran about 260 avg for 8 1/2 hours. Sprayed with water ACV wort mix to keep top moist.  

Edited July 19, 2020 by McFly

[mdleast 8,261]

Speaking of brisket leftovers, on a whim this morning I decided to make brisket eggs. Very tasty. Had brisket for breakfast.

[ousuxndallas 65]

Fine cook today. Tried the extra pepper trick, and man the bark was amazing.

[Anastasis 23,395]

would motorboat. 

 

 

[Bevo 13,527]

So, what is the consensus best way to cook. I have a 10lb brisket that I marinated tonight using a brisket marinade that I picked up at HEB. I'll put mustard on it tomorrow morning and then the HEB brisket rub. I will add some black pepper and put on the kamado at 240 degrees: What fuel should I use - is oak or pecan wood charcoal okay - do I need wood chips - do I need a small pan of water? After 4 hours, I will take it off the grill and wrap it in foil and put it in the oven for an additional 5 hours. After I put the brisket in the oven, I will put some pork ribs on the kamado. How long will those suckers take? What is the best way to cook them?

Edited July 26, 2020 by Bevo

[Lurch 5,921]

Oak is what I use. Chunks are better than chips if you have them. Yes on the water pan.

For ribs: