Brisket. Whatcha Got?

[Jared Buffie]

Jay,

Looks good - but there's no fire! Part of the fun of BBQ is playing with fire...

also, can't do this to steaks:



pizza:



ABT's (jalepenos stufed with a cream cheese/pulled pork mixture and wrapped in bacon):



or wings:

[Jay Cohen]

Man, those are good looking pics. True what you said about needing fire, hence I bought the Char Broil last year:

http://www.charbroil.com/Consumer/pr...uctSeriesID=16

Jay

[Gant Grimes]

Jared, you have your priorities in order, my friend. I have a Weber SM myself. Same concept. Holds heat well.

Those pics are beautiful. I don't know where to start. It all looks great.

I only answered the original question regarding flank steak, but the thread has grown. My philosophy on smoked meats is like anything else. Keep it simple. Don't trick it up too much. If your meat can't speak for itself, buy better meat. Plan ahead; follow your plan.

I don't spend much time with chicken beyond throwing it in a bag with a marinade. I eat the stuff because it's cheap, easy protein. I don't care about it beyond that. Brined is good, but it's not worth the trouble to me.

For brisket, ribs, and pork, I'll rub a little yellow mustard on there to hold the rub better. I add salt and pepper and sometimes a few other items (not very much) (if you come anywhere near my property with liquid smoke you will be punched). After a couple hours I'll spray with a light coating of olive oil+cranberry juice to keep it most and add a little sweetness. That's really it.

The best recipe is good meat, a controlled fire, plenty of patience, and a nice seasonal brew.

[Jared Buffie]

For the OP...

My results with brisket have been good, but I have not done one in a while. Last one i did was a "packer's cut" that was 11 pounds or something... keep it simple with a rub (usually paprika and pepper based, I'll throw some organic suagr in there to help with the crust), low and slow at around ~250 is the way I would go. With beef, I prefer mesquite to hickory (which I like better for pork - apple for fish, and none for poultry - the meat picks up the flavour of the charcoal itself, and added smoke tends to be overbearing). I also prefer wood chunks to wood chips, soaked overnight beforehand.

Something to remember with brisket, ribs and pork butt/shoulder is something called the "plateau". If you have a remote thermometer, you'll notice that the meat gets to around 150-170 internal temp range and will stall there for hours. What's happening is the heat is being used in a chemical reaction that breaks down the collagen fibers. This is where the meat actually goes from tough to moist and juicy - the biggest mistake that some people make is puliing the meat off earlly (before or during the plateau). I like to pull both my brisket and pork shoulder off when internal temp hits 190. I then wrap in foil, wrap that in a couple of old towels, and then place in an old cooler to "rest" for up to four hours.

Has anyone had any luck finding a grass fed brisket? When we buy 1/2 cows they include one little one... 3 lbs or so.

BTW... I think there was a Christmas where I had more pics of the turkey thru the cooking process than my kids..

[Chris Forbis]

Originally Posted by Jared Buffie

Has anyone had any luck finding a grass fed brisket? When we buy 1/2 cows they include one little one... 3 lbs or so.

They claim they average 4.75# at US Wellness...

http://www.grasslandbeef.com/Categor...+%26+Stew+Beef

[Aaron Austin]

I was at the butcher shop this morning post workout buying some meat for breakfast and lunch and dinner this weekend - was ready to checkout when I say some brisket in the display case and got the butcher to hook me up. Will be my first time cooking it too - we'll see how she turns out.

[Dave Van Skike]

Thanks for all the tips. Jared that is a very well thought out brisket plan..i'm curious about the 190 temp before resting...talk about that. Am I high for thinking that's a high temp? honestly I'm either a steak or potroast guy so I go by feel more than temp...discuss.

[Jared Buffie]

The idea behind the higher temp is that you want all of the collagen (what makes brisket tough) to render into gelatin (what makes brisket tender and juicy). If you try that with a roast or a steak, you end up with something resembling the taste and texture of an old leather shoe (because they have little or no collagen). With pork butt/brisket, you get tender juicy goodness (beacuse they are tough cuts - due to the higher collagen content).

The temp that the meat renders from collagen to gelatin is in the 160-180 range. If you pull it before it goes thru the plateau, the meat will be tough.

I've had briskets take up to 20 hours to cook, pork butts 16-18 (or sometimes as little as 10 hours). Depends on the hunk of flesh, thus the need for a good remote thermometer. Here's a great link about cooking a brisket:

http://nakedwhiz.com/brisket.htm

And lost of other yummy BBQ/grilling recipes -

http://nakedwhiz.com/recipes.htm

All of these are golden - the guy is a legend around the Big Green Egg forum - which, BTW, probably has the only more cult-like following than Crossfit (not sure aout the grammar there). Especialy great are the Mad Max Turkey recipe and the TREX stak grilling method.

[Jared Buffie]

This is great... almost like a cross between my two favorite forums (BGE and CA)....

If anyone hasn't tried it yet, cook up a tri-tip. It's the flavor/texture of a steak, but the size of a roast. I cook it TREX style (sear at ~1000 deg, then cook at 400 until 130 internal temp). Yummy stuff.

[Garrett Smith]

Jared,
My wife and I have been thoroughly enjoying tri-tip steaks lately, these are cut into ~1/3 pound pieces when I get them.

I keep it simple...good sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Hard to believe how good they are at such simplicity.