Meat Porn (Brisket) Slow Cooking Rules!

[Asaltweapon]

Corned beef, pastrami and brisket are all the same cut of meat.

A well cooked, smoked brisket is to die for.

I smoked a pastrami. It was soooo damn good.

 

[Asaltweapon]

For the folks who take things literally— don’t do this. In case you didn’t realize it, this is a recipe for burning yourself and burning your house down.

Some people should never enter the kitchen zone.
I think they are the same folks who leave shopping carts in the middle of a parking lot.

 

[Agnotology]

It's not burned. That is a bark that gets created from the rub he put on it. I'm guessing the OP slow cooked this at about 250 degrees using indirect heat.

Bark isn't burnt, but done wrong it can definitely be nasty.

Cold meat plus too much smoke means creosote. Nasty, bitter stuff that you don't want.

No matter how you fuel your smoker, there should never be more than a light wisp of white smoke out of the chimney. Definitely no heavy smoke pouring out.

the bark isn’t burned meat.

Grilla Grills

www.grillagrills.com

Gonna be honest, calling it bark makes me less interested. When I glaze meat, I don't let BBQ sauce blacken. Makes it look like a marshmallow that caught on fire.

But I'm all ears as explaining how char on the outside is good. Like, is it not carbon? Am i missing something?

 

[M1911]

Good bark doesn’t taste like carbon. It is a complex, sweet, crunchy, taste.

 

[peterk123]

Gonna be honest, calling it bark makes me less interested. When I glaze meat, I don't let BBQ sauce blacken. Makes it look like a marshmallow that caught on fire.

But I'm all ears as explaining how char on the outside is good. Like, is it not carbon? Am i missing something?

I believe there is a chemical reaction gong on when bark is formed. Black pepper may be the main catalyst. I week try to find an article for you.

But look up meatchurch on YouTube. You will get a new appreciation for real barbecue and bark. The guy does incredible stuff.

 

[Agnotology]

I believe there is a chemical reaction gong on when bark is formed. Black pepper may be the main catalyst. I week try to find an article for you.

But look up meatchurch on YouTube. You will get a new appreciation for real barbecue and bark. The guy does incredible stuff.

Will do when I wake up. Third shifts and all that

 

[peterk123]

Will do when I wake up. Third shifts and all that

The Maillard Reaction - Modernist Cuisine

One of the most important flavor-producing reactions in cooking is the Maillard reaction. It is sometimes called the “browning reaction” in discussions of cooking, but that description is incomplete at best. Cooked meats, seafood, and other protein-laden foods that undergo the Maillard reaction...

modernistcuisine.com

 

[LuvDog]

Looks good! Where'd you buy the whole brisket? After Fairway closed, I have no idea where I can get one reliably.

BJs in Franklin has them. Restaurant Depot. Shaw’s even had a couple last week when I was in there

 

[FalArAk]

I’m looking into getting started smoking this spring / summer. What resources do you guys use for the NES version of smoking meat?

Incredible knowledge on here... I was on a 6 year hunt for a smoker and the most useful info I got was from here in the BBQ thread. The rest is just shopping and coming up with a budget.

 

[M1911]

Incredible knowledge on here... I was on a 6 year hunt for a smoker and the most useful info I got was from here in the BBQ thread. The rest is just shopping and coming up with a budget.

What did you get for a smoker?

 

[Asaltweapon]

Gonna be honest, calling it bark makes me less interested. When I glaze meat, I don't let BBQ sauce blacken. Makes it look like a marshmallow that caught on fire.

But I'm all ears as explaining how char on the outside is good. Like, is it not carbon? Am i missing something?

You’re not doing it right.

 

[FalArAk]

*garsh*!

I get it. I won brisket contests in Texas using an offset stick-burner. Staying up all night tending the fire and drinking beer was fun, 20+ years ago, but now I'm happy to set my pellet smoker and go to bed trusting it to do its thing.

Got any recipes, temps, rubs, times, fat trimming hints you can share with the class ?

I have read beef tallow before wrapping the brisket in butcher paper for the last 2 hours among other things.. Also, trimming the fat is the most important thing you are doing, and it is making me nervous.

I need all the help I can get before I attempt my first, a Prime grade brisket from Costco.

 

[FalArAk]

What did you get for a smoker?

I got a Primo XL400 JD edition, brand new never used off of Facebook Marketplace for half the retail price

Came with just about everything, all I bought was a cover. then I got all the extra stuff like Signals and Bellows and an upgraded chimney to better regulate the heat.

 

[Asaltweapon]

Good bark doesn’t taste like carbon. It is a complex, sweet, crunchy, taste.

And part of what makes burnt ends so delicious and wonderful.
I have a BGE but there’s a space in my life for an electric smoker. It’s not like I need a huge unit but I think for smoking fish and these very long slow meat cooks it has a value.

 

[Asaltweapon]

Got any recipes, temps, rubs, times, fat trimming hints you can share with the class ?

I have read beef tallow before wrapping the brisket in butcher paper for the last 2 hours among other things.. Also, trimming the fat is the most important thing you are doing, and it is making me nervous.

I need all the help I can get before I attempt my first, a Prime grade brisket from Costco.

A toast to the smoking god with a beer.
I leave the fat cap on and trim a little only if it’s really thick.
A toast is required
I inject with lower sodium beef broth and let it sit all covered in the rub choice of the day or mood. Cover and rest in the fridge. The salt helps break down the fiber
A toast is required
Waiting for the 150 degree stall is painful.
Several toasts are required in this time frame.
Wrap it up and rest in a cooler or a microwave but it stinks it out. Cooler I used last was a styrofoam shipping container for frozen duck I buy. Make sure to save all the juices!!

 

[FalArAk]

A toast to the smoking god with a beer.
I leave the fat cap on and trim a little only if it’s really thick.
A toast is required
I inject with lower sodium beef broth and let it sit all covered in the rub choice of the day or mood. Cover and rest in the fridge. The salt helps break down the fiber
A toast is required
Waiting for the 150 degree stall is painful.
Several toasts are required in this time frame.
Wrap it up and rest in a cooler or a microwave but it stinks it out. Cooler I used last was a styrofoam shipping container for frozen duck I buy. Make sure to save all the juices!!

I have not read about injecting anything, that is interesting.

Toasting is the best part of the cooking process

 

[Asaltweapon]

I have not read about injecting anything, that is interesting.

Toasting is the best part of the cooking process

My former neighbor in MA turned me onto it. He was an incredible cook.
There was this dry mix that you added water to for injection that I bought on line from smoky something something way back. I had thrown it out for the recent move and never used it because I was fighting my high BP but toasting the smoking gods with lots of bourbon so let’s just say I had issues.
The sodium content was something crazy like 12500mg/ serving.

Needless to say I never did use it but now wish I had.

I need to get an order going for shipping from Alpine Butcher Shop. I miss the prime brisket cuts.

 

[Optimator]

BJs in Franklin has them. Restaurant Depot. Shaw’s even had a couple last week when I was in there

Can I just walk into Restaurant Depot as a non business owner?

 

[Mesatchornug]

*garsh*!

I get it. I won brisket contests in Texas using an offset stick-burner. Staying up all night tending the fire and drinking beer was fun, 20+ years ago, but now I'm happy to set my pellet smoker and go to bed trusting it to do its thing.

Sorry - I agree that the technology conversation is mostly misdirection.

I meant the smoke is the magic. Or really, the flavors you create by bathing food in it.

This is what I get for trying to be cute.

 

[LuvDog]

Can I just walk into Restaurant Depot as a non business owner?

They were doing day passes for non business during covid. I'm not sure what their current policy is.

 

[GaryO]

Hot pastrami on rye with good mustard. Yum.

As long as it is fatty!

 

[Khackz]

They were doing day passes for non business during covid. I'm not sure what their current policy is.

Restaurant Depot in Chicopee is open to the public. Kind of expensive and it’s a giant cut. Last time I looked there it was a good price but the line was like 2 hours long. I’ll pay the extra $2/lb for a smaller cut

 

[bigbravehog]

I smoked a pastrami. It was soooo damn good.

Can you give prep and smoking details ?
I've smoked beef and pork ribs, shoulder, chicken, brisket but pastrami is something that has intimidated me

 

[Asaltweapon]

Can you give prep and smoking details ?
I've smoked beef and pork ribs, shoulder, chicken, brisket but pastrami is something that has intimidated me

I debrined a corned beef and made a pastrami rub that is mostly black pepper IIRC and smoked it on the BGE.
I was shoveling it in my food hole almost as fast as I was slicing it.
My foodie landscaper was standing there shoveling the pieces I missed.

 

[Lank]

Not for everyone
Some like it and some just don't
But anyway.
Here is a full brisket that was slow cooked in an electric smoker for 14 hours using Hickory and Cherry wood for the smoke.

I'm currently making Homer Simpson eating noises

 

[richc]

I enjoy baked beans. Typically we use B&M Baked Beans in the can.

Well it seems both Costco and BJ's sell Bush's baked beans. I just didn't like them as much.

Last night my wife put a teaspoon of molasses in with a can of the Bush's beans. WOW! They were amazing.

Pro tip...

 

[richc]

BJs in Franklin has them. Restaurant Depot. Shaw’s even had a couple last week when I was in there

You shop at Shaws??? OMFG... you're dead to me...

 

[KBCraig]

Gonna be honest, calling it bark makes me less interested. When I glaze meat, I don't let BBQ sauce blacken.

Well, you glaze meat, so I don't know where to start.

 

[Agnotology]

Well, you glaze meat, so I don't know where to start.

You don't finish meats with a slight glaze of BBQ sauce? Sweet baby rays, kraft honey BBQ, or whatever your personal favorite is?

 

[M1911]

You don't finish meats with a slight glaze of BBQ sauce? Sweet baby rays, kraft honey BBQ, or whatever your personal favorite is?

No. That is served on the side.