On Apr 12, 12:26 pm, Denny Wheeler
wrote:

SNIP

[1] 'squunch' is a highly technical term. Somewhat like 'squeeze'
only different.

Occasionally, my SO uses the term "tump". This means to turn over.
So something can "tump over" be "tumped over", etc.

Being in construction, a universally understood term is "wongo". This
can mean anything from not straight to tragically screwed up.
Strangely, everyone around here understands it.

As far as the brisket goes, just a couple of thoughts. I don't put
sugar on beef except on rare occasions. If then, only a touch.
White sugars seem to burn very easily, and that could be what you are
tasting on your meat.

Since you are starting on this road, I would take a step back and
start over. Try your brisket with a simple rub of 1 part salt, 1 part
coarse ground black pepper, and 1/2 part granulated garlic. Don't put
anything else on it, and cook it that way. Build your flavors from
that start point.

You will be surprised how good your meat will taste with only those
ingredients.

Since you are cooking on propane, take a look at your flavoring wood.
Is it really seasoned? I have heard that green wood in the right
hands can be a good thing, but that isn't my experience by a long
shot. Make sure the wood is seasoned well, and the smoke that comes
from it is gray/blue, NOT white. White smoke will kill your meat by
covering it with creosote and other bitter resins.

Personally, I think folks put too much wood into those gas cookers to
compensate for the lack of wood or charcoal. It just isn't needed.
If your wood is seasoned, cut the amount back, and try one wood at a
time before you start mixing. After an hour or so, it isn't unusual
for my cooker to not show anything but an occasional wisp of smoke
(mix of hardwood charcoal and seasoned oak) when starting to cook.
The only other time it is visible is a refuel.

I can hear the screams now, but I am ready.

By a smaller brisket so you can smoke during the day and keep an eye
on the temps, the amount of smoke, the outside temps, the breeze or
wind, and anything else you can think of that might affect your
cooking.

When trying out different woods, rubs, etc, I would buy about a 14 lb
brisket for practice. I would take it home, and cut it lengthwise so
that I had equal representations of the point and the flat. It was
strangely shaped, but I was after the taste, not presentation.

With that in mind, I now had a 7 lb brisket that could easily be put
on mid morning on the weekend and be ready for dinner. With about a
10 hour cooking window I could keep tabs on EXACT details of what I
did to make it taste the way I wanted. It looked like a giant strip
steak when finished, but it gave me a manageable cooking time. I
often cooked the other half the next day for comparison.

As for your brisket that doesn't taste quite right to you now, if you
can't live with it, now is the time to get out the sauce. (Don't use
sauce on brisket unless it tastes bad to you.) This is your
opportunity to make some good, sloppy chopped beef sandwiches. Invite
a couple of buddies over, and they will wipe it all out fast.

Good luck on the next one, Denny. I like pig, ribs, and everything
else that comes off the pit. But to me the brisket is still the king,
worth every minute of time you put into learning how to make one that
you like.

Robert