On 5-Oct-2007, Nonnymus wrote:

Brick wrote:
was too lazy to put it
together. It was a single slice of bread and I really wanted at least
twice that but, alas my waistline dictated otherwise . It was so
reminiscent of good corned beef that I wanted to cry. I

Brick or others, what's the secret, if any, to good corned beef? Mrs.
Nonny once corned a brisket and we ate it with home made rye bread, home
made sauerkraut and home made thousand island dressing. The only bought
thing was County Line baby Swiss cheese. Since then, I've been trying
to chase down corned beef even half as good. We're not able to do that
kind of home brew anymore, and I've tried 3-4 different grocery store
types of corned beef with no success. The stuff around here has little
more flavor than the plastic wrapping it.

I'm tempted to get some pickling spice to cook with a store bought
corned beef, and have even considered smoking it instead of boiling it
with cabbage. I'd really appreciate some pointers from anyone who's
produced some good corned beef in the past.

Nonny

I'm reluctant to comment on your question Nonny because you appear
to have covered all the bases that I know about.

I have never made my own corned beef. I always buy what is available,
but I shy away from brands I never heard of. I usually get Hormel or
Smithfield. They always have a packet of pickling spice inside the
cryovac. I rinse a corned beef briefly, but never soak it. I've never
experienced a salty tasting one. I always braise them by themselves
using the pickling spice that came with them until done . Then I
add the cabbage and continue braising until the cabbage is done.
That's about it. They're almost always pretty good and sometimes
really good. I'm going to make my own though as soon as I can get
my hands on some instacure.
--
Brick(Save a tree, eat a Beaver)

MargW wrote:
Dave Bugg wrote:
MargW wrote:
Dave Bugg wrote:
Hovdv wrote:
Is that even considered barbecue? Yesterday I watched self
proclaimed 'Chef' Michael Smith do a youngster in a pit at a scout
jamboree. When it came out it didn't look very appetizing. The
skin was not crispy although the meat looked nicely done and
tender. I don't like the looks of that pale blase' skin though.
His method was to dig a pit, shovel in coals, lay the lil' one on
the coals(the lil' one was wrapped in foil and burlap), add more
coals and dirt(to cut off oxygen?)
The finished product just had an unappetizing look to it. Oh by
the way he put a mess of onion, garlic and herbs into the carcass
before tying it up.
Sounds more like Kalua pork to me, ie steamed.

It would help if you would add a bit of the text to which you are
replying. In that way, we can better understand your response and
questions.
Well, what ever you may think of his pork, he's hardly
self-proclaimed. He's a highly trained and well respected chef.
From stints in 3-star Michelin restaurants to James Beard awards,
he is the real thing.

That makes it more -- not less -- likely that he knows crapola about
'Q. Pitmasters could care less about Michelin-anything; unless it's
the name of the tire on the good ol' pickup truck.

Well, I did't say he knew anything about 'Q, just that he isn't a
'self-proclaimed' chef, but a highly talented and respected one.

I've got Michelins on my bike - does that count?

LOL!!!!

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

Nonnymus wrote:
Brick wrote:
was too lazy to put it
together. It was a single slice of bread and I really wanted at least
twice that but, alas my waistline dictated otherwise . It was so
reminiscent of good corned beef that I wanted to cry. I

Brick or others, what's the secret, if any, to good corned beef? Mrs.
Nonny once corned a brisket and we ate it with home made rye bread, home
made sauerkraut and home made thousand island dressing. The only bought
thing was County Line baby Swiss cheese. Since then, I've been trying
to chase down corned beef even half as good. We're not able to do that
kind of home brew anymore, and I've tried 3-4 different grocery store
types of corned beef with no success. The stuff around here has little
more flavor than the plastic wrapping it.

I'm tempted to get some pickling spice to cook with a store bought
corned beef, and have even considered smoking it instead of boiling it
with cabbage. I'd really appreciate some pointers from anyone who's
produced some good corned beef in the past.

Nonny

Here is how I pickle a brisket:

Trim it out- well. 1/4 inch fat at most.

Use instacure, or tenderquick. Follow the directions on package for
brine. make enough to cover the brisket laying flat in a pan.

Use a cure. Do not try to substitute salt. You won't hit the flavor
you're looking for without a cure.

I add pickling spices, and simmer the brine to make a tea. You can use
store bought pickling spices, or make your own blend. add to taste:

I use :
2 bay leaves
cloves
coriander seed
celery seeds
couple of smashed bulbs of garlic
use your imagination.

let it cool down to refrigerator temps.

If you have accesses to a meat syringe, inject some of the brine every
3/4 inch or so.

If not; just skip to the part where we put the meat in the brine, and
let it cure. (I put a plate on mine to keep it under.)

3 days if you injected. (turn halfway through)

7 days if no injections. (Again, turn halfway through)

Cooked as desired. (I usually smoke mine until medium well, and slice
thin for pastrami.

See pic from last month in ABF.

"frohe" wrote in message
...
Brick wrote:
Who is Michael Smith? Did Michael Smith say he was making barbecue?

Dunno who he is or what he had to say. Seems I do recall someone writing
that he's some sort of chef which matters not to me since most "chefs"
can't cook BBQ anywhere near as good as the regulars here.

Do we need yet another ****ing contest about what barbecue is?

lol... I think there are some who'll get into a shoe-watering contest over
damn near anything. I see no need for me to get into what real BBQ is; I
cook it all the time (big ass grin).

Has anybody in the group cooked anything lately? What did you cook?
Was it barbecue? What was different about it? Was it any good?

I did up a bunch of chicken last weekend. Brined em in Mojo Creollo this
time. Damn tasty eats. Doing up 2 briskets tomorrow. I'll be cooking em
the same as I have in the past; no need to change the recipe when you've
already reached perfection (another big ass grin).

Have a great weekend.

-frohe


Frohe, not only are you a good man, but a modest one as wellg
--
James A. "Big Jim" Whitten

www.lazyq.com

"Shawn" wrote in message
...
Nonnymus wrote:
Brick wrote:
was too lazy to put it
together. It was a single slice of bread and I really wanted at least
twice that but, alas my waistline dictated otherwise . It was so
reminiscent of good corned beef that I wanted to cry. I

Brick or others, what's the secret, if any, to good corned beef? Mrs.
Nonny once corned a brisket and we ate it with home made rye bread, home
made sauerkraut and home made thousand island dressing. The only bought
thing was County Line baby Swiss cheese. Since then, I've been trying to
chase down corned beef even half as good. We're not able to do that
kind of home brew anymore, and I've tried 3-4 different grocery store
types of corned beef with no success. The stuff around here has little
more flavor than the plastic wrapping it.

I'm tempted to get some pickling spice to cook with a store bought corned
beef, and have even considered smoking it instead of boiling it with
cabbage. I'd really appreciate some pointers from anyone who's produced
some good corned beef in the past.

Nonny

Here is how I pickle a brisket:

Trim it out- well. 1/4 inch fat at most.

Use instacure, or tenderquick. Follow the directions on package for
brine. make enough to cover the brisket laying flat in a pan.

Use a cure. Do not try to substitute salt. You won't hit the flavor
you're looking for without a cure.

I add pickling spices, and simmer the brine to make a tea. You can use
store bought pickling spices, or make your own blend. add to taste:

I use :
2 bay leaves
cloves
coriander seed
celery seeds
couple of smashed bulbs of garlic
use your imagination.

let it cool down to refrigerator temps.

If you have accesses to a meat syringe, inject some of the brine every 3/4
inch or so.

If not; just skip to the part where we put the meat in the brine, and let
it cure. (I put a plate on mine to keep it under.)

3 days if you injected. (turn halfway through)

7 days if no injections. (Again, turn halfway through)

Cooked as desired. (I usually smoke mine until medium well, and slice
thin for pastrami.

See pic from last month in ABF.

Shawn, do you do the black pepper and coriander thing when you smoke/cook
the brisket?
--
James A. "Big Jim" Whitten

www.lazyq.com

Big Jim wrote:

big ol' snip here


let it cool down to refrigerator temps.

If you have accesses to a meat syringe, inject some of the brine every 3/4
inch or so.

If not; just skip to the part where we put the meat in the brine, and let
it cure. (I put a plate on mine to keep it under.)

3 days if you injected. (turn halfway through)

7 days if no injections. (Again, turn halfway through)

Cooked as desired. (I usually smoke mine until medium well, and slice
thin for pastrami.

See pic from last month in ABF.

Shawn, do you do the black pepper and coriander thing when you smoke/cook
the brisket?

I do do a small rub down before it goes into the smoker. coarse ground
black pepper, and whatever I have on hand. I have never needed salt,
and no, I do not rinse the brine off.

Using a cure ensured the proper flavor, as well as the looked-for red
color of the finished product.

On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:28:25 -0700, Hovdv
wrote:

On Oct 4, 7:07 pm, MargW wrote:
Dave Bugg wrote:
Hovdv wrote:
Is that even considered barbecue? Yesterday I watched self proclaimed
'Chef' Michael Smith do a youngster in a pit at a scout jamboree.
When it came out it didn't look very appetizing. The skin was not

It would help if you would add a bit of the text to which you are replying.
In that way, we can better understand your response and questions.

Well, what ever you may think of his pork, he's hardly self-proclaimed.
He's a highly trained and well respected chef. From stints in 3-star
Michelin restaurants to James Beard awards, he is the real thing.

Putting the word 'chef' in front of his name smacks of someone full of
himself. I happen to be a well respected machinist. I've been sent
to Singapore to trouble shoot jobs etc. Yet you don't see me call
myself 'Machinist' Johnson. Besides the word 'chef' just means
someone in charge. My uncle in Germany who was a chemical engineer
referred to his boss as 'chef'. Someone in the cooking field who is
in charge of the Garde Manger section is referred to as Chef Garde
Manger. Sous chef is an underling to the executive chef. So what is
Michael Smith in charge of? He also has a habit of referring to cooks
as chefs. They are cooks unless they are in charge of a section. In
Germany I'd be referred to as a chef because I am in charge of a few
people at work even though I'm a machinist.

Make no mistake Michael Smith is a highly respected Chef who has
worked internationally and is well known in the 'respected chef'
Community. I am a fan admirer of his. But 'he don't know from BBQ'as
we understand it.

Harry

Michael Smith is not a self proclaimed chef.

'' Smith graduated with honours from the prestigious Culinary Institute of
America in New York in 1991. He then worked in restaurants in London, South
America and the Caribbean before coming back to North America to cook in
different restaurants in Manhattan.''



"Hovdv" wrote in message
oups.com...
Is that even considered barbecue? Yesterday I watched self proclaimed
'Chef' Michael Smith do a youngster in a pit at a scout jamboree.
When it came out it didn't look very appetizing. The skin was not
crispy although the meat looked nicely done and tender. I don't like
the looks of that pale blase' skin though. His method was to dig a
pit, shovel in coals, lay the lil' one on the coals(the lil' one was
wrapped in foil and burlap), add more coals and dirt(to cut off
oxygen?)
The finished product just had an unappetizing look to it. Oh by the
way he put a mess of onion, garlic and herbs into the carcass before
tying it up.

On Oct 5, 4:11 am, Hovdv wrote:
Is that even considered barbecue? Yesterday I watched self proclaimed
'Chef' Michael Smith do a youngster in a pit at a scout jamboree.
When it came out it didn't look very appetizing. The skin was not
crispy although the meat looked nicely done and tender. I don't like
the looks of that pale blase' skin though. His method was to dig a
pit, shovel in coals, lay the lil' one on the coals(the lil' one was
wrapped in foil and burlap), add more coals and dirt(to cut off
oxygen?)
The finished product just had an unappetizing look to it. Oh by the
way he put a mess of onion, garlic and herbs into the carcass before
tying it up.

This technique of cooking a pig sounds more like a Polynesian imu (pit
oven / steamer) than a BBQ.
--
www.p30.com