Yep! Someone here had mentioned it, and they finally started getting them
in... good ole Wallyworld!

Two there last night in the case, one about 12lb the other maybe 14lb or
so... man, what a difference in price too! The market cut briskets I was
getting(the ones that ended up dry) were over $4/lb! These are $1.38/lb!

Ok... I've seen pics, I've had it told to me before, but still, wanna ask
some more before I do this. I'm leaving where I work, actually tomorrow's
my last "official" day, but I'll be back in from time to time to help out,
and will be here Monday. So, I sorta promised 'em I'd have a good feast for
them one more time before I left for good, so... *g*

I don't think I can really fit the whole thing in my smoker(Great Outdoors
Smokey Mountain gas smoker, the small version). Can I cut it? Should I? Or
should I cram it in there the best that I can?

I know I need to trim some of the fat cap, but how much? I also know I
should look through all they have and try to find the one that appears to
have the best marbling. The guy there at Wallyworld said he'd bring all
they had out for me to look through.

I have a rub I like, so that's not a problem... I'm guessing though that I
shouldn't have to inject this one with anything... with the market cut if I
did another one, I was going to.

Let's say I go with oh, a 12lb'er or so... I know, it's done when it's done,
but to guestimate some time, what, about 14hrs at around 230? The way I've
done them in the past was to have the smoker temp a touch high at the start,
for the first few hours, then lower it. When the meat temp got to around
160 or so, appeared to be a bit of a stalling point, I'd drop the smoker
temp to around 200-210 so I could bring the meat temp up to the 180 mark or
so and hold it there a while. My test for "doneness" has usually been to
take a two tined fork and push it in, and if it turns 180deg. fairly easily,
it's done. Then foil, wrap in towels, and put in an empty cooler for at
least an hour before slicing.

I really want this one to turn out great... so, once again, sorry to keep
asking, but any/all help is greatly appreciated.

BTW, the rest of the "menu" will be potatoes done in the smoker as well,
probably some baked beans in there cooking under the brisket of course, and
starting off with some homemade Maryland crab soup.

43fan wrote:

Yep! Someone here had mentioned it, and they finally started getting them
in... good ole Wallyworld!

Two there last night in the case, one about 12lb the other maybe 14lb or
so... man, what a difference in price too! The market cut briskets I was
getting(the ones that ended up dry) were over $4/lb! These are $1.38/lb!

Ok... I've seen pics, I've had it told to me before, but still, wanna ask
some more before I do this. I'm leaving where I work, actually tomorrow's
my last "official" day, but I'll be back in from time to time to help out,
and will be here Monday. So, I sorta promised 'em I'd have a good feast for
them one more time before I left for good, so... *g*

I don't think I can really fit the whole thing in my smoker(Great Outdoors
Smokey Mountain gas smoker, the small version). Can I cut it? Should I? Or
should I cram it in there the best that I can?

I know I need to trim some of the fat cap, but how much? I also know I
should look through all they have and try to find the one that appears to
have the best marbling. The guy there at Wallyworld said he'd bring all
they had out for me to look through.

I have a rub I like, so that's not a problem... I'm guessing though that I
shouldn't have to inject this one with anything... with the market cut if I
did another one, I was going to.

Let's say I go with oh, a 12lb'er or so... I know, it's done when it's done,
but to guestimate some time, what, about 14hrs at around 230? The way I've
done them in the past was to have the smoker temp a touch high at the start,
for the first few hours, then lower it. When the meat temp got to around
160 or so, appeared to be a bit of a stalling point, I'd drop the smoker
temp to around 200-210 so I could bring the meat temp up to the 180 mark or
so and hold it there a while. My test for "doneness" has usually been to
take a two tined fork and push it in, and if it turns 180deg. fairly easily,
it's done. Then foil, wrap in towels, and put in an empty cooler for at
least an hour before slicing.

I really want this one to turn out great... so, once again, sorry to keep
asking, but any/all help is greatly appreciated.

BTW, the rest of the "menu" will be potatoes done in the smoker as well,
probably some baked beans in there cooking under the brisket of course, and
starting off with some homemade Maryland crab soup.

I generally do mine for at least 16 hours, up to 24 hours based on
convenience (i.e. sleep) and I aim for a temp of about 250 the entire
time. With the fat cap you have little chance of drying it out and more
time simple means more tender (to a point of course).

Pete C.

43fan wrote:
Yep! Someone here had mentioned it, and they finally started getting them
in... good ole Wallyworld!

Two there last night in the case, one about 12lb the other maybe 14lb or
so... man, what a difference in price too! The market cut briskets I was
getting(the ones that ended up dry) were over $4/lb! These are $1.38/lb!

Ok... I've seen pics, I've had it told to me before, but still, wanna ask
some more before I do this. I'm leaving where I work, actually tomorrow's
my last "official" day, but I'll be back in from time to time to help out,
and will be here Monday. So, I sorta promised 'em I'd have a good feast for
them one more time before I left for good, so... *g*

I don't think I can really fit the whole thing in my smoker(Great Outdoors
Smokey Mountain gas smoker, the small version). Can I cut it? Should I? Or
should I cram it in there the best that I can?

Cram it. It'll skrink anyways, losing up to 1/2 of its weight during
cooking, making the space issue no longer an issue.

I know I need to trim some of the fat cap, but how much?

Leave at least 1/4 inch.

I also know I
should look through all they have and try to find the one that appears to
have the best marbling. The guy there at Wallyworld said he'd bring all
they had out for me to look through.

I have a rub I like, so that's not a problem... I'm guessing though that I
shouldn't have to inject this one with anything... with the market cut if I
did another one, I was going to.

Rub is good. Try injecting if you like with this one, or another one.
Its not required.


Let's say I go with oh, a 12lb'er or so... I know, it's done when it's done,
but to guestimate some time, what, about 14hrs at around 230?

14 hours should do it at that temp. 1 to 1-1/2 hours per pound is
reasonable to expect.

The way I've done them in the past was to have the smoker temp a touch high at the start,
for the first few hours, then lower it. When the meat temp got to around
160 or so, appeared to be a bit of a stalling point, I'd drop the smoker
temp to around 200-210 so I could bring the meat temp up to the 180 mark or
so and hold it there a while.

You might try fluctuationg the cooking temperature as you so
dilligently thought out if you can do it on your gasser; I've never
intentionally done that, just the usual spikes and dips associated with
wood and charcoal. Unless the temperature is stupidly high or low, you
should be in good shape. I try to maintain 235°.

My test for "doneness" has usually been to
take a two tined fork and push it in, and if it turns 180deg. fairly easily,
it's done. .

Take it to 190° to 195° internal. That should be your litmus test.
(You'll should be using a thermometer with a probe; keeps you from
opening the door to take a reading.)

Then foil, wrap in towels, and put in an empty cooler for at
least an hour before slicing.

Fine

I really want this one to turn out great... so, once again, sorry to keep
asking, but any/all help is greatly appreciated.

BTW, the rest of the "menu" will be potatoes done in the smoker as well,
probably some baked beans in there cooking under the brisket of course, and
starting off with some homemade Maryland crab soup.


So, what time is dinner?
Pierre

43fan wrote:
I don't think I can really fit the whole thing in my smoker(Great
Outdoors Smokey Mountain gas smoker, the small version). Can I cut
it? Should I? Or should I cram it in there the best that I can?

Cut into 2 pieces - the flat and the point. Whe ya flat's at 190°F internal
both pieces will be done.

I know I need to trim some of the fat cap, but how much?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Leave that fat cap alone til AFTER it's
cooked.

I have a rub I like, so that's not a problem... I'm guessing though
that I shouldn't have to inject this one with anything... with the
market cut if I did another one, I was going to.

Inject a brisket? Not hardly. Use your rub and be done with it.

Let's say I go with oh, a 12lb'er or so... I know, it's done when
it's done, but to guestimate some time, what, about 14hrs at around
230? The way I've done them in the past was to have the smoker temp
a touch high at the start, for the first few hours, then lower it.
When the meat temp got to around 160 or so, appeared to be a bit of a
stalling point, I'd drop the smoker temp to around 200-210 so I could
bring the meat temp up to the 180 mark or so and hold it there a
while. My test for "doneness" has usually been to take a two tined
fork and push it in, and if it turns 180deg. fairly easily, it's
done. Then foil, wrap in towels, and put in an empty cooler for at
least an hour before slicing.

IMO, you're puttin too much effort into cookin a brisket. Get ya fire in
the 250-275°F range, put ya brisket in there and leave it alone until the
internal temp gets to 190°F. Each brisket is different so there's no magic
formula to say how long to cook it: it's done when it's done.


--
-frohe
Life is too short to be in a hurry

Only trim it if the fat is exceptionaly thick and then leave at least
1/4 inch. Cook it fat side up so then fat runs down into the meat and
keeps it moist. Season it and wrap. Since it's wrapped in foil, no
smoke can get at it so I cook it in my oven overnight. My oven
automatically shuts off after 12 hours. In the morning I fire up the
BBQ, unwrap the brisket and start the smoking. Another 4 hours. Since it
cooked overnight, all you are doing now is adding the smoke. Low temp,
lots of smoke. Never over 225.


43fan wrote:
Yep! Someone here had mentioned it, and they finally started getting them
in... good ole Wallyworld!

Two there last night in the case, one about 12lb the other maybe 14lb or
so... man, what a difference in price too! The market cut briskets I was
getting(the ones that ended up dry) were over $4/lb! These are $1.38/lb!

Ok... I've seen pics, I've had it told to me before, but still, wanna ask
some more before I do this. I'm leaving where I work, actually tomorrow's
my last "official" day, but I'll be back in from time to time to help out,
and will be here Monday. So, I sorta promised 'em I'd have a good feast for
them one more time before I left for good, so... *g*

I don't think I can really fit the whole thing in my smoker(Great Outdoors
Smokey Mountain gas smoker, the small version). Can I cut it? Should I? Or
should I cram it in there the best that I can?

I know I need to trim some of the fat cap, but how much? I also know I
should look through all they have and try to find the one that appears to
have the best marbling. The guy there at Wallyworld said he'd bring all
they had out for me to look through.

I have a rub I like, so that's not a problem... I'm guessing though that I
shouldn't have to inject this one with anything... with the market cut if I
did another one, I was going to.

Let's say I go with oh, a 12lb'er or so... I know, it's done when it's done,
but to guestimate some time, what, about 14hrs at around 230? The way I've
done them in the past was to have the smoker temp a touch high at the start,
for the first few hours, then lower it. When the meat temp got to around
160 or so, appeared to be a bit of a stalling point, I'd drop the smoker
temp to around 200-210 so I could bring the meat temp up to the 180 mark or
so and hold it there a while. My test for "doneness" has usually been to
take a two tined fork and push it in, and if it turns 180deg. fairly easily,
it's done. Then foil, wrap in towels, and put in an empty cooler for at
least an hour before slicing.

I really want this one to turn out great... so, once again, sorry to keep
asking, but any/all help is greatly appreciated.

BTW, the rest of the "menu" will be potatoes done in the smoker as well,
probably some baked beans in there cooking under the brisket of course, and
starting off with some homemade Maryland crab soup.

On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 14:15:40 GMT, Glenn wrote:

Cook it fat side up so then fat runs down into the meat and
keeps it moist.

Fat side to the heat source. In my Kamados, that means fat side down.

Season it and wrap.

Wrap? In what?

Since it's wrapped in foil,

Oh. My condolences.

no smoke can get at it so I cook it in my oven overnight.

I thought we were talking about how to cook BBQ.

My oven
automatically shuts off after 12 hours. In the morning I fire up the
BBQ, unwrap the brisket and start the smoking. Another 4 hours. Since it
cooked overnight, all you are doing now is adding the smoke.

I doubt that you can add much in the way of smoke flavor to an already
cooked brisket, much less achieve anything resembling a smoke ring.

Low temp, lots of smoke. Never over 225.

No need to go that low. Anywhere between 225 and 300 will work fine.

--
"Danked," the past participle of "dank", is used to refer to someone
who replies to his own post on an online forum posing as another person
(see "Internet sock puppet") but forgetting to change his username . . . .
This was an act of stupidity meriting a name of its own, and because the hapless
contributor's username was Danks, the term "dank" or "danked" emerged.
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danked

Glenn wrote:

Only trim it if the fat is exceptionaly thick and then leave at least
1/4 inch. Cook it fat side up so then fat runs down into the meat and
keeps it moist. Season it and wrap. Since it's wrapped in foil, no
smoke can get at it so I cook it in my oven overnight. My oven
automatically shuts off after 12 hours. In the morning I fire up the
BBQ, unwrap the brisket and start the smoking. Another 4 hours. Since it
cooked overnight, all you are doing now is adding the smoke. Low temp,
lots of smoke. Never over 225.


Yikes, you've got just about everything wrong or backwards except the
fat cap part.

In order to get the smoke flavor and smoke ring you have to at least
start the brisket in the smoker. After 4-6 hours in the smoker at about
250 degrees you can get away with finishing in the oven at the same 250
degrees for another 10+ hours without ill effects or just continue in
the smoker.

There is *never* any need to wrap the brisket in foil unless you need to
hold it hot for an hour or two before serving in which case the wrap in
foil, wrap in towel and place in cooler method works fine. If you have
other food to hold hot then a 180 degree oven will work fine without any
need for foil, towels or a cooler. Otherwise just put it on the cutting
board or platter in the off oven or other covered / enclosed location
for perhaps 30 min to rest before serving.

Pete C.

I recently made the jump from an electric smoker (a Redi-Smok, which is
a good one if you have to use electric) to an off-set smoker (a Silver
Smoker, as yet unmodified). And now I'm curious about wood.

So far, I've been using a mix of charcoal and wood, using the charcoal
as a way to get things going and then switching to wood, but the
question is what sort of wood should I be using? With the electric
smoker I used either mesquite or hickory chips, but this is a job for
more than chips.

In looking around this area (Western slope of Colorado), I'm not finding
anyone selling hardwood. The firewood tends to be soft woods. Pine,
cedar or aspen. I ruled out pine and cedar right away, but the aspen is
working pretty well. Wikipedia says it's a slow burning softwood with
few resins. And that seems to be the case. The chicken, boudain,
country style pork ribs, and beef back ribs all came out very nicely -
nice smoke ring on the pork and beef, great clean smoke taste.

But I curious what else I should be looking for in the way of wood, and
if anyone has any ideas where I could find it in this area.

Thanks,
Mike

"Mike Avery" wrote in message news:mailman.5.1154705812.50540.alt.food.barbecue@ mail.otherwhen.com...
I recently made the jump from an electric smoker (a Redi-Smok, which is
a good one if you have to use electric) to an off-set smoker (a Silver
Smoker, as yet unmodified). And now I'm curious about wood.

I suggent that you do the modifications. I did them to my SS and the results were satisfying.


So far, I've been using a mix of charcoal and wood, using the charcoal
as a way to get things going and then switching to wood, but the
question is what sort of wood should I be using? With the electric
smoker I used either mesquite or hickory chips, but this is a job for
more than chips.

In looking around this area (Western slope of Colorado), I'm not finding
anyone selling hardwood. The firewood tends to be soft woods. Pine,
cedar or aspen. I ruled out pine and cedar right away, but the aspen is
working pretty well. Wikipedia says it's a slow burning softwood with
few resins. And that seems to be the case. The chicken, boudain,
country style pork ribs, and beef back ribs all came out very nicely -
nice smoke ring on the pork and beef, great clean smoke taste.

But I curious what else I should be looking for in the way of wood, and
if anyone has any ideas where I could find it in this area.

Thanks,
Mike


I use apple, cherry, oak and walnut. I've only used those since they are available on my property and I never bought any wood.

--
Al Reid

On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 09:37:03 -0600, Mike Avery
wrote:

But I curious what else I should be looking for in the way of wood, and
if anyone has any ideas where I could find it in this area.

Fruit wood.

Orchards.

--
"Danked," the past participle of "dank", is used to refer to someone
who replies to his own post on an online forum posing as another person
(see "Internet sock puppet") but forgetting to change his username . . . .
This was an act of stupidity meriting a name of its own, and because the hapless
contributor's username was Danks, the term "dank" or "danked" emerged.
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danked

On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 09:37:03 -0600, Mike Avery
wrote:

In looking around this area (Western slope of Colorado),...

Hm. Does alder grow around there? Maple is a nice smoking wood.
Fruit woods are good; so are *tree* nut woods (walnut, pecan, hickory,
etc--there may be walnut/black walnut grown around there). I don't
know about the filbert (hazelnut) bush--its wood may be suitable.
Grows in the wild here in the Pacific NorthWet.

I'd suspect your best chance is to befriend an orchardist or a person
at a tree-trimming service. Or at an electric utility.

-denny-
--
Never look for a worm in the apple of your eye.
--Langston Hughes

43fan wrote:
Yep! Someone here had mentioned it, and they finally started getting them
in... good ole Wallyworld!
snip
go here, http://tinyurl.com/qx398

--
Regards,

Piedmont

The Practical Bar-B-Q'r at: http://web.infoave.net/~amwil/Index.htm

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless,
whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism
or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Mahatma Gandhi, "Non-Violence in Peace and War"