I think I've cooked my last brisket.
Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
clod.

Rolled the dice this weekend and picked one up at Sams (you have to ask
for it). It weighed 19 lbs. Had a decent fat cap on it, lathered it
up with plenty of salt, black pepper and cayenne. Sat on the counter
for 2 hours, and into the smoker it went.

Kept the cooker at 225°-250°, with an occasional spike to about
280°. No mopping, peeking, or turning. Added a little more water to
the water pan in in the Bandera once. Used good lump, and hickory
chunks. 14 hours later, internal was 193° and ready to come off.

The resulting meat was so juicy, extremely tender, and so falling apart
gorgeous, and more importantly, packed with flavor. This meat, was
just too reminiscent of a pork butt, ready to pull and shred. But it
was beef. There was enough smokey bark to flavor all of the meat when
mixed back into it. Had a tomato based spicy sauce(little on the sweet
side) on the side, but could have used a peppery vinegar and tomato
concoction. There was about 13 pounds of smoked meat when it came off
the smoker.

So, I wonder, why would I want to bother with a finnicky brisket?
They're more apt to come out dry (at least in parts), cook unevenly,
have a high ratio of shrinkage? The chuck roll, has so much more
flavor and moisture due to its higher fat content, and pulled like a
champ. It required no basting, turning, or any babying whatsoever.
I know that part of the challenge of this hobby is to take a piece of
tough stringy meat such as brisket and transform it into something
wonderful, but if you love full flavored barbecued beef with a minimum
of the pitfalls associated with a brisket, you should give this cut a
whirl. Got plenty for burrito's mixed with hot gardinera, or kick butt
beef hash with potato's and onions.

Pierre

I did my first chuck roll a couple of weeks back and I would agree that
it's a great alternative to the brisket. I'm not sure if I'm done with
Brisket yet though... I still like the texture, But I'll definately
be cooking more chuck roll and less Brisket.

My experience/comments...

I didn't have a big dinner party planned so I had the butcher cut a
21#er into 11# and 10# cuts and cooked the 10# 1st.

The 10# went 10hrs to get to 190* with the cooker cooker at ~250*. It
pulled well and was very moist but there was still a lot of
fat/connecting tissue when I pulled. I suspect a lower, slower, longer
cook would've been better.

I really like it. The bark is more robust + flavorful and I swear the
meat was more tender than pork butt or brisket. My wife is really not
a big fan of bark and prefers the inner meat instead (oh the
humanity!!! found out after we got married ). She didn't think it was
better/worse than pork butt. Perhaps a little more "flavor neutral".

I think this is an ideal dish for a large gathering. It's a very
forgiving cut of meat so timing for guests is less problematic and
there is always someone in a large gathering who won't can't eat swine.
It can literally feed an army.

I think cutting the chuck roll in 1/2 may have inadvertently been a
good move. It "splits" extremely well. The fat/connecting tissue is
marbleized throughout and I'll bet I can take a 20 pounder and cut it
into 1/3s and do very predictable 9hr cook. If you like the bark/more
smoky flavor, than splitting the large cut will certainly yield more of
it. Why fuss over a cooker overnight if one doesn't have to? I think
I'll split the remaining 11#er into 2 for the next cook.

Since my wife is not a big fan of the bark... when I pulled, I stacked
these bits apart from the "heart" meat and food-saved them into a
different bag. I think I'll make burnt ends with these for lunch one of
these days.

Pierre wrote:
> I think I've cooked my last brisket.
> Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
> or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
> interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
> clod.
>
> Rolled the dice this weekend and picked one up at Sams (you have to ask
> for it). It weighed 19 lbs. Had a decent fat cap on it, lathered it
> up with plenty of salt, black pepper and cayenne. Sat on the counter
> for 2 hours, and into the smoker it went.
>
> Kept the cooker at 225°-250°, with an occasional spike to about
> 280°. No mopping, peeking, or turning. Added a little more water to
> the water pan in in the Bandera once. Used good lump, and hickory
> chunks. 14 hours later, internal was 193° and ready to come off.
>
> The resulting meat was so juicy, extremely tender, and so falling apart
> gorgeous, and more importantly, packed with flavor. This meat, was
> just too reminiscent of a pork butt, ready to pull and shred. But it
> was beef. There was enough smokey bark to flavor all of the meat when
> mixed back into it. Had a tomato based spicy sauce(little on the sweet
> side) on the side, but could have used a peppery vinegar and tomato
> concoction. There was about 13 pounds of smoked meat when it came off
> the smoker.
>
> So, I wonder, why would I want to bother with a finnicky brisket?
> They're more apt to come out dry (at least in parts), cook unevenly,
> have a high ratio of shrinkage? The chuck roll, has so much more
> flavor and moisture due to its higher fat content, and pulled like a
> champ. It required no basting, turning, or any babying whatsoever.
> I know that part of the challenge of this hobby is to take a piece of
> tough stringy meat such as brisket and transform it into something
> wonderful, but if you love full flavored barbecued beef with a minimum
> of the pitfalls associated with a brisket, you should give this cut a
> whirl. Got plenty for burrito's mixed with hot gardinera, or kick butt
> beef hash with potato's and onions.
>
> Pierre

On 25 Jul 2006 06:57:33 -0700, "Pierre" > wrote:

>I know that part of the challenge of this hobby is to take a piece of
>tough stringy meat such as brisket and transform it into something
>wonderful,

I'd say a shoulder clod qualifies as a "piece of tough, stringy meat."

--
"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

> ObBBQ: Gogint o Ray's BBQ in Austin tonight. Never mind that they
> found a dead body in the field out back yesterday (so decomposed
> they don't even know what gender it was).
>

It seems Pierre isn't the only one to have cooked his last brisket.

-John O

Pierre wrote:

> I think I've cooked my last brisket.
> Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
> or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
> interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
> clod.
>
> Rolled the dice this weekend and picked one up at Sams (you have to
> ask for it).


What was the cost per pound? Packer-trimmed briskets are rarely a good
price at the supermarkets here. I don't know if the clods would be any
better price or not.



Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

Default User wrote:
> Pierre wrote:
>
> > I think I've cooked my last brisket.
> > Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
> > or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
> > interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
> > clod.
> >
> > Rolled the dice this weekend and picked one up at Sams (you have to
> > ask for it).
>
>
> What was the cost per pound? Packer-trimmed briskets are rarely a good
> price at the supermarkets here. I don't know if the clods would be any
> better price or not.
>
>
>
> Brian

Brian: 1.98 lb.

I paid $1.89/# for a 21#s at my butcher. The same butcher charges me
$1.99/# for ful packet cut brisket... He'll also separate the flat and
charges me the same $1.99/# for the flat with the fatcap.

Default User wrote:
> Pierre wrote:
>
> > I think I've cooked my last brisket.
> > Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
> > or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
> > interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
> > clod.
> >
> > Rolled the dice this weekend and picked one up at Sams (you have to
> > ask for it).
>
>
> What was the cost per pound? Packer-trimmed briskets are rarely a good
> price at the supermarkets here. I don't know if the clods would be any
> better price or not.
>
>
>
> Brian
>
> --
> If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
> won't shut up.
> -- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

Forgot to mention that the yield (at least for the cook I did) was
lower than a Brisket but not significantly.

eelhc wrote:
> I paid $1.89/# for a 21#s at my butcher. The same butcher charges me
> $1.99/# for ful packet cut brisket... He'll also separate the flat and
> charges me the same $1.99/# for the flat with the fatcap.

Pierre wrote:
> I think I've cooked my last brisket.

Tis a sad day in BBQville <bowin head for a few moments of silence>
--
-frohe
Life is too short to be in a hurry

-- mostly because you are always so eager to hump
> my leg
>
> Snip away, monkey-boi.
>
Kev,

You forgot The Sock Puppet. Buddy, your material is getting a little dated
and worn. Even junior high wantabe's don't say "Boi" anymore. Please do
some research (on BSU time) and get some fresh zingers. Please, I'm your
friend and trying to help you. You need some new lines. Even Kent is
working hard on his stic (sp) and improving. You can to. Now get out there
and hussle! Do it for the Smurfs!

Your pal, Spud

"Pierre" > wrote in message
ups.com...
I think I've cooked my last brisket.
Not for the want of flavor, length of cooking and preparation issues,
or the versatility of the finished meat. But, there is such a more
interesting alternative. And thats the beef chuck roll, or shoulder
clod.
--------------
for just a meal ya can't beat brisket but when I need quatities of beef--the
chuck roll always gets the nod!! great hunk of meat with good beef
flavaour!! plus it is a no-brainer to cook!!--imo aanyway

Buzz






Rolled the dice this weekend and picked one up at Sams (you have to ask
for it). It weighed 19 lbs. Had a decent fat cap on it, lathered it
up with plenty of salt, black pepper and cayenne. Sat on the counter
for 2 hours, and into the smoker it went.

Kept the cooker at 225°-250°, with an occasional spike to about
280°. No mopping, peeking, or turning. Added a little more water to
the water pan in in the Bandera once. Used good lump, and hickory
chunks. 14 hours later, internal was 193° and ready to come off.

The resulting meat was so juicy, extremely tender, and so falling apart
gorgeous, and more importantly, packed with flavor. This meat, was
just too reminiscent of a pork butt, ready to pull and shred. But it
was beef. There was enough smokey bark to flavor all of the meat when
mixed back into it. Had a tomato based spicy sauce(little on the sweet
side) on the side, but could have used a peppery vinegar and tomato
concoction. There was about 13 pounds of smoked meat when it came off
the smoker.

So, I wonder, why would I want to bother with a finnicky brisket?
They're more apt to come out dry (at least in parts), cook unevenly,
have a high ratio of shrinkage? The chuck roll, has so much more
flavor and moisture due to its higher fat content, and pulled like a
champ. It required no basting, turning, or any babying whatsoever.
I know that part of the challenge of this hobby is to take a piece of
tough stringy meat such as brisket and transform it into something
wonderful, but if you love full flavored barbecued beef with a minimum
of the pitfalls associated with a brisket, you should give this cut a
whirl. Got plenty for burrito's mixed with hot gardinera, or kick butt
beef hash with potato's and onions.

Pierre