That's great advice thanks! I was visiting my parents and had to figure out their Weber gasser...the ribs were still tasty despite my mis-cues (pun always intended).
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NSMikeD
Well-Known Member
I found his article I literally yelled aloud "I knew it" when I first read it.
https://barbecuebible.com/2016/10/11/smoking-ribs-3-2-1-alternative/
NSMikeD
Well-Known Member
I prefer this sequence for the learning curve:
chicken: the easiest - it's done when the thermometer says its done.
Ribs - Cook three racks at a time and remove 30 minute apart so you know when underdone, done and overdone are
Pork - keeping the fire lit, not falling asleep, knowing the feel of done etc. requires some skill
Brisket - no comment. I've cooked literally hundreds of briskets and still have no clue what I am doing. Thank goodness for the au jus! The Cowboys and brisket are two things from Texas that pains me.
treacheroustexan
Well-Known Member
Corned beef brisket has about 10 more degrees to go. Soaked in water for 2 days to desalinate, rubbed with mustard and seasoned with pepper, garlic powder and a dash of cayenne. Smoked at 225 with Pecan Peach pellets.
8.5# butt done. Getting pulled now. Has a combo of kosmos q honey chipotle killer bee and meat church deez nuts (cuz I ran out of the kosmos, and the flavor profile is pretty much the same). Smoked on a blend of hickory and apple
NSMikeD
Well-Known Member
Overnight brisket cook on the WSM. Ribs and chicken today on the FastEddy
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
I have a brisket, some ribs on right now, and going to put some polish sausage and brats on here in the very near future.
Doing the chuck roast on the Joe Jr. First time smoking on this because I usually smoke larger cuts. Hoping it goes well. I realized that I've got very little of the seal left between base and lid due to all the high heat cooks I've done on this thing...
Did some 3-2-1 ribs today. Worked out well as the fam and I took our dog to the beach so he could swim himself to exhaustion during 3. Got home and did the wrap for the 2, gave the dog a bath, helped the kids wash the car, made the bbq sauce and prepped the mac&cheese for the 1.
Just an after the smoke update...
Smoked brisket yesterday. Stubborn thing wouldn't get completely up to 195° in the smoker, despite a 16 hour smoke at 225°. Kind of ruined supper that it didn't finish resting until 11:30. But it was still good this morning in a sandwich with an egg.
NSMikeD
Well-Known Member
if the temp probe slides in like a hot knife through butter and it has a "giggle" to it, it's done regardless of the thermometer reading. Although after 16 hours at 225° and below 195°, I suspect a temperature misreading someplace. Take multiple readings. The thin part of the flat will cook differently than the point so you may get a variety of readings to give you a better idea how it's cooking. Also, I never trust the BBQ thermometer unless it's right next to the meat and calibrated.
how did it cone out? Stiff and dry? Tender? Mushy? I like to cook well in advance and let it rest for hours,. The sample slices in my above post pic were a bit dry and tough when I cut them the next morning, but the ones I reheated in the microwave for sandwiches during the week were absolutely perfect tender.
If you're having trouble getting it up to temp, one solution is to finish it in your oven and raise the temperature to 300 or so. I would also second guess the temperature probe readings if it went that long. From the pics it looks fairly small and if it passes the jiggle test then I rest it in a faux cambro and cut it up.
My thermometer usually shows it to be a little hot. Usually when it looks like it should be done we get another thermometer to double check and get about 10° cooler.
I don't like opening it up to check that often. When you're lookin', you ain't cookin'. I think I can plug another temperature probe into my smoker, maybe I'll give that a try.
I've not made that many briskets to see what the deal is with the jiggle test. It's something I suppose I should get familiar with.
It came out good. I wouldn't be embarrassed to share it with family. It didn't pass the pull test, but when sliced it can be easily cut with a fork. It isn't tough or chewy. I wouldn't describe it as dry, but I bet that it wasn't as moist as it could've been.
I was wondering about vacuum sealing some, and when I get around to heating that portion up just put it in the crockpot with a little beef stock. It would probably ruin any bark that formed, but besides that I don't see a problem.
NSMikeD
Well-Known Member
slice and reheat in the microwave. 4 slices takes just 1min 30 seconds in my 900 watt microwave. Half my brisket has been vacuumed sealed and in the freezer. So long as you don't leave it so long that it develops freezer burn and you let it thaw (either in the fridge under running cool water while still sealed you should preserve its goodness. I used to slice and reheat with some beef stock in a pan, which isn't bad, but found the microwave is better. I would assume you could nuke it before slicing, just do it in stages on lower power. Even use the defrost feature.
When it's starting to get close to temp I always double-check with the Thermapen in several different spots on the brisket. It's not that I think my normal probe (Thermoworks Dot) isn't accurate, but the hard question is always whether it's in the hottest spot of the brisket. Being such a large and irregular piece of meat, there's always someplace on the brisket cooler than where my probe is. If it's a little below center mass, it'll read warm. So I probe a bunch of spots to try to get a sense of the differential between where the leave-in probe is sitting and the other parts of the brisket.
I think my next brisket (Father's Day) I'm going to foil it when I hit the stall. I always feel like when I do it uncovered that the bark gets too hard and it's so hard to keep it from drying out. And in this case it's only about 12.5#, so it doesn't have as much mass and thickness as usual.
Transamguy77
Well-Known Member
Did a salmon filet yesterday and doing a small (3.5lb) brisket today. @betarhoalphadelta I've done it both ways wrapped and unwrapped and I think it depends on the smoker, I use a UDS and honestly I find a water (or whatever I put in it) pan under it makes more of a difference that wrapping or not.
Found some vacuum sealed pork chops, figured wth.
applescrap
Be the ball!
Oh man, sry I missed your question alpha. Cant quite remember how to spell your new name. Why the switch if you dont mind me asking. Anyways search chuck on this thread and I have posted fairly often with results and ideas and processes. Lots of pics of my chucks and I have answered your question at least two times iirc, so in fear of effing up I'll leave well enough alone, but i will add some thoughts below because....
Great conincidence that my return in months (please make an app) is for chuck! Woot, I love smoked chuck and it is really versatile. Picking the right one is key. I don't like to low and slow for beef (any smoke) because I think the higher heat has a nice maialrd (sp?) Effect alsondont want to dry the beef. Thus around 195 seems a good idea. These were thick! Also I want to be done before it gets late!
Never see them this thick, but at Sam's vs brisket figured a good value. At 275 they will still take plenty of time especially at this size, 10 hours at 275 with hickory and cherry, no wrap. I used to use only salt but used killer hogs rub. Either way is fine, but I like it versatile. Omg last night used that tostitos nacho cheese in jar and seared chuck a little with evoo and added the cheese sauce and put over baked chips with sour cream, guac, tomatoes, salsa, and lettuce , this is one of our favorite meals. One tip is to cut up, shred fairly small so less dry can mix with more more dry. Hope you keep giving them a try, smoked chuck is really something special. My wife made bruschetta with carmelized onions, california ranch evoo, parmesan and mozzarella, it was so good. I make a lot of teppenaki type dishes with it. This pick is smoked pork butt I made a month ago on nachos (no cheese sauce, so just shredded).
Great conincidence that my return in months (please make an app) is for chuck! Woot, I love smoked chuck and it is really versatile. Picking the right one is key. I don't like to low and slow for beef (any smoke) because I think the higher heat has a nice maialrd (sp?) Effect alsondont want to dry the beef. Thus around 195 seems a good idea. These were thick! Also I want to be done before it gets late!
Never see them this thick, but at Sam's vs brisket figured a good value. At 275 they will still take plenty of time especially at this size, 10 hours at 275 with hickory and cherry, no wrap. I used to use only salt but used killer hogs rub. Either way is fine, but I like it versatile. Omg last night used that tostitos nacho cheese in jar and seared chuck a little with evoo and added the cheese sauce and put over baked chips with sour cream, guac, tomatoes, salsa, and lettuce , this is one of our favorite meals. One tip is to cut up, shred fairly small so less dry can mix with more more dry. Hope you keep giving them a try, smoked chuck is really something special. My wife made bruschetta with carmelized onions, california ranch evoo, parmesan and mozzarella, it was so good. I make a lot of teppenaki type dishes with it. This pick is smoked pork butt I made a month ago on nachos (no cheese sauce, so just shredded).
applescrap
Be the ball!
For me there is only two kinds of brisket, good brisket and better brisket. Heck yeah they can take forever at 225, 16 hours sure. One reason I smoke at 275. Also since my smoker is small, I have had great luck cutting brisket in half. That way I can take the point out well after the flat has finished.
Did one where I crammed whole brisket in and the flat wasnt as good, and was over cooked. I think I will always cut in half and I dont separate, a clever spot to cut in half is the trick. A little point might be on flat, its ok. The flat cooks in 5 hours or less the point closer to 10.
Oh why i replied, reheating. I happen to now like a little slightly undercooked butt or brisket. I rarely eat it that night. So yours is perfect for my tastes becuase and this is why I replied, the microwave with paper towel on top is an excellent way to reheat and it renders that last bit of fat with excellent skill. A debatedbly better way is to finish it while searing it off in oil then load in tacos or add bbq sauce and mix and heat. Your idea will be fine and bark will be juicy like a soup not neccesarily ruined but perhaps not great for fried rice and tacos. Bottom line that last rendering, that second cook is where the magic happens for each meal. Finish it, and the first meal will be the best. Leave it slightly under done and every time you make it, it will be perfect. If ever under done and want that night, guests etc., microwave to that perfect spot!
So you were separating the point and the flat? That "I don't separate" has me scratching my head. Do you cut the part of the flat off that doesn't have point over it?
I was planning on this being a 12 hour smoke. I was thinking of bumping the temperature a bit next time, around midway through the cook, probably when I wrap it. From 225° to 240° or 250°.
I have an event coming up where my family has asked me to smoke some brisket ahead of time, as I wont be able to bring my smoker with me, so it'll all be leftover. I was aiming for the brisket to hit 205°, but from what you're suggesting 195° would be just fine. The last brisket I smoked before this came out tough, I ended up finishing in the crock pot, and it was definitely tender after that.
I have some things to consider.
This is what I do. Just smoked a 12# brisket over the weekend (no pics, oops). Threw it on at 6:30pm Friday night at 225°, bumped it up at 5am to 275°, went back to bed til 730 (having a pellet smoker and a thermometer with 4 probes helps you sleep like a baby on long cooks!), pulled the brisket at 10am, let it rest til 1:30 and it sliced like butter.
I don't crutch, mostly cuz I'm lazy, but when it hits that 160-165° stall there's not much reason to keep super low and slow. It won't absorb any more smoke, the interior moisture needs to come out, so might as well coax it out with a higher temp.
I've wondered whether it pays to keep it smoking after a certain point in the cook, like x-many hours in maybe I should just bring it in, wrap it, and throw it in the oven, but I don't know what point that would be.
After 4-6 hours my smoker usually has trouble putting out more smoke anyway. Lots of ash gets compacted over the heating element.
When I lived in TX I had a buddy who used to do this. Once it stalled, he'd wrap it and throw it in the oven at 275 til done. He claimed after 3 or 4 hours, it's reached max smoke levels, and keeping it in his stick burner was just wasting wood. I personally could never tell the difference between his and mine (pellet smoker with a a-maze-n smoker tube running the length of the cook). So... maybe?
I have heard that most of the smoke a piece of meat can absorb gets in there in the first hour of cooking, and after that it's kind of the law of diminishing returns.
I should look around and see if anything backs that up.
I should look around and see if anything backs that up.
Oldskewl
Well-Known Member
I have read after the meat reaches the 145 degree range, the meat will not pick up much more smoke. I use an electric smoker(Bradley) or A-MAZ-N pellet smoker. I usually smoke approximately an hour past this point with good results. I can't tell any difference.
applescrap
Be the ball!
@Kent88 I dont know why my writing can be so confusing, apologies it is to me too. I am adding to many thoughts not always described in detail enough. No I do not separate, just a nice spot to cut in half. I will remove on the board the fat inbetween those few crossover slices if necessary but this has produced excellent results. In general when I shred I remove anything even remotely undesirable so every piece frozen is edible and there are no gross surprises.
190, 195, it's all good, the idea is that you dont have to worry because when you reheat it, it will be great. If overcooked to begin with it's harder to reheat later, but will still be great. The amount of fat trimmed off seems to effect juiciness as well. I was going to say 200 and 205 all good as well but beef you dont want to dry out like a butt. The pork has more fat buffer. A good idea might be to take the flat out at 190 and the point at 200. Trim anything to gross out, leave some fat for reheat rendering, chop up and freeze for reheat on serving day if it is over two days away, under two I would leave in fridge, over two I would freeze on cook day. Careful not to squeeze juice with vacu seal. Par freeze, then seal.
190, 195, it's all good, the idea is that you dont have to worry because when you reheat it, it will be great. If overcooked to begin with it's harder to reheat later, but will still be great. The amount of fat trimmed off seems to effect juiciness as well. I was going to say 200 and 205 all good as well but beef you dont want to dry out like a butt. The pork has more fat buffer. A good idea might be to take the flat out at 190 and the point at 200. Trim anything to gross out, leave some fat for reheat rendering, chop up and freeze for reheat on serving day if it is over two days away, under two I would leave in fridge, over two I would freeze on cook day. Careful not to squeeze juice with vacu seal. Par freeze, then seal.
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