# Losing my brisket virginity



## Bert2368 (Jul 23, 2019)

I went to a grocery store very hungry, which often leads to... interesting? choices. This time, it resulted in a huge chunk of cow meat following me home.












16.5 pounds of brisket, needing some cooking love ASAP. What have I done?!

I THINK I want to do this as sous vide followed by a few hours in the charcoal fired water smoker. Because, dry beef BBQ is vile and I've not got the time to closely monitor a real BBQ pit overnight.

From the internets:

I find that I should probably leave that huge fat cap where God and the cows dietary choices put it.

I should separate the thinner end, and will have to bisect the thick end to get it into my bags.

Texans just put coarse ground black pepper and salt on these for a rub?! 

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Questions, after my analysis of several recipes:

I'm targeting 36 hours in the water bath at 135° F, followed by 2 -3 hours in the cheap-O Walmart water smoker. Does that sound reasonable?

Really, couldn't we up the flavor of that traditional rub just a bit here? What do YOU all like???

And sauce. I've got some experience with pork and chicken BBQ sauces, but what has worked with beef for YOU? Texas seems to favor a mustard based BBQ sauce- I have not made this family of BBQ sauces before.

All recipe suggestions welcome-


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## M1k3 (Jul 23, 2019)

For simple and flavorful, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder and a dash of smoked paprika (just a faint back note, it's going in a smoker also!).


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## Desert Rat (Jul 23, 2019)

Mustard based sauce is a Carolina thing and I think goes best on pork.
I can't be much help on water baths and do my briskets low and slow. I inject. My uncle makes a good brisket and he goes with a fast method on the BBQ. Much like Harry Soo does here only he brine's first, Harry does a Texas cheat with wrapping towards the end. A good demonstration of how to trim also.


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## rickbern (Jul 23, 2019)

Bert, best brisket I ever had I made at home in a pressure cooker. And I’m a New York Jew!

http://www.bestpressurecooker.reviews/pressure-cooker-brisket-recipe/

Trying to do 16.5 lbs in one go might not be great first time out.


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## DamageInc (Jul 23, 2019)

I've done the chefsteps sous vide brisket recipe before and it's really good, just massively cut down on the salt in the rub.


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## AT5760 (Jul 23, 2019)

For brisket, I stick with salt/pepper rub. chicken and pork get more interesting rubs. I have no sous vide experience, so I can't comment on how well that works. But, I do wonder how well cooked meat will pick up smoke. I use a water smoker and get good results with brisket. You won't get a pretty smoke ring though. My advice is to smoke first, the wrap the brisket tightly in foil and "bake" at 200 degrees until you are ready to serve.


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## stringer (Jul 23, 2019)

I have also never tried sous vide. However, I do smoke/roast it often (I have six in the oven right now for tomorrow's staff meal). To me the most important factor in making it tender is making certain that the internal temperature reaches at least 190 degrees.


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## Bert2368 (Jul 23, 2019)

Many ways to BBQ a brisket, apparently- 

At least no one is FIGHTING about it (yet!).

Keep 'em coming!


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## Bensbites (Jul 23, 2019)

I am a hard core kamado (ceramics outdoor oven) user. I love SV for lean proteins, and will follow along. 

I would rub it with your favorite rub, put in your bbq 225-275 F. Assume 12-20 hrs for something that large. You can always wrap the meat once the bark is set, you will not be able to scrape it off with your finger nail. I would start probing for tenderness at 195 F internal temp, but expect it to be done between 200-205 F. Maybe higher. 

I trim off exterior fat in preference to bark formation. Fat melting is a fake myth, you need collagen to break down, that is the magic of BBQ. 

If you want to SV it check out darrin’s SV/BBQ channel fire &water.


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## Bert2368 (Jul 23, 2019)

Herself has had a "Kamado Joe" cooker these last 4 years or so. I have BBQ'd many a turkey in it, lots of space, pretty good temperature control capability. We have even crisped up Peking ducks on a rack which holds them verticle to allow the grease to run off, just enough room under the lid to do a pair of the big white Pekin ducks we raised 3 years back...


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## MontezumaBoy (Jul 23, 2019)

SV brisket ... never done it so the only help would be to check out Chefsteps w/ caveat about salt quantity from DamageInc above ...

I have done a dozen or so full briskets in the last few years and most (all?) per Mr. Franklin guidance on BGE ... 

https://video.klru.tv/video/bbq-franklin-episode-1-brisket/

Worth a review IMO but there is certainly a lot of info out there so Best 'O Luck ... pic's or it didn't happen ...


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## WildBoar (Jul 23, 2019)

No one here is asking the important question: You fricking went to the store hungry and bought something that will take you at least 12 hours to cook?!?!?! Please, please, please show the 5 bags of chips and Doritos you bought to tide yourself over.


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## MontezumaBoy (Jul 23, 2019)

WildBoar said:


> No one here is asking the important question: You fricking went to the store hungry and bought something that will take you at least 12 hours to cook?!?!?! Please, please, please show the 5 bags of chips and Doritos you bought to tide yourself over.



Since he is doing a SV for 36 hours then actually finish it ... more like 50 bags ... ;-)


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## Bensbites (Jul 23, 2019)

Bert2368 said:


> Herself has had a "Kamado Joe" cooker these last 4 years or so. I have BBQ'd many a turkey in it, lots of space, pretty good temperature control capability. We have even crisped up Peking ducks on a rack which holds them verticle to allow the grease to run off, just enough room under the lid to do a pair of the big white Pekin ducks we raised 3 years back...


Ok, then watch my buddy john Setzler on the KJ cooking channel. He has done a few briskets; also check out his Man Cave Meals YT channel.


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## Bert2368 (Jul 23, 2019)

WildBoar said:


> No one here is asking the important question: You fricking went to the store hungry and bought something that will take you at least 12 hours to cook?!?!?! Please, please, please show the 5 bags of chips and Doritos you bought to tide yourself over.



Hey, I'm on a diet! So all I bought was THREE bags of chips...






And a large pizza.


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## RonB (Jul 23, 2019)

Over on AmazingRibs.com they are having some success with QVQ. That's putting some smoke on the meat first, then sooo veed, then more smoke. I'd dry brine for 48 to 72 hours first, then use pepper as the rub. You could add garlic and onion powder if you want. And I think putting a sauce on brisket is a hangin' offence in Texas...


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## Bert2368 (Jul 23, 2019)

The smoke/sear - sous vide - more smoking progression is what I had arrived at for "low effort" pork ribs, beef and venison roasts. Nice to see others have come to a similar process-

I guess I'd better not bring my BBQ to Texas... Sauce can be a good thing.


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## rickbern (Jul 23, 2019)

MontezumaBoy said:


> Since he is doing a SV for 36 hours then actually finish it ... more like 50 bags ... ;-)


My pressure cooker recipe is a helluva lot faster than that. I could be in the store shopping at four, do dinner at eight.


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## Bert2368 (Jul 23, 2019)

rickbern said:


> My pressure cooker recipe is a helluva lot faster than that. I could be in the store shopping at four, do dinner at eight.



TOO MANY PATHS!

I do have a pressure cooker, got it for canning stuff where a water bath was not sufficient (meats, other low acid foods).

The "mediteranean brisket" recipe linked sounds good, but I'm aiming at a smoky brisket meat for this first attempt. Maybe I will try this next winter, I don't have AC in my kitchen here. Sous vide set up out in the loading dock followed by an outdoors BBQ smoker keeps my kitchen cool!

--------

F*** practice, I'm going to do this live! Opening the cryo bag and starting NOW.

Black pepper, salt, celery seed, dehydrated onion and garlic plus some smoked paprika and a bit of thyme are the rub I've compounded.






I'm going to add a venison neck roast I found in the bottom of the freezer to the bath too, and use the same rub. Because, MEAT. It's what's for dinner...


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## Bert2368 (Jul 24, 2019)

MontezumaBoy said:


> pic's or it didn't happen ...



OK.

There are now the 3 bags of brisket + a bag with a venison neck roast also done with the same beef rub AND a 7 lb. (before trimming) boneless pork butt roast with pork rub sitting in the water bath. Somewheres North of 20 lb. of various meats altogether.

Anything worth doing is worth OVER doing.


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## Bert2368 (Jul 24, 2019)

For the record-

Beef dry rub:

28g coarse fresh ground black pepper

28g coarse Kosher salt

3g celery seed

3g granulated dehydrated garlic powder

5g granulated dehydrated onion powder

7g paprika

1g dry thyme leaves

These were very briefly milled in a small electric coffee grinder. This batch was barely enough for the approx. 14 lb. trimmed weight brisket, I had to make more for the venison roast.

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Pork dry rub, modification of this online recipe (cut the salt down to 1/4!)

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/09/sous-vide-pork-ribs-recipe-food-lab.html

1/3 C paprika

1/3 C dark brown sugar

1 T coarse kosher salt

2 T whole yellow mustard seed (ground up during blending)

1 tsp. fresh ground coarse black pepper

2 T granulated dehydrated garlic powder

1 T dry oregano

1 tsp red pepper flakes

First the whole mustard seed was ground in the electric coffee grinder, then the rest of ingredients were added and briefly ground to mix.

This is the second time I have made this recipe, now minus 3/4 of the original recipe salt. It is sufficient to coat an 8 lb. side of pork ribs, plus 3 T reserved for use in the BBQ sauce.


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## MontezumaBoy (Jul 24, 2019)

Cool ... starting to get hungry ...


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## thebradleycrew (Jul 24, 2019)

OK question for folks here: can one use a slow cooker to get the same effect with a brisket, with a quick finish in a broiler or hot grill? I've been wondering about doing a brisket in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours. Anyone?


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## Bert2368 (Jul 24, 2019)

thebradleycrew said:


> OK question for folks here: can one use a slow cooker to get the same effect with a brisket, with a quick finish in a broiler or hot grill? I've been wondering about doing a brisket in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours. Anyone?


This sounds like what you're after-

https://www.recipetineats.com/slow-cooker-beef-brisket-with-bbq-sauce/#wprm-recipe-container-22244

I have not tried it, let us know if you do?


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## thebradleycrew (Jul 24, 2019)

Heck yes. I'm in! Thanks for the recipe, Bert. I'll pick up some meat this weekend, make it Sunday and report back next week.


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## Bensbites (Jul 24, 2019)

thebradleycrew said:


> OK question for folks here: can one use a slow cooker to get the same effect with a brisket, with a quick finish in a broiler or hot grill? I've been wondering about doing a brisket in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours. Anyone?


Yes and no. A slow cooker will give you a braise, liquid - meat contact. This will cook faster than a smoker -air to meat contact and evaporate cooling/bark formation. You can still make a darn good brisket in a braise, but it will be different. 

Some people add dry rub before the high heat sear to mimic bark formation. Check out some YouTube videos on sous vide/sear for cuts of meat containing lots of collagen. There should be plenty on briskets.


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## thebradleycrew (Jul 24, 2019)

Thanks, Ben. Sounds like I need a Kamodo Joe. Hmmmm.....maybe instead of the next gyuto.


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## Bensbites (Jul 24, 2019)

thebradleycrew said:


> Thanks, Ben. Sounds like I need a Kamodo Joe. Hmmmm.....maybe instead of the next gyuto.


Aaahhh one of my other hobbies. I admin way too many cooking groups.


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## Bert2368 (Jul 24, 2019)

thebradleycrew said:


> Thanks, Ben. Sounds like I need a Kamodo Joe. Hmmmm.....maybe instead of the next gyuto.



If you want to get into this type of grill for a lot less, we have had decent results with a less "famous name":











This one was $150 at Menards, end of season sale for a floor model, already assembled, no box but all the parts were there. Heck of a deal.







List price at a big box store is around $350 now. And there is someone in South Carolina who sells on ebay- A new grill for $225 IF YOU CAN PICK IT UP. He won't ship.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Char-G...711194&hash=item4d98494c87:g:5QkAAOSwGB9c2iUZ


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## Bert2368 (Jul 26, 2019)

The meat came out of the water bath and went into a cooler full of ice water this afternoon. A bit pressed for time, so only out the pork butt into the smoker after nightfall today, with an additional layer of rub... 

Some of the beef and the venison probably will get smoked Sunday, got shows to do Friday & Saturday.


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## Bert2368 (Jul 29, 2019)

Crappy, rainy weather all day. Finally, quit raining and a bag of beef brisket plus a bag of venison neck roast went into the smoker.

These pieces of meat were dried after being unbagged and a bit more of the same spice/salt rub mixture applied (coarse black pepper, Kosher salt, celerey seed, dehydrated onion and garlic, paprika, thyme).

Some pieces of apple and cherry wood from my tree pruning were placed below the grate supporting the lump charcoal I used. During the 2 hours of smoking at around 200° F, a couple more pieces of such fruit wood wrapped in Al foil were put around the edges of the charcoal fire.












At 1 hour, meat was turned.






The meat was removed after about 2 hours, 20 minutes.

I did indeed make and use a BBQ sauce. More on that later.






Final analysis: I like me some moist, tender & smoky brisket. This method delivered...


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## Bert2368 (Jul 29, 2019)

For the sauce:

The liquid from sous vide bag was heated, strained and de fatted, retained for sauce base.

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About 1 cup liquid was added to a small sauce pan along with:

1 medium diced yellow onion

6 de seeded & chopped serrano peppers

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T prepared spicy brown mustard

1/4 C apple cider vinegar

1/4 C of the IPA I was drinking (Voodoo Ranger Imperial)

A splash of fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 T of spice rub mix

1.5 cups tomato ketchup

1 T dark brown sugar

a couple of drops of liquid smoke

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Sauce was brought just to a boil and simmered for perhaps 10 minutes, then was run in a blender and strained through a coarse mesh strainer.

Came out fairly vinegary/acidic and a bit chilli hot, with only a touch of sweetness.


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## Bert2368 (Jul 29, 2019)

Life is VERY good sometimes.


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## Bert2368 (Jul 31, 2019)

The last two hunks of brisket are now reposing in the "king griller" bargain basement kamado. Using mesquite this time instead of fruit wood, because: Texas!


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## gman (Aug 1, 2019)

i use a very complex rub for pork, but brisket has so much flavor of it's own it seems a crime to use anything more than salt & pepper.

at any rate, start in the sous vide and finish on the grill is a fine method. to get a "traditional" texture i do 12 hours in the water at 170* and then 3 hours on the grill at 225*.


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## Chips (Aug 2, 2019)

I'l be participating in an overnight cook starting Saturday evening for a big BBQ event on Sunday that my friend is hosting. Once a year he throws a big party buying two Snake River Farms briskets and smokes them on his stick burner (in a San Francisco backyard no less!) low and slow for about 20 hours. Just salt and pepper over post oak.


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## Bert2368 (Aug 2, 2019)

Chips said:


> I'l be participating in an overnight cook starting Saturday evening for a big BBQ event on Sunday that my friend is hosting. Once a year he throws a big party buying two Snake River Farms briskets and smokes them on his stick burner (in a San Francisco backyard no less!) low and slow for about 20 hours. Just salt and pepper over post oak.



Does the party start a bit EARLY for the pit crew? "Anchor steam", or one of those johnny come lately micro brews...

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What is an ideal brisket for BBQ like as far as fat content? Worth looking (and paying) for materials better than general run of "Walmart industrial grade" beef? If so, what should one look for?

After cutting up the whole brisket, I was most pleased with the flat end for general texture.

The thick end was quite good in texture for about the first 2/3 of the way up from the flat bit, then kind of faded off into heavy marbleing, completely frothed through with large veins of fat. Still tasted great, but didn't like the texture. A good bit was trimmed off and will be going in a stock pot unless someone can suggest an alternative use?

I did save & freeze the fat I trimmed before cooking, thinking about sausage later. I also have about 30 lb. of venison trim saved from last year's 3 deer and a new, unused sausage grinder. Anyone gone there?


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## Michi (Aug 2, 2019)

Bert2368 said:


> I did save & freeze the fat I trimmed before cooking, thinking about sausage later. I also have about 30 lb. of venison trim saved from last year's 3 deer and a new, unused sausage grinder. Anyone gone there?


Boerewors!

https://honest-food.net/boerewors-recipe/


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## Bert2368 (Aug 2, 2019)

Michi said:


> Boerewors!
> 
> https://honest-food.net/boerewors-recipe/



https://honest-food.net/boerewors-recipe/


That recipe sounds about good, the allspice and coriander are in the direction of my typical pork or chicken "jerk" seasoning. Wonder how adding a bit of minced up scotch bonnet or ghost peppers would turn out?

Guess it' time to start the "babbel oor boerwers" thread.


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## Nikabrik (Aug 3, 2019)

I also like to do brisket sous vide with a BBQ finish. My habit is to do 155°F for 24 hours, so I can drop it in Friday after work, then pull it out Saturday afternoon and move it to the grill.

Because I've been coming for to with leftovers, I buy a brisket and split it into 1.5-2lb sections. I apply the salt and pepper rub, then freeze the pieces I'm not going to cook immediately. That way all I have to do on the first day is ready the water bath and rebag the meat (if I had a vacuum sealer, this would be unnecessary). 

Finish for me is on a Weber kettle with some charcoal and hickory, using the "snake" method and indirect heat.

Because I break the brisket into smaller chunks, I don't really get flat and point in the same cook.


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## Chips (Aug 5, 2019)

So the food was incredible. I ended up manning the offset smoker all night, which required a fair bit of hands-on fiddling and adding wood and charcoal almost every 10 minutes to keep even temps. These fatty, well-marbled cuts do tend to cook quicker. Again, this was nothing more than salt/pepper and he had some paprika on hand so some went into the rub as well. But it was a very light dusting overall.

This was just the two briskets, under 25 pounds.






Showing one after the light dusting of modified "dalmatian" rub.






He also sprung for a beautiful beef rib rack and this Washugyu tomahawk, cooked at the tail end of the BBQ at hotter temps with a bit more aggressive amount of oak smoke, till it hit 135ºF internal. I've had a lot of my own dry-aged prime grade steaks at home, and other good meat, but this really topped them all.







There ended up being about 40 people at the party so all the meat went very fast. 







The first of the two briskets ( placed the larger of the two closer to the firebox) was done in exactly 12 hours. Much faster than most other cooks I do, especially since we maintained low-and-slow temps of about 260ºF the whole time. The second brisket which was about 2 pounds lighter, was placed on the far end of the offset and needed an extra 2 hours on it's own to become tender throughout. 

This was so wobbly and moist/tender it jiggled like jello.







Bert2368 said:


> What is an ideal brisket for BBQ like as far as fat content? Worth looking (and paying) for materials better than general run of "Walmart industrial grade" beef? If so, what should one look for?
> 
> 
> The thick end was quite good in texture for about the first 2/3 of the way up from the flat bit, then kind of faded off into heavy marbleing, completely frothed through with large veins of fat. Still tasted great, but didn't like the texture. A good bit was trimmed off and will be going in a stock pot unless someone can suggest an alternative use?
> ...



I don't spring for $400 worth of meat when I want to cook a brisket or two, so SRF is not a realistic option for me. My Costco Prime Grade briskets are pretty solid. They do have a lot of extra-muscular fat that needs to be trimmed before seasoning and cooking, but even with that loss, it's still under $6 a pound.

One of the more important tips when buying ANY whole packer brisket, regardless of grade, is try to buy the one that has the thickest flat. Thin, highly tapered flats will cook so much faster than the point that they'll dry out and be way overcooked before the point hits the proper tenderness level. Many cooks will just trim off the thinnest portion of the flat and use it for burgers or sausage or something.

You can also gauge a briskets quality by giving it a "flex test"; the more the brisket wants to bend or fold over on itself from the middle, the better. Really rigid, firm, non-bending briskets tend to have tougher meat and or thicker veins of fat that most find unappealing.

I had a fancy high end brisket I bought on a steep sale price at a local high end grocer that bent over on itself like a limp noodle. It cooked up very nice.

I haven't done anything with venison myself. But with my dry aged steaks I've made demi-glace with the stock that was rendered, and I tossed all the brushed-off and clean pellicle into the pot. Probably the best demi I've ever tried.


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## Chips (Aug 5, 2019)

Oops. Here's an unglamorous shot of the brisket. The bark was beautiful. IMO the offset burned cleaner than anything else I regularly use, and the post oak smoke was gentle and very complimentary to the beefy flavor. My buddy had described his cooker as a stick-burner, but it turned out to be a Brinkmann Trailmaster, so it used a combo of charcoal and small split logs.


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## Purenoiz (Aug 5, 2019)

thebradleycrew said:


> OK question for folks here: can one use a slow cooker to get the same effect with a brisket, with a quick finish in a broiler or hot grill? I've been wondering about doing a brisket in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours. Anyone?



Consider this article on serious eats. You may never use that slow cooker again and will be happier because of it. https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/why-pressure-cookers-are-better-than-slow-cookers.html


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## Bert2368 (Aug 6, 2019)

Damn you all, I've just ordered an "instant pot" because you taunted me so with your tales of instant gratification cookery.

That and the claims of 2 hour brisket wonderfulness.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Less than $70 on sale for a 6 qt. version. I paid more than that for either of my stove top pressure cookers.


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## Keat (Aug 20, 2019)

That brisket looks so good. Can't say I've seen a $400 brisket but you made it look worth it.


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## Keat (Aug 20, 2019)

I guess it was two for $400. . . still impressive all around


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## AT5760 (Aug 20, 2019)

Leftover brisket and a new (to me) Forgecraft.


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## Bert2368 (Aug 20, 2019)

That's pretty, that is.


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## Bert2368 (Jan 31, 2021)

18 months on from my first brisket & sous vide experiments. 

I've done a dozen or more beef briskets since the first one I started this thread about and have been quite happy with my dry rub + long and low temp sous vide + short water smoker finish for brisket. Frankly, the last several briskets I made myself have been superior to any I have paid for from a restaurant.

The meat has ALWAYS been from Walmart. This is "grade C industrial beef", Walmart demands the lowest price possible and suppliers respond by giving them what they paid for... Or less.

I suspect that my results are due to my methods and seasoning rather than my truly sow's ear level of base ingredient.

Tonight I have started another horribly fatty brisket. The whole brisket weighed 11.25 lb. @ US $2.99/lb., I removed 5.25lb. of fat before adding dry rub and bagging this as two cuts, flat and point. If my math is correct, this beef cost me US $5.60/lb. after trimming and before sous vide. I expect about a 25% further loss in weight before it is all said and done.

I'm in a mood to experiment tonight. I had about 1/2 the usually required volume of my typical beef rub on hand and a slightly larger volume of a Japanese style dry rub left over from the last "Asian sticky pork ribs" style pork shoulder campaign. Plus, some of the Ras el Hanout seasoning mix left over from my venison analogue of rickbern's veal tangia... So, all of the Texas style beef rub and Japanese style pork rub plus a bit of the NYC/North African Ras el Hanout spice mix were combined, this bastardized, racially impure and " не культивированный", ethnically insensitive/multicultural mix was applied to the brisket pieces (Yo, Nazis, go eat a plain boiled cabbage!). Then a dab of miso, some mirin and soy sauce were added to each bag. I am intending to sous vide this at 134°F for 36 hours, then finish in the water smoker with lump oak charcoal and some mesquite.

Can you tell I've been socially isolated a bit too long yet?

I'll get back to y'all with results later this week, if we're not having a civil war, blizzard or anything else untoward... "Interesting times" call for comfort food.

I trimmed all that fat with my oldest Carbon steel knife, a 1980's vintage "Frosts" laminated blade. A little short, but can't complain about the edge retention or performance.


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## daveb (Jan 31, 2021)

I need to visit you one pheasant season...


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## Bert2368 (Jan 31, 2021)

daveb said:


> I need to visit you one pheasant season...


We got pheasants. And deer. And wild turkeys. Plus a whole lot of fireworks. Gotta bring your own dog, though.


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## coxhaus (Jan 31, 2021)

Texas traditional brisket rub is salt and black pepper. You can buy many different brands of brisket rub in Texas grocery stores with different flavors if you want to venture from tradition. Sauces are usually used as a side accoutrement for BBQ in Texas not cooked directly on the meat.

When I first was learning to smoke brisket after cooking, I would add a can of beer and a bottle of my favorite BBQ sauce at the end of cooking when I wrapped the brisket in foil and left it on the pit for another hour. This keeps the brisket from being dry. Once you get your timing down you don't need to add the beer or BBQ sauce but the brisket needs to rest for at least an hour right after cooking wrapped in foil. This is what I have learned over the years.

Briskets in Texas are cooked on smokers with indirect heat. The fire is on one side and the meat is on the other side so you can keep the heat low. My pit has a smoking side and a wood fired side. When smoking Texas BBQ, you want to use oak wood.

My favorite BBQ sauce for brisket and BBQ smoked sausage is left over pickle juice from the pickles used as a side condiment mixed with powdered cayenne pepper maybe a little water if the vinegar is too strong. Use it like hot sauce on your BBQ meat. I make it some but mainly buy it by the quart at my local BBQ place in town. Texas BBQ is served with pickles and sliced raw onion, bread and/or crackers. A lot of people use other BBQ sauces and the grocery stores shelves are stocked with lots of brands of BBQ sauce and everybody has their favorite. The main sides served with brisket is beans, potato salad and coleslaw.

If your brisket turns out tough then more than likely you have not cooked it long enough for the meat and fat to break down.

As far as fat side down or up when smoking is argued all the time with no consensus.


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## TheGreek (Feb 1, 2021)

Yes. Looks like a walmart flat. Cooked many in my time. Everyone will tell you that their way is the only way to go. The only thing I can tell you is to have fun and try new stuff. You know what flavor profile appeals to you. Go with it and build on it. Personally, I seem to always come back to the classic texas style, but i've been known to go way out there on a whim.


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## JAKsQandBrew (Feb 1, 2021)

I have tried using a sous vide step to my brisket and honestly find straight smoke turns out better. (With the caveat that you have a well made smoker that can maintain temps)

With the sous vide approaches I tried I basically ended up with the same amount of fat render bit way less bark and smoke flavor. Plus I find the long sous vide makes the protein strands kind of mushy.

My favorite sous vide beef is 48-72 hour short ribs, coat in rice flour, deep fry. Maybe putting an hour or 2 of.smoke before bagging short ribs could be good.


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## Bert2368 (Feb 6, 2021)

We had a little bit of snow and now some cold weather. But the brisket set in the fridge with dry rub on it for a couple of days after the 36 hours until I got the gumption to go out and smoke it tonight.

Verdict: Pretty darn good, even if conservative Texans might lynch me for my spice choices

The Japanese togarishi/Moroccan ras el hanout flavors are kind of subtle and nice except for the additional bit of Aleppo pepper which is fairly forward, I'm going to make a big pot of ramen soup for "Superbowl Avoidance Sunday" and try it in big slices laid on top of ramen + noodles garnished with mushroom, scallions, bok choi, sweet corn and toasted sesame seeds. Might try and run off another batch of ramen eggs tonight if I can stay awake long enough...


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## rickbern (Feb 6, 2021)

Bert2368 said:


> We had a little bit of snow and now some cold weather. But the brisket set in the fridge with dry rub on it for a couple of days after the 36 hours until I got the gumption to go out and smoke it tonight.
> 
> Verdict: Pretty darn good, even if conservative Texans might lynch me for my spice choices
> 
> ...


Bert, I think both conservative Texans and liberal New Yorkers would find your willingness to embrace new flavors equally appealing


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## Michi (Feb 6, 2021)

Home-made falafel, hummus, and Laugenecke with a salad.


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## daveb (Feb 6, 2021)

@Mitchi Are you in the wrong thread?

@Bert2368 What a good looking knife! After a couple days of catering various Stuperbowl events, I'm going to adopt your "Superbowl Avoidance Sunday" posture - as best I can while living in the midst of it.


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## coxhaus (Feb 6, 2021)

I am a Texan and I have tried many different brisket rubs in my lifetime. You kind of get tired of the same old thing, at least I do.

Real cold weather is hard to smoke meat in. Nice job.


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## panda (Feb 6, 2021)

seeing sous vide and brisket in same sentence made me cringe so hard

and pork butt!!??


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## Brian Weekley (Feb 6, 2021)

There are many ways to do a brisket. Of course my way is clearly the best way ,.. but there are those who would argue.

One thing that every brisket cooker will agree on though, is that you must have one of these ...







Meat killer ... aka brisket killer by Bryan Raquin. Also handy in the event of the zombie apocalyps!


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## Brian Weekley (Feb 6, 2021)

One of mine ... I call it a bionic brisket. My rub ... I smoke in the green egg until the stall (165-170F) then wrap (your choice of butcher paper or aluminum foil) then pull and finish in a 225F oven to desired tenderness (195-205F). You can leave in the smoker if you wish. Total cook time 12-16hrs.


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## AT5760 (Feb 6, 2021)

@Brian Weekley, no BGE for me, but I’ve had decent success with a similar method. Weber kettle to get smoke in and temp up, then finish in a really low oven. Maybe not “authentic” but tastes really good and pretty low effort.


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## Brian Weekley (Feb 6, 2021)

IMHO there is no magic to the BGE. I got my start on the much less expensive Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Once you hit the stall and wrap BTU’s are BTU’s. Move the brisket to the oven if that’s more convenient. IMO the BGE has two big advantages over the Smokey Mountain Cooker. Once set it holds a constant temperature for a very long time. Secondly the BGE is VERY economical on fuel. A bag goes a long way.


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## coxhaus (Feb 6, 2021)

I agree constant temperature is what you want. My pit is thick steel which takes at least an hour to heat up. The tubes are drill casing which is 3/8 inch thick. It radiates good heat once you warm it up. The cold smoke square box doesn't work right as I can use it or the round pit. The original idea was to be able to use both at the time but heat difference did not work out right. I may insulate or slap some more steel on the cold smoke box in the future. I can hang a turkey in there but I can't use the rest of the pit.

I can build a really big fire in the fire box and heat the pit up to over 600 degrees to make pizza. The only problem I see is it burns my heat resistant paint off really fast at that high of temperature.

PS
I live in a small BBQ town so everybody has smokers. Most are made out of old propane tanks which are thinner steel like 100 gal or bigger tanks.


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## Michi (Feb 6, 2021)

daveb said:


> @Mitchi Are you in the wrong thread?


Yes, me bad 

Could you move it for me please?


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## panda (Feb 6, 2021)

Michi said:


> Yes, me bad
> 
> Could you move it for me please?


no leave it, it's hilariously out of place.


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## Michi (Feb 6, 2021)

panda said:


> no leave it, it's hilariously out of place.


What, you mean as some sort of vegetarian counter-point?


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## DavidPF (Feb 7, 2021)

Michi said:


> What, you mean as some sort of vegetarian counter-point?


It all has to be fit together, in your style! It should be possible to stuff brisket plus all the foods you listed into one casing: what's the Wurst that could happen?


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## jwthaparc (Feb 7, 2021)

Bert2368 said:


> I went to a grocery store very hungry, which often leads to... interesting? choices. This time, it resulted in a huge chunk of cow meat following me home.
> 
> View attachment 57328
> 
> ...


Texan here. Yeah, just salt, and pepper, and a 12+ hour smoke is all you need for amazing brisket. If you want to get a little fancier, I've had really great results (from what others have said about my brisket) when I put McCormick Montreal steak seasoning on instead. I dont like the idea of using premixed seasoning, but I cant argue with the results.


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## coxhaus (Feb 7, 2021)

jwthaparc said:


> Texan here. Yeah, just salt, and pepper, and a 12+ hour smoke is all you need for amazing brisket. If you want to get a little fancier, I've had really great results (from what others have said about my brisket) when I put McCormick Montreal steak seasoning on instead. I dont like the idea of using premixed seasoning, but I cant argue with the results.



You know I recently bought a big bottle of that McCormick Montreal steak seasoning at Costco. I kind of like it. I have used it on small sirloins using carbon pans in house and then I make a mushroom, wine and beef broth topping sauce for the steak. I like the flavors. When it warms up, I may try it on the pit.

Have you tried Fiesta's Uncle Chris' Gourmet steak seasoning? I think it is great for grilling steak.

Jwthaparc if you come out our way 290 to Elgin TX we have 2 great BBQ places Meyers and South Side. Both are great. You can buy their sausage in HEB.

Meyers is a pork sausage and South Side is a beef sausage. I like both. Meyers garlic sausage is right at the top for me.


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## jwthaparc (Feb 7, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> You know I recently bought a big bottle of that McCormick Montreal steak seasoning at Costco. I kind of like it. I have used it on small sirloins using carbon pans in house and then I make a mushroom, wine and beef broth topping sauce for the steak. I like the flavors. When it warms up, I may try it on the pit.
> 
> Have you tried Fiesta's Uncle Chris' Gourmet steak seasoning? I think it is great for grilling steak.
> 
> Jwthaparc if you come out our way 290 to Elgin TX we have 2 great BBQ places Myers and South Side. Both are great. You can buy their sausage in HEB.


Nice. And yeah I've tried uncle Chris' steak seasoning. It's not bad at all, I just specifically like the Montreal steak for brisket. Usually on my steaks I go with flaky salt, fresh cracked pepper, and either garlic powder, or if it's on the stove I'll butter baste it with rosemary, thyme, and fresh crushed garlic (or even better, black garlic). 

Uncle chris' is definitely good for beef, pork, and chicken though. Roast beef, even fajitas with some Chile, paprika, and lime added.


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## Delat (Feb 8, 2021)

Since this seems to have morphed into a general brisket thread.... what kind of knife do you guys use for trimming the fat? I've been using an ancient 8" skinny forged Henckels (or maybe Wusthof, I can't recall) that was part of a knife set. 

Works great but I'm thinking I need a knife upgrade for style points on the next brisket. Probably something a bit shorter, maybe 150-160mm, narrow width, and thin grind.


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## Michi (Feb 8, 2021)

I use one of these. Gets razor sharp and works very well.


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## Brian Weekley (Feb 8, 2021)

This one ...






Here’s a link ... the link doesn’t work. I got it from CK*G. 

Its a 

*Kikuichi Elite Carbon Hankotsu 150mm*


There are other manufacturers.


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## JAKsQandBrew (Feb 8, 2021)

I use a town cutler 7" stiff boning knife for trimming up. Like this one but with a plain handle 6" Straight Boning - Desert Dawn
Nice little knife, hold a good edge.

I've been slicing the final product with a Dalman 240 aebl laser. I absolutely love the knife, just not sure it is being used to its fullest as a slicing knife.

I'll probably start looking for something new soon. I'm on the list for a Rader, so as long as I hit the lottery before he calls me that will be my next adventure.


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## jwthaparc (Feb 8, 2021)

Michi said:


> I use one of these. Gets razor sharp and works very well.
> View attachment 113488


I used to use a Mercer boning knife. But I switch to a gyuto one time, literally just because I liked the idea of using a "cow sword" on a big piece of cow. Anyway it works really well for doing nice flat even cuts, that look good.


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## coxhaus (Feb 8, 2021)

Michi said:


> I use one of these. Gets razor sharp and works very well.
> View attachment 113488



I use the Henckels 4-star version.


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## Delat (Feb 9, 2021)

Huh, I thought for sure somebody would post a pic of their rare and highly sought-after Shig honyaki BTK (brisket trimming knife), recommended only for wagyu a5 briskets as regular brisket dulls the blade too quickly. Or that Commando Rambo guy would chime in with his Chuck Norris Butterknife (no cutting necessary, the brisket falls apart in fear when it sees Chuck Norris approaching).

Looks like I should just stick with my plain-jane Wusthof (looks similar to Michi's except a bit wider).


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## panda (Feb 9, 2021)

cleaning/trimming brisket does wreck havoc on edges for sure


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## Michi (Feb 9, 2021)

Delat said:


> Looks like I should just stick with my plain-jane Wusthof (looks similar to Michi's except a bit wider).


The photo I posted is just a stock photo I grabbed. Here is the actual knife:




It's labelled "4602/14 cm". That knife is over thirty years old and still going strong. It has a stiff blade. I believe at least some of the newer ones have a flexible blade instead, which I don't like all that much for that kind of job; I have a flexible fish filleting knife from Wüsthof if I want something that flexes.

At any rate, I think that style of knife is eminently suitable for the job. Works well for trimming off silver skin, fat, works great for deboning a chicken, plus a bunch of other tasks that call for a robust and thin knife.


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## coxhaus (Feb 9, 2021)

Here are mine. One was my mom's back in her day. They are Henckels 4 star.


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## Michi (Feb 9, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> Here are mine. One was my mom's back in her day. They are Henckels 4 star.


They look just fine to me, perfect for the job. I don't think that you'd have a substantially better experience with a Japanese knife for this. And the steel on your knives is very forgiving. You won't do any lasting damage by cutting into a bone with some force by mistake.


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## Bert2368 (Feb 10, 2021)

Brian Weekley said:


> One of mine ... I call it a bionic brisket. My rub ... I smoke in the green egg until the stall (165-170F) then wrap (your choice of butcher paper or aluminum foil) then pull and finish in a 225F oven to desired tenderness (195-205F). You can leave in the smoker if you wish. Total cook time 12-16hrs.
> 
> View attachment 113068


IT'S ALIVE!!!


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## Bert2368 (Feb 10, 2021)

panda said:


> cleaning/trimming brisket does wreck havoc on edges for sure



Didn't seem so bad last several briskets I've done. No bones about the briskets. Bone in pork butt is pretty harsh, probably because I'm clumsy. And even a whole capon chicken seemed to be harder on the honesuki than a brisket weighing 4X as much.


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## Bert2368 (Feb 10, 2021)

Michi said:


> Yes, me bad
> 
> Could you move it for me please?




No! There can be no light without darkness... This post is NEEDED AND NECESSARY.


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## Bert2368 (Feb 10, 2021)

Brian Weekley said:


> There are many ways to do a brisket. Of course my way is clearly the best way ,.. but there are those who would argue.
> 
> One thing that every brisket cooker will agree on though, is that you must have one of these ...
> 
> ...



F*** YOU, WHALE! F*** YOU, DOLPHIN!!!


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