Everything smoking...meat smoking !! Tips, tricks, and recipes + (poll added)

Brisket flat & pork “country ribs” (leftover from early covid). On pecan.

 

It sure looks good! I think it takes a good 10 times at least to get brisket to be good. Where pork is very forgiving, you have a small window with brisket. Cook a pork butt to 204 or so and it will be juicy and tender and delicious. Brisket is much more sensitive and each one is different. I have found that some briskets are done at 195 and others you have to run up to 205.

Once they hit 195, I stop cooking by temp. I will unwrap it, start sticking my thermaworks pin in it see how tender it is. Should have little resistance as you test throughout the brisket. If it is tough or not as smooth as butter, wrap it up again and cook for another 20 minutes and test for tinderness again. You will find that they will be ready to pull sometimes at 195, others it will take up to 205 to 208 to get tender. Have no clue why.....

First couple times I cooked brisket I cooked to 207 and they were dry!!!

I started cooking to feel and they started coming out better.

Sometimes I inject, some times I don't. After experimenting, I have found that my family likes the injection better.

The Kosmo's Reserve Brisket Injection is your friend!!!!!

 

Oh 1 other thing.....

I think the whole brisket, or packer, is much easier and comes out better. Usually larger ones are easier to smoke and come out better. I bought a 16lb. Brisket today actually for Sunday.

I am making some green apple cole slaw, bbq beans, and roasted corn with honey lime butter.

I am cooking as I have 3 people coming over to help build the massive fortress of a swing set we bought for the kids...

Also bought 3 cases of beer to help us get started this weekend.

 

Yeah I’m hoping a full packer will come out better. I may try injections at some point but isn’t that sacrilege? LOL

I should go be feel, but always been of not wanting to be poking meat to avoid juices coming out.

 

Smoking this USDA Prime Packer with a mix of hickory and oak. 15 lbs when I bought it, trimmed down to 11. Sheesh. Costco really stiffs you with the way they cut them. Had to trim off a bunch flat to get the shape right. Too much deckle fat as well.

 

Pulled some smoked pork shoulder from the freezer for baked potato dinner. There is something amazing about a chunk of pork and some potato skin.

 

Burgers and bacon on the magic mat...

 

Did you wrap in foil after a couple hours? It helps retain the juices in the meat. And then wrap in towel and let it rest in a cooler for a bit.

 

Well..... Had 3 guys coming over to help me put together a fortress of a swing set yesterday. Planned on doing brisket, pulled pork, corn on the cob, and green apple coke-slaw. It was the warmest day of the year yesterday and were outside from sun up until sun down. Then you throw in the 3 cases of beer and we did not get quite as much as planned!!! With that being said, I did not wake up early enough to get the brisket going. Just pulled pork today. Nothing like the smell of smoke, Good looking BBQ butts, and Mimosas. Now back to this fortress of a swing set we bought the kids!

 

My experience with brisket is buy the highest quality one you can find. If I get a choice one it never is a good as a prime graded brisket. Don't go by temps! As knoxville36 stated you have to go by feel. Once it probes easily, wrap in foil, towel and place in a cooler for an hour or so.

 

No I used peach paper. It did rest in the cooler for an hour tho. Wouldn’t aluminum ruin the bark?

 

Yep. I will move in to probing for the next one.

 

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i never experienced aluminum ruining the bark but I guess it could be an issue. My brisket always has good bark on it. I’m not on a pellet smoker I’m on a stick. I’ve heard good things about using paper. I just never changed it up cause I’ve been cooking brisket so long I finally got it right I don’t want to change it I save that for pork that stuff is hard to mess up as long as your internal temps are right. I can see your brisket is close just looks a bit dry and that truly can be all the meats fault no matter how you cook it. That’s what makes brisket such a pain and why you see the hardcore brisket guys source them from the same place over and over again. Usually prime or up so they get the fat content up.

 

Thanks. Beef came from a local rancher that I buy beef from every year. So it’s usually pretty lean. So it could be the reason that it did end up kinda dry.

I still haven’t found the right combo on brisket

 

I know you have to waste a few bucks but I prefer to buy a whole brisket or an untrimmed flat that what I can do the trimming and leave the fat I want on it. I cooked 10 briskets the same way and sourced the meat wherever and I had different results every time. Now I get the meat from 1 of 2 places and they turn out roughly the same every time. I stay away from grass fed because they usually have a lower fat content and brisket is all about the right fat content without it the meat will always be dry.

 

Trial and error bud. Trial and error. Part of the fun right?

 

For sure. One of my favorite things is to drink beer and tend to a fire. Never know what you got till it’s served.

 

I've only done a couple of briskets. The first was a whole brisket from our local butcher's competition meat section. Turned out so good I thought brisket was easy. The second was a small flat from a local farm market. Grass fed, baptized and read bedtime stories every night. Not so good. Based on limited experience I believe this is true. But pork is king here, so the briskets are few and far between.

 

And that's key...if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I won't use aluminum anymore, but that's my personal OCD. Smoking is nearly a religion, even for the back-yarders like us, so much so that it can get stupid fast. If it works for you, then go for it. I love trying new things, but if I ever get something dialed in, I'll never change it. Which I think will be nearly impossible since the meat always changes...

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You probably know this, but I'll say it anyway...grass fed, all natural beef doesn't get the marbling that grain fed does. It is literally the food fed to the cow that gives it the marbling. Grass fed is better for the cow's digestion, the environment and all that stuff, but bad for marbling and putting on weight. Got to have a cow that's been fed grains at least part of it's life (sometimes for a period of time just before butchering) to get that yummy fat intertwined with the muscle.

 

I forgot to take photos but smoked 2 pork shoulders overnight Sat into Sunday. First was regular barbecue pulled pork and the second was a delicious Conchinita Pibil wrapped in banana leaves and sitting in a roaster pan. It was so moist and so delicious. It's going on the regular rotation for sure

 

Doing an experiment today. I'm calling these my "I dunno" ribs. My parents snowbird in AZ, so last September they got donated from their freezer to mine before they took off for the winter.

I dunno where or when they were purchased, I dunno their quality, I dunno what rub was used, I dunno how long they've been frozen.

 

I think I deleted all my BB rib notes somehow. Grrr

Smoked at 220 degrees for two hours, then wrapped with juice for 90 minutes. Threw some sauce on the thicker cuts and put back on the grill. Smaller cuts came off after 30 minutes while the thicker cuts went stayed on for a full hour.

Just waiting for dinner now

 

That's why I keep mine the low tech way, in a spiral notebook.
Still look pretty good.

 

Field Notes for me. It's too easy to delete digital notes.

Either way...they look awesome.

 

The small pieces were dry, especially the one section I didn't brush with sauce during the initial smoke. The larger ribs were pretty good, but borderline over cooked.

Think next time I'm going to do 150 degrees for two hours to see if that really brings in the smoke. Then 2hrs wrapped with juice and then sauce and finish open on the grill (maybe 30-60m).

Hoping my MinL asks for ribs for Mother's Day...one of her favs, but it's her choice...

 

I bought a 14lb. Prime brisket on sale at Sam's for $2.28/lb. I just finished trimming it up. Probably down to 10 lbs. now. I will light the Yoder and put it on about 4:30am. Hopefully done about 3pm so it can sit for a couple hours for dinner.

 

Nom nom nom...

I need pics and a report of your Yoder. I've been having unhealthy dreams about their YS1500S this past week.

 

Cooked these up on the kamado tonight

 

holy sheeet yum!