Its gonna be one of those cooks...

brewbq · July 2012

So I'm prepping a brisket this morning, and go to inject some beef broth but I can't find any in the fridge. So I do what any self respecting person does and improvise by subbing chicken broth instead. I don't use all the chicken broth in the box so I put the remainder in the fridge next to the beef broth. Wait, BEEF BROTH?!? * face-palm*

lousubcap · July 2012

You are not the only one by far-happens even when I inquire of the SWMBO about whatever ingredient I'm needing. You may want to give it a couple of shots of worcestershire sauce to "beefen" ( an audible word...) it up. Tip for injecting, I always cover the target meat with some saran/cling wrap and then inject through the wrap-keeps the stray shots contained and clean-up much easier. Enjoy the journey and the end result.

LizzieSamps · July 2012

Oh great idea the saran wrap. Opps on finding the chicken broth. Well like I tell my kids when they can't find something in plain sight, looks like it's back to Where's Waldo for you!

Griffin · July 2012

) Sorry but that is just plain funny. As my Father in Law would say "If that was a snake, it a done bit you already" Hope the rest of the cook goes by without a hitch.

booksw · July 2012

Brewbq- I am going to do one tomorrow- will you post a step-by-step of what you do? I think I am going to use the Salt Lick rub that Centex suggested a few days ago. I got it in the mail yesterday- one of the ingredients is "spices" I might taste it first...

michigan_jason · July 2012

You are not the only one by far-happens even when I inquire of the SWMBO about whatever ingredient I'm needing. You may want to give it a couple of shots of worcestershire sauce to "beefen" ( an audible word...) it up. Tip for injecting, I always cover the target meat with some saran/cling wrap and then inject through the wrap-keeps the stray shots contained and clean-up much easier. Enjoy the journey and the end result.

@lousupcap

Do you find that piercing the saran wrap sometimes gets small pieces of wrap pushed into the meat or does it stay in tact due to the sharp piercing of the injector? Seems like a brilliant idea though. I always end up with a huge mess even when using foil under the meat.

lousubcap · July 2012

No issues with piercing through the wrap-only way to go unless you enjoy lengthy clean-ups.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

Brewbq- I am going to do one tomorrow- will you post a step-by-step of what you do? I think I am going to use the Salt Lick rub that Centex suggested a few days ago. I got it in the mail yesterday- one of the ingredients is "spices" I might taste it first...

Keep in mind that Salt Lick Rub is Salty. I would use a little less than normal. A full coating is good but you don't need to stack it on- has tons of flavor. it also has cayenne in there so if you over do it, it can be spicy for some people. It will give you a crazy crust even with a thin coating.

Are you doing a whole packer or a flat?

brewbq · July 2012

Just a small flat. Gotta get some trial and error out of the way while I learn to use the egg. This is only my 5th or 6th cook on one, and I'm still getting used to it. I'm used to a MUCH less efficient cooker, as evidenced by my attempt at ribs yesterday. I will prevail however, even if I subject my wife and kids to some shoe leather tonight. I'll take pictures throughout the cook and post them if they aren't too embarrassing. :P

So far, this is the breakdown.

used a pre-trimmed 4.48 lb "center-cut" (HEB speak for flat).

night prior, rinsed off the brisket and put a light coat of canola oil on it. Then covered it with Zach's Spice Co. Brisket Rub. (SWMBO bought it as a "aww, you're cooking now" gift, so I must use it. Better to use it now while I'm learning the egg) Then put the brisket back in the fridge in a covered baking pan.

Woke up early the next morning, and spur of the moment decided to inject some "beef" broth (see OP)

injected about 4 oz. then back into the fridge.

Cranked up the egg to 300 dome with plate setter in to preheat it.

Once all was stable, pulled out the plate setter and added a few fist sized chunks of hickory, then re-installed the plate setter.

Put in a hand crafted (read: foil) pan and filled with 12 oz of homebrew. (I think a Bass ale clone) then put the grill back on. Let sit for 15 minutes until smoke calmed down.

Put the brisket on, added a thermo and let sit, waiting for internal temp of 150.

Meat hit 150, pulled it off, wrapped in foil and 1 cup of beef broth (with REAL beef broth this time) and put back on.

Waiting now until it hits 200 or so to pull it off for a rest, but that's a bit off (at 160 now)

Once I'm done, I can let you know whether to try it this way, but this is how I used to roll on my old barrel smoker, so I thought I'd start there and make adjustments as needed for the next one.

brewbq · July 2012

Actually, I'm pretty much just following this recipe for the cooking method only. Different rub (and broth apparently) but mostly the same technique.

http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/texas_brisket.html

I like this guy's site, and his recipe for ribs is pretty awesome. I don't agree with everything he says (he's not a fan of eggs for one, no dual zone cooking) but, at least imho, he knows what he likes and knows how to make it. I used his site religiously when I had a barrel smoker. I still consider myself a noob to outdoor cooking (even after 6 years, lol) but I learned a lot here.

brewbq · July 2012

Just hit 190 internal and removed from the foil wrap.

put back on the grid, and poured the remaining juices into the drip pan.

once it hits 200 I'll probably pull it out and let it rest.

question, if I'm putting it back on the fire after wrapping to try to firm up the bark, won't re-wrapping and resting in a towel lined cooler after it hits 200 soften the bark back up? Hmm.

Doc_Eggerton · July 2012

I hope your one-of-these-days is better than this one-of-these-weeks has been for me :-)

brewbq · July 2012

This is the cut I started with, oiled and rubbed the night prior.

brewbq · July 2012

I hope your one-of-these-days is better than this one-of-these-weeks has been for me :-)

Congrats on hitting 1,000 comments! I don't know if that is a thing, but congrats none the less.

This is the rub I used. Had a nice flavor, but I think I'll use something else next time. Any suggestions?

brewbq · July 2012

My dome temp, daisy wheel and intake settings for interested parties.

brewbq · July 2012

Finished product on the egg, sliced and plated with some lime-splashed carrots, and some sweet cucumber and cilantro salad. Notice the dog. That's what envy looks like.

Overall, I'm mostly pleased with this run. The meat was a bit tough, but I think I can attribute that mostly to the cut and my bad selection of it. I was going for a smaller piece since I was only feeding 4 (2 of them kids). I do think the process I used worked pretty well, but I'm excited to try again. Next time, I'll try either a whole brisket or try it without the foil. I like to change only one technique at a time, mainly to try to only have one variable. I will say that I am SO extremely pleased with the performance of the egg. Previous cooks on my smoker, I had such a hard time trying to keep the temperature stable that I couldn't experiment much as my cooker was always trying to be the variable. What a relief to be able to have the opportunity to only have to worry about what I wanted to do with the meat, and not what to do with the cooker.

Its gonna be one of those cooks...

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