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anyone ever tried searing a brisket?

idealflaw
idealflaw Posts: 26
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
reading these saltlick recipes, it appears that they sear the brisket.

is this a bad or good idea? Anyone ever tried it? Things to watch for or be concerned about it or is it no big deal?

Comments

  • Bordello
    Bordello Posts: 5,926
    Can't answer myself, only done a few, first briskets were not good but mostly due to Egger error. :laugh: Too much adult beverage. :whistle: :silly: :woohoo:

    Some here do a sear on a prime rib roast then a slow cook to dsired temp. Not nearly as long a cook as brisket but still the same idea it seems. :unsure:


    Hope others chime in.

    Cheers,
    Bordello
  • i've done the same with prime and it was great.
    i can't see any problems but i don't know how that connective tissue would react.

    my thoughts are that searing won't raise the temp internally significantly enough to matter but could result in an awesome crust and getting that fat to break down a lot earlier... if someone knows, let me know.
  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    This may be more information than you want, but here goes. When it comes to egg cooking, my husband Bubba Tim is excellent when it comes to a brisket on the Egg. He does NOT sear the brisket, and never has. He uses a mustard then dry rub, allows it to marinate overnight, then starts a long, low, slow smoke. A good brisket may take him 14, 16 hours or so. With the slow cook and the correct rub, a natural "bark" (aka crust) forms on the outside of the brisket. The bark is the magic! If the brisket was seared beforehand, I do not believe this bark could/or would happen. His have been moist and delicioius without any sear.
    On the other side of the spectrum, if you are looking for a recipe for a braised brisket (like a pot roast), yes, I would sear first, but I don't think that's the dish you are looking for in this forum.
    Bottom line, NO seared brisket for an Egg Brisket, IMO. :)
  • Bordello
    Bordello Posts: 5,926
    Have to agree that I doubt it would effect the internal as a sear does not take that long so would be surface only.

    If you don't hear why not give it a shot and let us know??? :laugh: Many are in bed at this hour so you may get more answeres tomorrow.

    Cheers,
    Bordello
  • Bordello
    Bordello Posts: 5,926
    Very well put L.C.

    I think this is where the question is coming from, not sure but I think.

    http://www.austin360.com/food_drink/content/food_drink/dining_at_home/stories/2006/06/14kitchen.html

    Regards,
    Bordello
  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    Glad there is another night owl out there! :laugh:
    I have to agree with you about the salt lick web site and where ideal is coming from. Salt lick techniques are great when cooking for the masses! We use the same techniques at the Fairmont when cooking for 800 plus people. However.....
    Idealflaw...great technique for 800 plus. The end result will be "fine". ( ya know when you eat a buffet, and the food is 'fine', but not "Great!"?) It is my opinion this technique will accomplish that. The brisket will be 'fine'. It won't be amazing, by any means! With a brisket in the Egg, it is all about preparation and patience!!! For an exceptional brisket, there are no short cuts. The salt lick page is all about mass production. A prime rib...absolutely I agree with the sear, but that meat is already tender. A brisket needs hours and hours to break down the tissues to make it tender. Patience, and practice! practice! practice! Please get more advice from this forum when all the experts are awake!!?? :):)
  • Bordello
    Bordello Posts: 5,926
    Night owl, pretty much. :laugh: If I'm not indulging I may be up to 3 or so. :angry: Not by choice. :(

    Always enjoy you and your hubby's post, keep em coming.

    Thanks,
    Bordello
  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
    LOL night owls and early birds. I can not stay awake past 9 but I am up by 4-4:30 everyday so I guess it balances. I totally agree with Michelle on Saltlicks cooking. it is for the masses and getting a uniform product that is consistent to serve. I am sure as they are pulled and reheated they are check before slicing and serving and some that might need a little more time sit in the oven a little while longer. You can not beat a brisket off the egg. except my first one. Like I said before, thank goodness for red wine and the crock pot. it was great the next night LOL
  • Bordello
    Bordello Posts: 5,926
    Night Owls, yes. I also got up at 4:30 this morning, made some tea so I'm sitting under a blanket with the puter on my lap sipping my tea. :)

    With the fan out on the laptop it will sometimes overheat and shut down so not sure how long I will be on this morning. :angry:

    I may very well try another brisket on Friday "If" my store has any. They never know if they will get flats or untrimed packers. :unsure:

    If so I will do it the standard egg way of low and slow.

    A great day to ya,
    Bordello
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    i dont sear, and i cook at 235 degrees with a pork butt over it,fat side down, and i use sugar mustard and rub, and it doesnt come out mushy. is that the bark your looking for
    5a1453bd.jpg
    honestly i dont know what searing will bring to the flavor, im thinking an off burnt flavor especially if there is sugar in the rub
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Gandolf
    Gandolf Posts: 906
    When you do a brisket with a butt above it, how do you time putting each on the Egg? Do you put the butt on a raised grid a few hours prior to putting the brisket below it? Most of my butts take hours more than the briskets that I do. Thanks
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    kind of a mixed metaphor.

    brisket is barbecue, searing is grilling. that said, go ahead and try it for yourself. you might find something you like

    a minor thing: you won't get a smoke ring, though. once you sear that meat, and the surface of the meat hits 140, it won't form a smoke ring no matter how much you smoke it. it'll still taste smokey of course, just no cosmetic pink ring.

    this is the reverse of a common question we see here. if my pulled pork was so good at 225 for 24 hours, can i do a low and slow turkey/steak/fish/chicken etc.

    you can. question in cooking is always, what are you trying to achieve? what would searing add that you don't get from forming a bark?
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • that looks quite tasty. :silly:
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    i'd be careful searing all that fat. i've seen triumphant pics here where someone took a prime rib (nice layer of fat) and rolled it slowly on a ridiculously hot grill. i like searing a steak. but a thin layer of fat is entirely different than the side of a steak (which may have fat in it, but is mostly firm muscle).

    nothing worse than bitter burnt fat.

    i find that for a prime rib, dry indirect high heat forms a far better crust (seems almost fried and caramel brown) than searing ever could.

    it doesn't always follow logically that one method will translate well across the board in all situations. simply because searing works great on a steak it won't necessarily work well on all things.

    i frankly think your idea of searing the brisket would have a much better chance of working well than searing that nice layer of fat on a rib roast or rack of lamb.

    how do i know? because i tried it. hahaha

    burnt lamb fat on a rack of lamb. sucked. but at 500 degrees, indirect, with salt/pepper and herbs? that crust is perfect
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Bordello wrote:
    Night Owls, yes. I also got up at 4:30 this morning, made some tea so I'm sitting under a blanket with the puter on my lap sipping my tea. :)

    With the fan out on the laptop it will sometimes overheat and shut down so not sure how long I will be on this morning. :angry:

    I may very well try another brisket on Friday "If" my store has any. They never know if they will get flats or untrimed packers. :unsure:

    If so I will do it the standard egg way of low and slow.

    A great day to ya,
    Bordello

    you should put your digi Q II on that thing. just shove the probe where the fan used to be and place the blower outside the vent... set your temp and your computer fan problem is solved....
  • Bordello
    Bordello Posts: 5,926
    Ha,Ha,Ha,
    Good one, hell it seems to get hot enough to cook on. It already shut down this morning but after it cooled I'm back but it's getting hot agian so I may be gone in a bit.

    I never know as it just turns off.

    Thanks,
    Bordello with a hot female computer. :laugh:
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    ill pull the brisket off when its done and wrap in foil and use the cooler trick. whats missing in the pick is that i take the juices from the foil and pour it back over the brisket when serving. that cook was two butts over two brisket flats, each piece was around 8 pounds, brisket went 12 hours, butts went 14
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    Here is my opinion, which is the same as the info I gave you yesterday.

    a) you like brisket from the Salt Lick

    b) The Salt Lick sears their brisket with a rub of 2:1:1 salt, black, pepper, and cayenne, then roasts at 190 to a finish of 165* - refrigerates overnight, then reheats to 140*.

    c) you can try to replicate their results - it really isn't that hard to do. if it works then you win, if not, then you aren't out much cash and can still shred the brisket in a crock pot with some sauce and have some good bbq beef sandwiches.

    I think given a) and b) above, that c) logically follows. Give it a shot and let us know how it comes out. You should be able to do this soup to nuts for under $20. I may try it just to see what happens. I've never been to Salt Lick so I have no idea what their brisket is like. You have and do so you would be the best judge.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    i would like to try it too, cooking a brisket during an ice fishing derby is problematic, this would solve some problems if it was cooked a day or too ahead, even braising it in sauce later on would work for feeding 20 or so during the derby
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Gandolf
    Gandolf Posts: 906
    That'll work. Thank you.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    do you have a good writeup on the process, reading this one from the saltlick it seems its not really a searing temp, more like maybe 425 degrees to set up the rub, more like starting a prime rib off at 450 degrees and dropping the temps as the cook progresses. i would like to see a writeup with more or better info
    http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_23228,00.html
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    looks like the same source, but big differences in techniques, im thinking their sear is not the same as what we consider searing
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Tuck
    Tuck Posts: 54
    I have not seared my brisket but I have read about the SmokeyOkie method to cooking brisket that involves searing. Here are some links detailing how its done. The first one includes pictures.

    http://www.theqjoint.com/forum/showthread.php?p=923

    http://www.recipezaar.com/The-Beefiest-Juiciest-Brisket-What-Am-the-Smokyokie-Method-207187
  • I do alot of brisket and have seared one. IT works best if you're doing a packer and not a flat or a point. When you sear, you will get some good flame when the grill is at 700. You want the brisket to get black during the sear.

    Searing3.jpg

    The sear just closes things up and isn't meant to be the main part of the cooking or the smoke. Once it's seared, then in goes on the smoker, indirect as you would normally do a brisket. With the sear, the time factor for the overall smoke is also decreased.

    Having done them both ways, I still prefer the traditional method.

    Here's where you can find a lot of information and opinions on searing:

    http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2105
  • Are you able to get a good smoke ring with this searing method?

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

  • It's OK but not as good as a traditional smoke. However, remember that the smoke ring stops around 140 degrees internal anyway. However, the smoke flavor still penetrates the meat throughout the smoke regardless of temp.

    So, in this case, the smoke ring is more visual than it is substance as the seared brisket will take in the smoke the whole time.