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Brisket - This one is for the Gipper.

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brentm
brentm Posts: 422
edited February 2020 in EggHead Forum
Here's the backing track for this cook.  Gary Clark Jr.  Live - When my Train Pulls In.  

https://youtu.be/gYXMDCNjl8M?t=110

Start it at ~1:50 on that track and background it.  Right click > Open in new tab or whatev.

And back...  song playing?  Here we go!



Here's my wood selection...  I chose mostly pecan and some apple and I think a piece of cherry in there.  It all gets mixed up and it's hard to tell.  Hopefully some good smelling woods!!!  Let's load up tubby.



Apparently that grate voids your warranty.  Oh well.

Below is how I load it... Load the smoking wood first, because we want it to smolder.  Then add your lump...  At least that's

what Harry Soo does, and I like it so far..  No complaints.



So now that I have the lump added, let's add the coals.


Secret weapon....  It's lump.




Another secret weapon.  Weber lighter cube.  Whoever had the idea to empty them in a zip lock is a genius.  I read that tip here recently....  and shout out..




This is how I stack my egg...



I got tricky this time and put a pizza stone on top of the plate setter to diffuse the heat even more.  I can't say I noticed a difference, but it was fun to try.

Ok, now that the egg is lit, let's prepare the brisket...

Behold.  :bow:



Out of order... but here it is seasoned and ready to Egg.





Here it is pre-rubbed and trimmed.  Almost nearly completely trimmed but not quite...  A sharp knife really makes it easy, chances are your knife isn't sharp enough.




A ways in... sometime the next morning IIRC...





More time under tension...





I had to wrap... I was up against the clock.  17 hours at 200 produced this....  but it was only at 160 at 13:00 and I needed to slice at 17:30.  I needed to bring it up to temp/tenderness and vent/tent/foil.  Here we go...




Out of order, but cold slices as a snack.  This is really the last photo.  I was going to make a sandwich but I never made it...  Yet. 



My daughter pulling up a Raspberry Pi and a thermocouple in a scripted exercise I came up with.





Burnt ends slicing...



Loading burnt ends in the pan...




Slicing burnt ends....




Sorry they're out of order..

It was delicious. I would do less salt next time; I used kosher salt and I think I was just a little heavy on it... Still transitioning from rub to salt/pepper...

Thanks all for looking!  This is only one way to do a brisket, there are many and they're all right.  As long as they're tender... and you enjoy it.

Enjoy!












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Comments

  • CigarCityEgger
    CigarCityEgger Posts: 2,109
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    Looks like you nailed it. Thanks for sharing!
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  • johnnyp
    johnnyp Posts: 3,932
    edited February 2020
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    Well documented cook. Hope everyone loved it. Thanks for sharing

    XL & MM BGE, 36" Blackstone - Newport News, VA
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  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,164
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    A back track.....brilliant. That hunk of beefy goodness ain't bad either  ;)
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
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    I can't tell you exactly how many but I would say I have close to a hundred brisket cooks under my belt...background track brilliant af 🙌
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    Great looking brisket and great choice of music.  Love Gary's whole first Live album.
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,382
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    Great documentation and cook right there.  Way to bring it home.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • smbishop
    smbishop Posts: 3,053
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    Nice cook, and love Gary Clark Jr!
    Southlake, TX and Cowhouse Creek - King, TX.  2 Large, 1 Small and a lot of Eggcessories.
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  • Miked125
    Miked125 Posts: 481
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    Nice! Do you usually use that much wood? I maybe use 3-4 chunks, just wondering your theory. 
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  • brentm
    brentm Posts: 422
    edited February 2020
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    Miked125 said:
    Nice! Do you usually use that much wood? I maybe use 3-4 chunks, just wondering your theory. 
    That's a great question!  

    I love me some smoking woods...  I mean smoke flavor is what we're after.  Would it be a cost savings?  Or would you worry about imparting too much smoke flavor?  I'm just curious..  I'll duck after I say this, but it's tough to get good smoking wood at the big box stores.

    As it was, no refuel necessary for nearly 24 hour cook.  I've spun it nearly every way possible.  When I watched Harry Soo load his WSM, I changed my thinking a little.  And he used briquettes and not lump....

    I guess to answer your question, I'm just at the opposite end of the spectrum right now, still slightly experimenting every cook.  This time it was the pizza stone.  I want to say that actually helped not "jerkey" the corners..  but it's like washing your car and feeling a performance increase.

    Short answer, I have no idea why I used so much wood!  But it tasted really good!  A little salty if you get too much exterior in one bite.'

    Also, my focus has been on drip management.  If you notice, the following day, I change drip pans.  The early morning photo and the next photo the drip pan has been swapped.  I don't want to cook oil under my brisket and have that smoke all over the place:anguished: :

    I love talking about brisket, so feel free to tear me up.



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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,989
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    brentm said:
    Miked125 said:
    Nice! Do you usually use that much wood? I maybe use 3-4 chunks, just wondering your theory. 
    That's a great question!  

    I love me some smoking woods...  I mean smoke flavor is what we're after.  Would it be a cost savings?  Or would you worry about imparting too much smoke flavor?  I'm just curious..  I'll duck after I say this, but it's tough to get good smoking wood at the big box stores.

    As it was, no refuel necessary for nearly 24 hour cook.  I've spun it nearly every way possible.  When I watched Harry Soo load his WSM, I changed my thinking a little.  And he used briquettes and not lump....

    I guess to answer your question, I'm just at the opposite end of the spectrum right now, still slightly experimenting every cook.  This time it was the pizza stone.  I want to say that actually helped not "jerkey" the corners..  but it's like washing your car and feeling a performance increase.

    Short answer, I have no idea why I used so much wood!  But it tasted really good!  A little salty if you get too much exterior in one bite.'

    Also, my focus has been on drip management.  If you notice, the following day, I change drip pans.  The early morning photo and the next photo the drip pan has been swapped.  I don't want to cook oil under my brisket and have that smoke all over the place:anguished: :

    I love talking about brisket, so feel free to tear me up.



    I order my smoking wood from Fruita. I get peach, pecan and many others from them. All are top notch quality and very worth the money.

    I agree the kiln dried wood you get from the big box stores requires you to use massive amounts to get the smoke flavor you want.

    Look them up on line:

    Fruitawood.com
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • brentm
    brentm Posts: 422
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    @YukonRon - Thanks for that tip!  I'll order my next batch of wood from them.  I'd been using some stuff from my local Egg store; the pecan came in a red mesh bag.  The stuff from the Egg store is my second choice over Hawgeyes.com for smoking wood.

    Don't be afraid to toss out pieces that look questionable too.  Big knotty pieces, spalting, or one that just doesn't look right get tossed.  I remember one day I was outside with my propane torch lighting corners of smoking wood to see if I could determine the best pieces to use.  LOL!!!!!

    The big box stuff is easily identifiable in my bin by the dirt coating. :blush:
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,186
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    Knotty pieces are the best. They last the longest. 
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  • NDG
    NDG Posts: 2,431
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    nice cook - good post for me as I am still learning brisket so informative stuff.  I also ordered from Fruitawood - got the Post Oak for brisket, seems to be quality
    Columbus, OH

    “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as if everything is” 
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,029
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    That looks great and makes me hungry for some brisket
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • brentm
    brentm Posts: 422
    edited February 2020
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    DoubleEgger said:
    Knotty pieces are the best. They last the longest. 
    I have piece of apple I can't bear to toss.  Big one too... it's so dense the saw burned the sides of it cutting it to size.  Are knotty really pieces good smoking woods?  I tend to cherry pick the pieces that have a uniform color and look like healthy wood.

    @NDG - nice looking pieces of wood in there.  I've been leaving the bark on lately, and I can't tell a difference.  I've not smoked with Oak yet.  I was worried it would be too strong.

    And there are lots of ways to cook a brisket.  I have been tempted to try hot and fast.

    My best piece of advice for cooking brisket is start with the best cut/grade of meat you can afford.  Many of us are lucky that Costco carries Prime for such a reasonable price.  Otherwise I'd probably be thumbing through the mid grade stuff at my local Cash and Carry.

    Also in terms of timing a brisket for dinner, I tend to live by the law that you can push the internal temp up ~10 degrees per hour after wrapping.  I'm not sure if that's a law of physics or just what I can produce safely.  I usually try to time it to give it time to rest in a cooler for at least 60 minutes.
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    heartwood, sapwood, knots, bark...they're all good if they're seasoned and there's no mold/fungus on them.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • brentm
    brentm Posts: 422
    edited February 2020
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    I'll bite.

    So you're saying this piece of apple, which I believe came in a good batch of wood, is safe to smoke?  I mean, smoke in my egg... 



    Those burn marks are either the operator moving too fast, dull blade, or dense wood.  Although it looks OK, I've picked it over several times.

    Here's some prized local cherry wood.  Has anyone had good luck finding local wood?  So much easier to buy online I suppose than coordinate with someone on craigs or offerup.  This wood came from a friends cherry tree.  I mix in a chunk in special cooks.  Because I'm just a weirdo for good looking woods.  And it really is good smoking wood, but I like to mix cherry.


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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    I drive around with my pickup and a chainsaw after a storm.  Occasionally I'll buy smoke wood.

    That weird looking piece of wood isn't made of anything different than the splits.  Maybe it has a bit more lignin and pitch in it, but if anything, I think it might contribute more flavor per pound.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • brentm
    brentm Posts: 422
    edited February 2020
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    So we're getting to the end of the flat.... :/

    This brisky gravedigger is for my gramps.  Crazy "George" Yelton - of Taco Time.  WW II veteran (Navy cook), Master Mason, entrepreneur, pool shark, and all around great guy.

    I wish I could make this sandwich for him; I know he'd love it.




    Here our ingredients...  I had to summon the powers of my daughters plasticware :)

    Yep - liberal butter on the bread.  We gotta make ourselves a nice crust for this one.  I like to take the crust level to "Captain Crunch" and then back it off about a notch.

     

    So to make that crust, we need some BTUs.  All of them.  Turn on the hood fan so you don't set off your smoke alarms.



    Ok, we got a crust on the bread, you'll have to take my word for it...




    Don't tell the health inspector I used a cheesy spatula to flip these bad boys....    
    Ok, let's build.



    I like myself some sauce.  It's just some mixup of ingredients from the fridge.  I'd like some slaw or something on top, but it's late, I'm half in the tank and I need to clean this up and get to bed...



    Here you go Gramps!!

    -Brent
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  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 19,088
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    Did you use the Stoker on this cook?
    They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That's against their interests. - George Carlin
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  • brentm
    brentm Posts: 422
    edited November 2020
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    Yes.  But i no longer endorse this travesty of a ATC. 
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  • thetrim
    thetrim Posts: 11,357
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    I love brisket
    =======================================
    XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP
    Tampa Bay, FL
    EIB 6 Oct 95
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