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All Things Brisket


kevwun

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I've settled on a pepper heavy s&p blend with a bit of cayenne pepper added.  I've tried various binders, including the mustard pickle juice thing.  I don't think any of them make any sort of flavor difference.  I think the mustard/pj thing is used simply because it's convenient and cheap.  Mustard alone is too thick in my experience and they have plenty of pickle juice around to cut it.  I think olive oil works well, but I imagine that that is too expensive to use in bulk.  Woosty/water or acv/water work, but the thicker stuff works a bit better for me.

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4 minutes ago, dcbc said:

I've settled on a pepper heavy s&p blend with a bit of cayenne pepper added.  I've tried various binders, including the mustard pickle juice thing.  I don't think any of them make any sort of flavor difference.  I think the mustard/pj thing is used simply because it's convenient and cheap.  Mustard alone is too thick in my experience and they have plenty of pickle juice around to cut it.  I think olive oil works well, but I imagine that that is too expensive to use in bulk.  Woosty/water or acv/water work, but the thicker stuff works a bit better for me.

Ditto on pepper-heavy.  I'm using #32 grind these days.  A little salt goes a long ways.

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Garlic powder is an affront to mankind in my book but y'all do you. I'm a seasoning whore when it comes to cooking anything and I don't touch that shit. 

Although I'll say - I'm intrigued at it being part of a rub. Maybe I'll broaden my horizons. 

Edited by ztejas
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Garlic powder is an affront to mankind in my book but y'all do you. I'm a seasoning whore when it comes to cooking anything and I don't touch that shit. 
Although I'll say - I'm intrigued at it being part of a rub. Maybe I'll broaden my horizons. 
What is it about garlic powder that is off putting to you?
Typically, I'll go with just the S&P route but every now and then I'll go with the SPOG salt, pepper, onion, garlic rub. When I do, I use worcestershire as the binder and go heavy on the onion powder first.
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5 minutes ago, Both Tacos said:

What is it about garlic powder that is off putting to you?
Typically, I'll go with just the S&P route but every now and then I'll go with the SPOG salt, pepper, onion, garlic rub. When I do, I use worcestershire as the binder and go heavy on the onion powder first.

I'm mainly thinking about on the stove type cooking. Hence my edit. I don't have a lot of experience smoking anything. If I'm making a sauce or sautéing anything or making a one pot type meal then garlic powder never enters the picture. If you want garlic in the dish then chop or mince some garlic then incorporate it. But you can't really do that if you're just slapping some meat on the smoker so I get it. I'm open minded about garlic or onion powder in that context. 

That said - I'd still be hesitant to use it in any rub or marinade. Maybe just not my cup of tea stylistically. 

Edited by ztejas
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Garlic powder is an affront to mankind in my book but y'all do you. I'm a seasoning whore when it comes to cooking anything and I don't touch that shit. 
Although I'll say - I'm intrigued at it being part of a rub. Maybe I'll broaden my horizons. 
I'm not averse to it, but if I use it, I go very light with it. On brisket, I usually skip it.
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9 hours ago, dcbc said:

I've settled on a pepper heavy s&p blend with a bit of cayenne pepper added.  I've tried various binders, including the mustard pickle juice thing.  I don't think any of them make any sort of flavor difference.  I think the mustard/pj thing is used simply because it's convenient and cheap.  Mustard alone is too thick in my experience and they have plenty of pickle juice around to cut it.  I think olive oil works well, but I imagine that that is too expensive to use in bulk.  Woosty/water or acv/water work, but the thicker stuff works a bit better for me.

Curious - have you read that binders are supposed to make a difference flavor-wise? I have always read, and operated under the assumption that they are strictly a binder that will burn off but keep your rub in place. That's been consistent with my experience. In fact I buy all kinds of stupid sauces to experiment with in other areas of cooking because I know that if I don't like them, they just turn into rub binder. 

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Curious - have you read that binders are supposed to make a difference flavor-wise? I have always read, and operated under the assumption that they are strictly a binder that will burn off but keep your rub in place. That's been consistent with my experience. In fact I buy all kinds of stupid sauces to experiment with in other areas of cooking because I know that if I don't like them, they just turn into rub binder. 
Well, there a pretty good concentration of salt and vinegar in a mustard/pickle juice binder. So I half expected it to be a bit saltier. But in the end, it wasn't. However, I've found that mustard alone, at least in brisket, doesn't firm up quite as well as the rest I mentioned. So I think cutting it with something is important.
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Doing a brisket and some ribs for Labor Day. Going to vacuum seal and reheat in a big sous vide before serving. Should I do the hold thing before vacuum sealing or will the reheating process. Also, am I good refrigerating or should I freeze. Choice from WalMart. Had some good marbling in the point for the price.
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Edited by dcbc
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I don't use any binders on brisket or beef ribs.

I use mustard on pork ribs and I actually can taste just a hint of it in the finished product, and that's a good thing.  Mustard and mustard seed are common ingredients in rubs/marinades for game.  Leg of lamb with crushed mustard seed is fantastic.

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11 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

Gold thing?

Sorry.  Too many cervezas.  Should have read "hold thing" as in should I hold it in a cooler for a few hours.

I'm going to freeze it since I'm not serving until next Sunday.

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1 hour ago, utee94 said:

I don't use any binders on brisket or beef ribs.

I use mustard on pork ribs and I actually can taste just a hint of it in the finished product, and that's a good thing.  Mustard and mustard seed are common ingredients in rubs/marinades for game.  Leg of lamb with crushed mustard seed is fantastic.

I went no binder on the brisket this time.  Bark looked good when I wrapped it.  I gave it several spritzes of diluted ACV during the first several hours of the cook.

Edited by dcbc
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15# SRF Wagyu brisket. Went the Guga method and trimmed just about all the fat cap off the point and left 1/4” over flat. On the GMG at 11pm last night. Woke up at 0700 today and meat was wrapped immediately at 180F. Hopefully in the cooler by 1-2 for a 6P dinner

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So, I've smoked a good 50+ briskets and I've always been pleased with the results, but after watching the Aaron Franklin MasterClass on brisket I realized what a fucking n00b I am. He spends like 3 minutes talking about how he applies the s&p. The trimming chapter is 34 minutes. Jfc, that dude is a goddamn artist.

I'd never trimmed a brisket prior to this cook and I erred on the side of less trimming, mostly out of fear of losing too much meat. I'll probably trim more next time around.  

Anyway, I recently got a pellet smoker (I know, I hate me too but I ain't got time for an offset these days) and the motherfucker starts losing temperature like 4 hours into the cook. Probably spent about 45 minutes going from 255 to 115 and to get the thing going again and up to temperature was a pain in the ass.

Gonna wrap in butcher paper and probably use the ol' Texas Crutch because at least that's reliable. Though it's not as much fun drinking beers in the kitchen as it is outside.

These are for a Labor Day/40th bday/Rosh Hashanah party on Monday and I'm planning on just keeping them in the fridge after they've dropped to room temperature, reheating on the smoker while wrapped. Sound like the right course of action? Don't think I want to freeze them for just a couple of days, right?

 

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7 minutes ago, 406W30th said:

So, I've smoked a good 50+ briskets and I've always been pleased with the results, but after watching the Aaron Franklin MasterClass on brisket I realized what a fucking n00b I am. He spends like 3 minutes talking about how he applies the s&p. The trimming chapter is 34 minutes. Jfc, that dude is a goddamn artist.

I'd never trimmed a brisket prior to this cook and I erred on the side of less trimming, mostly out of fear of losing too much meat. I'll probably trim more next time around. 

I am a huge fan of the trimming that LeRoy & Lewis does on their briskets (ton of videos on it on their patreon) but here is how Bradley Robinson (Chuds BBQ, formerly of L&L and was with Evan LeRoy at Freedmens) does it which almost exactly mirrors what L&L does

 

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51 minutes ago, 406W30th said:

 

Anyway, I recently got a pellet smoker (I know, I hate me too but I ain't got time for an offset these days) and the motherfucker starts losing temperature like 4 hours into the cook. Probably spent about 45 minutes going from 255 to 115 and to get the thing going again and up to temperature was a pain in the ass.

Gonna wrap in butcher paper and probably use the ol' Texas Crutch because at least that's reliable. Though it's not as much fun drinking beers in the kitchen as it is outside.

 

I am a total acolyte of the Franklin Barbecue Manifesto book, including his approach to trimming and S&P (mostly P) rubs.  If you've already put four hours of smoke on your brisket, nobody is gonna know that you finished it inside in an oven.  Do the reheat in a slow oven.  Keep it loosely wrapped so as not to screw up your bark.

Enjoy.  ( And do drink some beer, anyway.)

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Great success yesterday with the brisket I sealed and froze last weekend.  Tossed it in the sous vide at 145, where it stayed for about 2.5 hours.  Pulled it out of the bag and tossed it on one side of a gas grill for about 10 minutes to firm up the bark.  Very few leftovers.


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16 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

I doubt nothing but agreed expectations from bark. 

The bark on the brisket was great.  I left it in the butcher paper when I vacuum sealed it and I think that helped along with the couple of minutes on the grill. 

Two of my racks of ribs, I sealed together.  Things got juicy in the bag during the reheat and the bark really suffered.  It was good nonetheless.  The brisket was excellent, bark and all.

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15 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

I hope to be convinced you’re right. The process allows for serving the brisket you want without having spent the last fifteen hours tending a fire.

(Though I do love that task).

I've cooked on site for this event 3 times and I miss out on a lot because of how we're set up.  It was perfectly great.  I just had the last of the leftovers and the point was good especially.

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On 8/26/2021 at 8:00 AM, dcbc said:

However, I've found that mustard alone, at least in brisket, doesn't firm up quite as well as the rest I mentioned. So I think cutting it with something is important.


Maybe cut it with acv or woosty?

Not that it really matters since no flavor contributions, so water would work too.

Right combination and could use it as a mop/spritz too.

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24 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:


Maybe cut it with acv or woosty?

Not that it really matters since no flavor contributions, so water would work too.

Right combination and could use it as a mop/spritz too.

I may be team no binder at this point on brisket.  Got great results with nothing, but with regular acv/water spritz during the early part of the cook.

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Just ordered a 12-13 lbs brisket. It shows up on Monday 16 fucking pounds. Already fairly trimmed too. I'm going to have to cook this damn thing an extra few hours. Anyone ever finished the brisket off in the oven once wrapped? I am trying to speed up the time here without having to wrap in foil. I was thinking foil pan in oven after the paper wrap at 250.  Also, would save a ton of fuel having to finish this beast off.

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Edited by PassiveAggressiveCoach
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Sure you can finish in the oven.  For a brisket that size I'd go 6-7 hours on the smoke, and then the rest you can do in the oven.

Edit: Also, don't be afraid to crank the heat of the pit up to 290-300.  I spent decades doing 225, and it's great because it's fool-proof.  But for the past few years I've switched to almost 300, with zero decrease in quality, and substantial decrease in cooking time.  Good Luck We're All Counting On You.

 

 

Edited by utee94
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On 9/9/2021 at 12:34 PM, PassiveAggressiveCoach said:

Just ordered a 12-13 lbs brisket. It shows up on Monday 16 fucking pounds. Already fairly trimmed too. I'm going to have to cook this damn thing an extra few hours. Anyone ever finished the brisket off in the oven once wrapped? I am trying to speed up the time here without having to wrap in foil. I was thinking foil pan in oven after the paper wrap at 250.  Also, would save a ton of fuel having to finish this beast off.

 

Don't be scared of more meat! 

And I have been finishing mine wrapped in the oven lately.  Works great.  Several discussion have been had in here about it.

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On 9/9/2021 at 1:17 PM, utee94 said:

Sure you can finish in the oven.  For a brisket that size I'd go 6-7 hours on the smoke, and then the rest you can do in the oven.

Edit: Also, don't be afraid to crank the heat of the pit up to 290-300.  I spent decades doing 225, and it's great because it's fool-proof.  But for the past few years I've switched to almost 300, with zero decrease in quality, and substantial decrease in cooking time.  Good Luck We're All Counting On You.

All of this.  My stick burner eats woods like South Austin's mom eats...well, wood.  I have finished the last few in the oven. I get the coloring and bark I want, wrap in paper, leave in the smoke a bit further and then transition to the oven to complete. 

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