$2/lbs Brisket and Time Management

So two weeks ago I saw Kroger was having brisket on sale for $1.99/lbs. Finally!  My time has come to smoke a brisket.

I picked up two packer cuts. Both were a bit larger than I wanted (15 & 16 lbs, and I wanted more in the 12 lbs range) but these were the smallest they had. I think that's why it was on sale to deplete their inventory. But hey, I was happy.

Time Management

So, my younger son works now and he's been the one egging me on to do brisket on the smoker.  Since my availability to use the smoker is on the weekends, and he (more or less) works on the weekend, coordinating this so it's ready for a family meal before he rushes off to work can sometimes be a chore. When he told me he had to work at 6pm on Saturday I did some quick calculations and realized I would have to start about 2am.  Figured 12 hours on the smoker, 1 hour rest, time to eat, clean up and get ready.  Should work out.

But this also means I had a 'hard stop' for cooking at 2pm, regardless how ready it is.  More on that later.

The Smoker

See? I remembered this time!

Before I go any further, if you read my last post you know of my struggle with keeping the fire going.

This round I remembered to add back the grate. Now oxygen can get underneath the fire and it won't smother like last time.

Also, it was cold Friday night when I was preparing everything.  Close to (but not quite) freezing overnight.  Since outside temperature can have an effect on the smoker as well, I decided to do two chimneys of charcoal, instead of just one to get a pretty goof fire going. Lots of heat. And get the main chamber up to temp a lot quicker.

So, after lighting the chimneys, it was time to trim and season the brisket.

The Meat

Trim away! Trim away! Trim away!
(Apologies to Enya fans)

I chose the smaller 15 lbs packer because with the larger one I'm going to split the flat from the point (flat is the leaner chunk of muscle and the point is the fattier chunk, sort of sitting on top of the flat, connected by a good amount of fat) and make pastrami with the flat and barbacoa with the point. But that's another blog post.

I trimmed as much as I dared.  Some areas are easy. Some parts of the fat was just unusually hard and you can tell it won't render when cooked, so those pieces to cut were easy. For everything else, my patronus, Aaron Franklin, says try to trim to about a 1/4" of fat. That should be enough to fully render during the cooking.

Ready for the Smoker!

For fun, I tried weighing how much fat was trimmed, just to see what the final result of a 15 lbs brisket.  So first, we started with a 15.75 lbs brisket.  The trim pieces came to about 1.6 lbs. So now we're at about 14.15 lbs of brisket. Not bad.

Now, to season it. Again, my patronus suggests a 50/50 blend of salt and cracked black pepper. In the past I've used store bought rubs and made my own adding garlic, onions, cumin and sugar. All are good, but I wanted to try Central Texas barbecue this round and see how it goes. So, loaded up the shaker and rubbed generously all over the meat.

The Cook

See you in about 4 hours.

Coals: in the firebox. Oak logs: igniting. Brisket: trimmed and rubbed. Smoker: nice 275 degrees. Time to get  the meat on the grill.

Set the meat, close the door aaaannnndddd....wait. (And drink beer - Shiner Blonde this round)

Don't worry. I only had two. It was already 2am when I started cooking.

Fire management was a LOT better this round. But that's not to say I still didn't encounter problems.

The wood I got was oak cut for firewood. The pieces were huge. Some pieces wouldn't even fit in the firebox. But even the ones that did, they were so large pieces it caused its own issues of smothering the fire, or when it finally catches it would get the temperature too hot, meaning cut the oxygen and choke the fire.

4 Hours cook time

I separate all the wood pieces from smallest (about 2-3" diameter) to largest, with the hopes when I get to the larger ones enough time will have passed I can break out the electric saw and cut these without it being too early for the neighbors.

My routine that night was pretty simple. Check temperature, add/stoke wood as necessary, set time for 30 minutes, power nap, repeat. After a few hours of this I was able to increase the time to 45 minutes, but wouldn't dare go longer than that.

Four hours in, curiosity got to me and I had to check (and take a picture). Looks good so far. Plus I had two smaller pieces in there I was using to make pinto beans to go with lunch today, so I retrieved those.

How Cold Was It?

Inner Space Cavers got nuttin' on me

So, to give you an idea how chilly it was overnight, my grease drippings I collected in a tin was cooling before collecting and I had a sort of beef tallow stalagmite.

8 House Later

8 hours later

Eight Hours passed and it was getting close to wrap for the final leg of the cook. I did a quick temperature check: the point was about 175 and the flat was about 160. I expected this difference since the heat direction hit the point side first (it has more fat so it can take the 'brunt' of the heat in the cook) but was a little concerned the flat was a bit low for me.  So I wrapped the meat and placed back in the smoker, this time flat side facing the firebox.

Another 4 hours and it should be ready...

...should be.

The Final Hour and Rest

So, eleven hours in and I started checking temperatures.  Point was at about 190 and the flat was hovering about 180.

So, real quick. Lots of people know that when cooking, say ground beef, you achieve an internal temperature of 165 and it's done. Not the case with brisket.  I don't know the magic that's involved, but basically the answer to this riddle is "If you overcook it, it gets tender" which goes against every cook's fundamentals regarding when a piece of meat is done.

And apparently, about 203 degrees is done.

As I mentioned above, I'm on a time limit. Son has to be at work by 6pm. It's 1pm. I've got another hour before pulling from the smoker, and there's another hour of rest and roughly 20-ish minutes to prep everything else for lunch. So, 3:30pm for dinner is the goal.

And right now it's underdone.

I won't bore you with the details, but basically the next hour was spend closely monitoring the temperature and by the time it was ready to pull, it was at about 195 for the point and 188 for the flat. It'll have to do.

I pull, bring into the kitchen and let it rest for an hour.

New Toy

Say 'Hello' to my little friend!

So, after it rested for an hour, it was still plenty warm to the touch.  In the meantime I finished the beans and cornbread and got everything ready, waiting for the brisket at the last minute.

Now it was time to unwrap and slice. I got me a new 12-in stainless carving knife specifically for slicing brisket.

And let me tell you, it cut through like buttuh! Nice smoke ring. Juicy. Smokey goodness,  And I really like the 50/50 salt/pepper blend. It really highlights the meat instead of masking it.

Now, those little 10-20 degree differences in the point and flat?  Flavor was there, but there was definitely some toughness still I could tell (You're your own worse critic as they say) but the family really enjoyed it.  And any barbecue you can still eat is always a success.

Takeaways

The end result!  Smoked carcass!

So, overall it was a success. There were some missteps along the way, but nothing detrimental. Just little tweaks needed here and there.

And that's the point of the blog.  To record my experience and learn from my mistakes and missteps along the way.

So, what did I learn?

• Wood needs to be smaller pieces (no wider than 2.5" in diameter)
• Try to use a smaller (12-ish lbs) brisket. 15 lbs was just too much.
• Take into account longer cook periods. Especially if you're trying to have it ready by a specific time.  Easier to start earlier and be done and keep warm, than to have to pull before it's ready.

Bad Blogger! Bad! Bad! Blogger!

I'm a tease!

So, I teased in Facebook, stating a new blog was in the works. Then I did the unthinkable: I forgot to get pictures of the actual barbecuing. Sorry.

I can blame it on the lack of sleep, too excited how it turned out, too much work with the fire and didn't have time, etc, etc. But in the end, I didn't take pictures. But I still think I can salvage a decent post about my smoker's maiden voyage:

So, Saturday, October 27 turned to be a fine day (early morning) to launch my smoker and indoctrinate it with its first meat: pork butt.

I know, I know - we're in Texas and we're 'The Beef People' but my choice was due to a few factors:

• I make a mean White Chicken Chili (won best chili at work) and the family has been clamoring for me to make it again (October is Texas Chili Month after all) but my wife has developed an allergy to poultry over the past few years. Seemed unfair to make something she either can't eat, or will and get hives from it if she does eat it. So, since pork is 'the other white meat' I thought I'd try it.
• Cheapest I could find brisket at the time was $2.69/lbs A bit expensive for me as I usually see it in sale closer to $1.99-2.25
• I like pulled pork. So sue me. Probably due to my heritage of my dad and grandparents growing up in North Carolina (I even like livermush)

So pork it is! Nice 8 lbs pork butt ready for the smoker.

The Prep

Charcoal all fired up

I start my smoker to get it warmed up for the long smoke. I fill my chimney starter with lump charcoal and light 'er up and wait.

Now, part of the reason for this blog is for something for me to do, but also hoping others might pick up a tip here and there based on my successes and mistakes. This was one of those mistakes I hope you get a tip from:

After cleaning my smoker from my seasoning fire, I forgot to add back the firebox grate for the charcoal to rest on so oxygen can get underneath the fire. Yea, dumb, rookie mistake. But more on the consequences from that later.

I dumped the red-hot charcoal in the firebox (sans fire grate) when I realized my mistake. Too hot to do anything now, so I just went with it and place a post oak log on it to catch. A few minutes later, I was in business and closed the lid to get it going.

Next, I pulled out the pork and applied a rub. I'm not one to hide recipes. If others did that as well, I'd never understand how to cook or smoke. It's a simple rub of:

• 1/3 part salt
• 1/3 part cracked pepper
• 1/3 part of combined (equal parts):
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Hungarian paprika

Mix well and put in shaker.

In the past when I've done pulled pork, I add brown sugar to give a little sweetness. But I've learned that sugar burns, especially when on a smoker for 12 hours, so I left it out this time.

So, I've rubbed my butt (snicker) and my smoker is slowly warming up to 275 degrees to put it on.

The Smoker

Last post, I discussed making modifications to my smoker. Now I get to put it to the test.

No leaks here

First, the sealants. After sealing the seams & lining the lids with a high temperature gasket, with the smoker going, nary a leak detected.

Less leaked smoke means less leaked heat and better control over the cooking temperature.  Success!

Next is the new thermometer. I kept the old one and have it in place where the pre-drilled hole is in the top-left of the main door for now, just to see how much of a temperature difference there is between it and the new thermometer and its location.

290 degrees - a bit hot

First, I like how the new gauge is easier to read. Blue means a cold smoke (100-225 degree range), red means hot smoke (225-350 range) and white is just too hot, requiring immediate attention before the meat becomes a briquette itself.

So after adding a water pan in the smoker (to add moisture to the air and prevent drying of the meat), the pork butt, closing the lid and getting back up to a temperature of 275, I compared the two gauges.

Gauge one, the new one I installed, is set about meat level (about an inch above where the grate is) and at a point where I would have the tip of the meat reach so I know what the temperature would be once it hits said meat. 275. The temperature I want it.

260 - that's a huge difference
(and the last of the pictures taken - sorry)

Next gauge is the one that came with the smoker. It's high and near the back where the meat would be so I know it isn't as accurate as I want it to be, but for fun right now I have it installed just to see.

260 degrees! This was taken at the same time I took the above picture, so that's about a 30 degree difference. Granted, it's not 100% accurate - as mentioned, it's too high and not a great thermometer I'm told, but still I think it gives an idea how the temperature changes as it moves through the smoker.

So, smoker is smoking, meat is on, water pan filled, check the temperature, all good.  It's about 5:30am, so in about 13 hours, we'll have pulled pork for dinner.

Blue Smoke

Blue smoke is a new concept for me, I only heard about maybe a month ago when I was considering getting my new smoker. For those that don't know, apparently thick, billowy, white or gray smoke coming from your smoker is actually a bad thing. I say 'apparently' because with my Bradley electric smoker, that's all it produced and I assumed visible smoke = good.

Apparently that's not the case. Visible smoke means the fuel isn't burning cleanly. Not enough oxygen getting to it and therefore smolders the wood. That whiteness you see in smoke is creosote. Creosote makes your foods bitter to the taste, which, I just assumed meant good barbecue. Silly me.

The actual best thing you want for your smoker, is practically no smoke as all (how's that for irony) and you want your fuel to burn cleanly (no smoldering) and the smoke chimney should emit almost no smoke with an almost blue tint or haze to it. That's your goal. That's what gives your meats that 'smoke' flavor without the bitterness.

Now, remember above when I said I forgot to put back the firebox grate? Yea, welcome to Creosote-city, population me and my butt.

Without the grate, no oxygen was getting underneath the fire. And the ashes it's producing is smothering the heat and flames below it causing it to smolder and, you guessed it, thick, billowy, white smoke. I mean, THICK!

Plus my temperature control for the smoker was really difficult to keep a consistent temp. I was back to using a fan to blow on the coals to get the temperature up and stop smoldering. It was pissing me off. It wasn't nearly as hard keeping this temperature when I seasoned it. I felt like I was back to my bullet smoker. Now I understand why I had to work so much with it.

There were a few moments I had the right temperature and clean burn, but not many. I would say maybe 20% of the time (2+ hours not in a row) I was okay, but the other 80% (8-ish hours) it was me vs fire.

Lesson learned: Make sure I have the firebox grill installed. If not, just move the coals somewhere to add it and add back the coals. It was NOT worth it how much energy I had to put into this.

The Wrap

So, after about 10 hours of almost constant fighting, I threw in the towel (so to say): I cheated. I preheated my oven to 275, grabbed some aluminum foil, sprayed down the butt with apple cider vinegar, wrapped it and finished the cook in the oven.

I know it's cheating, but it's absorbed plenty of smoke flavor (and creosote) during that time, and now I just needed to get that sucker cooked.

A few hours later and it finally reached 165 internal temperature.  I pulled it our of the oven and let it rest another 90 minutes (still wrapped) before pulling.

The Results

So, pork is pulled. I'm exhausted & frustrated. But I got to say, even with all these setbacks, it actually turned out pretty good. Definitely a heavy smoke flavor (which I like) with some bitterness (now that I've become aware of this it's now more noticeable when I can taste it) but really, it wasn't bad.

As for the White Chicken Chili I mentioned above?  Took about 3 lbs of the smoked pork and substituted it for the chicken. I think between the smokey flavor and the pulled pork texture instead of ground/cubed chicken it's actually a bit better now. But White Pork Chili doesn't have the same ring to it as White Chicken, so I'll need to work on a new title for it. Maybe 'Honky Butt Chili' or something equally ridiculous.

Conclusion and Lessons (Hopefully) Learned

So in the end I'm marking this a success because all the pork was consumed over time. But there were some take-aways from this and hope to improve on:

1. Take pictures (Sorry about that)
2. Make sure the fire grate is in place, and if not when you dump the coals, move the coals out to some fire-retardant receptacle and add it!
3. Hopefully with #2 in place, I won't need to fight the fire so much and can keep a steady temperature more consistently, and achieve that elusive blue smoke.
4. I think I'm getting another temperature gauge and install it grate-level near the back so I can get a more accurate temperature.

So, all things considered, an exhausting but tasty maiden voyage for my smoker, and any time you can eat what you cooked, regardless of how much effort went into it, is a success.

Next post: Kroger has brisket for $1.99/lbs! Guess what's smoking this weekend!