food smoking are you a smoker of meats? can you help? share your recipes!

[bigmike&nan]

I also post on a private cuban cigar bb, and had a buddy of mine also from Texas read me the riot act the other day - most over the fact that I tear down the brisket into two portions and cook one at a time. After explaining to him it's just me and the wife eating it (read me eating it mostly) I got a note authorizing it was ok from him. LOL

One thing about my "method" - the pics of my smoker may make it look huge, really the shelves are only 14 inches x 14 inches. I've seen some packers at my local Glory's Market that were more than 2 foot long, so I HAVE to slice her up some so she'll fit. LOL

You know everyone has their own way for doing stuff - I have only done 4 briskets so far so I'm still steep into the learning curve. I DO AGREE with you that based on what I've seen I am not cooking my brisket long enough. As for rubs and finishing sauces, foil or not foil and so on - everyone has their way. It's amazing to be on the Cookshack forum and see folks talking about what is proper Q as they call it, the geographical areas all have preferences to rubs, sauces and method but BOTTOM LINE is


never buy anything but a select packer trimmed brisket and never whittle on it afterwards. The reason I buy the cheaper cut is because after you melt the connective tissue (collagen, I think) there's not a bit of difference in them. I use only a dry rub on the fat cap side, which I turn up in the smoker (Smokeshack) and leave alone.


Wish I had access to the selection of packers I am sure you have in Texas - my buddy on the cigar bb says they have all different kinds of packers everywhere in Texas, my buddy says every meat market in Texas has what is commonly referred to as "commodity brisket", wow I am jealous. Now in Jersey we got all kinds of Italian specialties everywhere, but we're lacking a bit in the brisket selection. I've considered ordering Waygu (Kobe) briskets direct from Sams, but I think I agree with you - select or choice grade with MOST OF THE FAT left on it is the way to go. ALSO reading what a lot of the competition fellas talk about, they're trying to please judges so they cook hot and fast and remove a bit more of the fat going into the smoker - the last thing they want is a judge tasting fat. MY Judge (my wife) hates fat, if she sees fat on the doggone meat then I eat all of it. My aim is to make great Q but with my wife's sensitivities also in mind.

Today it is some pork brisket ribs (as the call them in Jersey). Had my rub on them and marinated them in 1/2 cup Coke and 1/2 cup fresh squeezed Cara Cara orange juice. Take them out of the marinade and into the smoker (cold smoker) with 1/2 cherry, 1/2 hickory wood....
Today is also large batch of fresh mayo, then KFC copy coleslaw (for my wife) and mac salad (for Mr. Carbo here). I did up a batch of mac and cheese last night and am considering starting some baked beans soaking tonight (we have rain Friday) - today I also tear down an 11 pound choice packer I got at Glorys the other day, just going to separate the flat from the tip. Busy day.



Good Q to ya !!

 

[bigmike&nan]

Busy man today, made fresh mayo, then macaroni salad, then KFC copy coleslaw, then my own BBQ sauce and all the while had those pork brisket ribs smoking with 1.8 oz apple wood and 2 oz cherry wood. 225 for 3 1/2 hours, midway flipped them so meat was facing down and sprayed with apple juice. Just pulled them, put them on foil, spread 2/3 bbq sauce 1/3 honey mixed on the meat, and then foiled each portion MEAT DOWN so they simmer by gravity in the sauce. They're now at 250 foiled and in one hour will remove and place meat side up about another 30 minutes so the sauce really sets. Then will double wrap in foil and a bath towel to keep warm until dinner time. Here's a great thread over at Cookshack where some of the serious old hands talk about competition style ribs vs home style ribs. There's a consensus that judges like sweet and hot... I love doing this stuff. I need to adopt a couple teenage boys so I can cook like this every day and not have so much leftover stuff - next day try something else.

http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5691028883/m/160105174

Oh Yeah for you hungry folk, my lunch. My trick to compensate for "undercooked brisket" is to slice it paper thin, place the slices in a Glad style microwave lunch container, drizzle about 1 tablespoon or so of water over the meat, cover and microwave about 1 minute on high. The moisture and heat help break down the last of the fat and it's so fall apart tender. I had BBQ sauce going in the oven so once the meat was warmed up put it on whole wheat (with fresh made this morning tarragon mayo) and then napped a slight amount of the hot sauce on the meat. The mac salad is awesome. Have a special request to post that recipe from a friend on Facebook I dedicate it to.

 

[bigmike&nan]

Now for the "pork brisket ribs" (that's what Sams Club calls them) I did up today. Put my rub on the ribs last night and into a 2 gallon zippered bag they went with 1/2 cup Coke and the juice of one Tara Tara Orange (about 1/2 cup juice and pulp) the oranges you get at Sams, they are almost red like a blood orange, doggone good, let that sit overnight. This morning early I got the smoker setup with a small hunk of cherry wood and apple wood in the wood box. Started the two rib sections one to a shelf, I never use the lowest shelf, too hot. 225 for 2 hours, flipped them meat side down sprayed with apple juice and 225 for another hour. Removed the ribs, placed each on heavy duty foil and napped a concoction of my sauce and honey (about 60-40) placed on the meat, placed the rib meat side down in the foil so the meat sorta simmers in the sauce, wrapped them up tight and into the smoker at 250 for an hour, removed from foil and placed meat side UP for one hour at 250 so the sauce set real nice. Now see those little rib bone ends sticking out, that's tender...

Gotta shower and make buttermilk biscuits for me and momma...

 

[slick4591]

I can see you are at a disadvantage with that smaller smoker, Mike. I have a friend that says he has to cut his large ones in half to cook. Must be one like yours. Many ways to cook good BBQ and I'm sure you know that. I have sorta been keeping up with this thread and when you wrote that you wanted to make BBQ like Texans I wanted to share my method. Your food looks great and I'm sure it tastes that way.

 

[h4ppy-chris]

fantastic posts mike as always i bet them ribs was to die for

 

[bigmike&nan]

Thank you everyone for your comments. I was a really busy guy Thursday, I made the mayo, then the two salads, had laundry going, sharpened all my knives, had the ribs smoking, and then made great biscuits. The ribs were really tasty, fall apart tender but it was the complex rub, meat flavors mingled with smoke and the tart sweet hot of a minimal amount of sauce that made it good.

Lastly I tore down that packer I had - I used a serrated slicer knife to shave the excess fat off it - left about 1/3 - 1/4 inch of fat on the top of the flat, separate the tip and freezer bagged it for later. Put a rub on the flat and into a zipper freezer bag with a marinade of Coke, orange juice and a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. I got that tip from a very well received recipe over at the Cookshack forum, even some of the conservative old times "liked" it... Now if the Rain Gods will assist I might smoke it today - or wait until tomorrow St. Patrick's Day to smoker her. Got an eye doctor appointment today so thinking I should just wait until tomorrow to smoke her...

And the wife didn't eat the ribs, even though I cut meat off the sections especially for her she passed - had grilled turkey with slices of swiss and dabs of my bbq sauce instead. See ??? Tough crowd.

 

[h4ppy-chris]

a lovely day to lite the UDS got a pork butt, 6 scotch eggs and 4 turds in there at the minuet
will post pix later once cooked.

 

[bigmike&nan]

Tore down a 10.5 lb packer I got from our local Mom & Pop store into the flat (5.5 lb) and tip portions (4 lb). Removed all by about 1/3 inch of fat from the flat and put my rub on it and then into a freezer bag with 1/2 cup Coke and 1/2 cup orange juice. The weather was spotty Friday so it sat in the marinade 2 days. Friday night I cleaned up the smoker, got the hickory and apple wood all ready in the wood box and started it at 08:30 at 225. Ran it at 225 until about 3 pm when the internal temp was at 192 for about 15 minutes. Laid it on heavy foil and put a finishing sauce of

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup catsup
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey

Wrapped it tight in the foil and continued cooking at 250 for another 90 minutes until the internal temp of the meat again was solidly 192 for about 20 minutes. Removed the packet from the smoker and let it rest one hour. It was just off the hook tender, fall apart tender. My wife (the measure of my success) LOVED it. I made a baked potato for myself and her some drop dead good bleu cheese dressing. Here's what we ate...



I would say after all my attempts which I liked that I finally NAILED what the brisket is supposed to be like, juicy and fall apart tender. And the biggest judge of my success is the wife, she doesn't like meat, so when I make meat she loves I know I did good.

 

[h4ppy-chris]

it's a good feeling mike when you get it good.

 

[Oregon Blues]

You smoke Scotch Eggs?