Hello All-- Last sunday I attempted (after reading every suggestion on this site and a few others) a smoked brisket in my brand new Weber One Touch Silver/Cajun Bandit mod. It was a special occasion, so I went all out and got the Snake River Farms Wagyu Brisket. 15lbs for 85 bucks. I arranged for the Brisket to hit my door Friday, with an expected smoke start late saturday evening. The Wagyu was frozen solid, but the packaging was excellent. An afternoon in a plastic recycling tub under the cold water faucet in my bathtub had the beast thawed safely. Saturday night I made the rub:
1/4 cup ground Pasilla Chili
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tbs ground cumin
3 tbs ground black pepper
2 tbs light brown sugar
2 tbs spanish paprika
1 heaping teaspoon Cavender's all Purpose Greek Seasoning
Then I trimmed the Brisket. There was a ton of fat, and the process was messy (knives should have been sharper!), but I got the cap down to a nice even 1/4 inch on top, and removed a pretty good V from the Point.
I rubbed the Brisket down a couple of hours before smoke time and set her back in the fridge.
At Midnight I loaded the Weber with unlit coals and 4 pcs Hickory, then topped it off with about 30 lit coals from the chimney starter.
Dry Water Pan, No Mop.
At 2430, I put the Brisket on the bottom rack, fat side up (read so many posts suggesting both up and down that I just picked 'up' arbitrarily).
I dropped an Oneida Candy therm through one of the vents, and dangled my Polder digital through another one, until the probe tip was just above the bottom grate.
Outside Temp was a chilly 50, and there was a fair bit of wind. Not too awful for an overnighter.
Cooking log: (I planned roughly for a 12 hour cook time, with a 5pm eat time the following day)
By 0130, temp was 260.
by 0230-- 270
by 0300-- 280 (Yikes!)
Top vents open all the way, bottom vents open 1/4, and then closed all the way, but still, I was running way too hot. I wanted low and slow, 225-250. I had a decision to make. Having never made a brisket, I didn't want to venture into the world of high-heat. I had 80 bucks of meat in there and I wanted to do her 'by the book.'
I also didn't want to add water. So I CAREFULLY took off the top 2 sections of the Bandit and set her down. Then I pulled out maybe 1/3 of the lit coals from the ring. I put the thing back together, and within ten mins, 235 from the lid, 227 from the grate. And it stayed that way, barely moving.
By 0900 (I took a nap between 7 and 9) the temp dropped to 170. I added some unlit charcoal, and she was back up to 225, right on the button. (Did I mention that I plopped four racks of St. Louis Ribs on the top grate at 11 AM? Man does not live by Brisket alone).
At 010:00-- I put the polder into the flat-- 160. Still some resistance.
At 12: 30-- the Polder read 190. Went into the flat and the point like butter.
I pulled her, double wrapped in foil, then placed in a cooler, wrapped in not only a towel, but the insulated packing material Snake river farms had shipped her in.
At 530, I unwrapped the Brisket. Still piping hot. And here's where I have to apologize for not knowing how to post pix. It was GORGEOUS. A deep, crusty bark. The meat 'wobbled' a little when poked. My first guest at the party was a Chef here in NYC, one who'd just won the James Beard 'rising chef' award. I cut off a piece and made him my guinea pig. 'Frickin' Unbelievable' he said. Only he didn't say 'frickin.'
He said it was the best brisket he'd ever had. And then he had a piece of the point. And changed his mind. Said that was the best piece he ever had.
Honestly, the flavor and texture was unbelievable. The point was rich to the point of sensory overload. It was so incredibly marbled that after 3 bites, my heart sort of shot me a look that said, 'whoa, pal, whaddya doing to me?'
I write this not to pat myself on the back (well, maybe a little), but to commend all those on the VWBB for their tips, without which I couldn't have pulled this off.
And I also have to admit that the Wagyu likely had a lot to do with it. I'd read so much about Texas Crutches and mops and foiling that I'd bought ribs as a safety backup, in case I screwed the Briskie up. But no liquid ever touched the Brisket, no injections, no nothing. I even made BBQ sauce, and laid it on the table next to the Brisket-- no one touched it. the meat was so rich, flavorful, that it would have been sacrilegious.
The product was so high quality that all that was required of me was to keep an eye on the fire (all night long-- not sure I'll be doing that again anytime soon). But it was worth it. NYC doesn't have much in the way of good BBQ, but Sunday's brisket was better than I've had at any of the reputable joints around here. Just wanted to share my success story.
Next up, Pork Butt... as long as it doesn't take all night long
1/4 cup ground Pasilla Chili
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tbs ground cumin
3 tbs ground black pepper
2 tbs light brown sugar
2 tbs spanish paprika
1 heaping teaspoon Cavender's all Purpose Greek Seasoning
Then I trimmed the Brisket. There was a ton of fat, and the process was messy (knives should have been sharper!), but I got the cap down to a nice even 1/4 inch on top, and removed a pretty good V from the Point.
I rubbed the Brisket down a couple of hours before smoke time and set her back in the fridge.
At Midnight I loaded the Weber with unlit coals and 4 pcs Hickory, then topped it off with about 30 lit coals from the chimney starter.
Dry Water Pan, No Mop.
At 2430, I put the Brisket on the bottom rack, fat side up (read so many posts suggesting both up and down that I just picked 'up' arbitrarily).
I dropped an Oneida Candy therm through one of the vents, and dangled my Polder digital through another one, until the probe tip was just above the bottom grate.
Outside Temp was a chilly 50, and there was a fair bit of wind. Not too awful for an overnighter.
Cooking log: (I planned roughly for a 12 hour cook time, with a 5pm eat time the following day)
By 0130, temp was 260.
by 0230-- 270
by 0300-- 280 (Yikes!)
Top vents open all the way, bottom vents open 1/4, and then closed all the way, but still, I was running way too hot. I wanted low and slow, 225-250. I had a decision to make. Having never made a brisket, I didn't want to venture into the world of high-heat. I had 80 bucks of meat in there and I wanted to do her 'by the book.'
I also didn't want to add water. So I CAREFULLY took off the top 2 sections of the Bandit and set her down. Then I pulled out maybe 1/3 of the lit coals from the ring. I put the thing back together, and within ten mins, 235 from the lid, 227 from the grate. And it stayed that way, barely moving.
By 0900 (I took a nap between 7 and 9) the temp dropped to 170. I added some unlit charcoal, and she was back up to 225, right on the button. (Did I mention that I plopped four racks of St. Louis Ribs on the top grate at 11 AM? Man does not live by Brisket alone).
At 010:00-- I put the polder into the flat-- 160. Still some resistance.
At 12: 30-- the Polder read 190. Went into the flat and the point like butter.
I pulled her, double wrapped in foil, then placed in a cooler, wrapped in not only a towel, but the insulated packing material Snake river farms had shipped her in.
At 530, I unwrapped the Brisket. Still piping hot. And here's where I have to apologize for not knowing how to post pix. It was GORGEOUS. A deep, crusty bark. The meat 'wobbled' a little when poked. My first guest at the party was a Chef here in NYC, one who'd just won the James Beard 'rising chef' award. I cut off a piece and made him my guinea pig. 'Frickin' Unbelievable' he said. Only he didn't say 'frickin.'
He said it was the best brisket he'd ever had. And then he had a piece of the point. And changed his mind. Said that was the best piece he ever had.
Honestly, the flavor and texture was unbelievable. The point was rich to the point of sensory overload. It was so incredibly marbled that after 3 bites, my heart sort of shot me a look that said, 'whoa, pal, whaddya doing to me?'
I write this not to pat myself on the back (well, maybe a little), but to commend all those on the VWBB for their tips, without which I couldn't have pulled this off.
And I also have to admit that the Wagyu likely had a lot to do with it. I'd read so much about Texas Crutches and mops and foiling that I'd bought ribs as a safety backup, in case I screwed the Briskie up. But no liquid ever touched the Brisket, no injections, no nothing. I even made BBQ sauce, and laid it on the table next to the Brisket-- no one touched it. the meat was so rich, flavorful, that it would have been sacrilegious.
The product was so high quality that all that was required of me was to keep an eye on the fire (all night long-- not sure I'll be doing that again anytime soon). But it was worth it. NYC doesn't have much in the way of good BBQ, but Sunday's brisket was better than I've had at any of the reputable joints around here. Just wanted to share my success story.
Next up, Pork Butt... as long as it doesn't take all night long
