brisket smoke question


 
G

Glenn Fleming

TVWBB Fan
been checking out different ideas on doing briskets and read one site that said too use only lit charcoal and hardly any wood at all since the brisket absorbs smoke like a sponge and will make it bitter.. hmmm still like the minion method and use a good amount of wood chunks at the beginning, got a really nice smoke ring on friday.. any thoughts???

glenn in sc
 
Glenn, if you don't use wood, it ain't no good, and to be honest, a lot of folks don't know what good brisket is, anyway. I think the reason you see that bit about a brisket soaking up smoke is from a lot of "bad smoke" which is typical of a lot of cookers and inexperience. For the wsm, I'd use at least four fist-sized chunks of nutwood like hickory or oak, maybe a couple more if mixing with apple or cherry.

Regarding wood though, the very best brisket is smoked on a wood-burning pit by someone that knows how to burn a clean fire with nothing BUT wood; oak, specifically.
 
During barbecue, meat does not absorb smoke, notwithstanding all you've read - and will likely read - to the contrary. Smoke particulates stick to meat.

I'm with Dave on the wood - use it - though not the amount. I use a bit more than 1/4 of that, but it's a 'to taste' thing. I do not like fist-sized anything, so hatchet a couple pieces that size into 5 or 6 pieces each. Then I use about 8 or 9 of those pieces, whether I use a kettle or WSM.

Try with wood first, whatever amount you wish, then moderate up or down on future cooks till you find the amount you like.

[Can't say that I agree with the 'very best brisket' being smoked in a wood-burning pit.]
 
thanx guys, yea i usually take a chisel and chop up the chunks a bit works nice..my last smoke went really well with stubbs now getting ready for the next smoke..

thanks again Glenn ins SC
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
...[Can't say that I agree with the 'very best brisket' being smoked in a wood-burning pit.] </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oops, can't believe I let that slip 'round here.
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lol dave.. just had dinner. did a whole chicken. brined it kinda last minute salt brown sugar little jack daniels and lemon zest. threw some rub on and on too the kettle using the weber charcoal separaters.. BBQd bout 75 minutes with a little oak at around 325 degrees.. really nice deal..

glenn in SC
 
The bird sounds fantastic. I grilled a few filets rubbed with some olive oil and Montreal just this evening on the kettle. You can only guess what I tossed onto the edge of my lump.
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I'm surprised I don't hear more about oak for chicken. That's all they had left at Academy Sports when we went down to MS for the labor day weekend family reunion, so oak it was for the big stickburner we cooked the leg quarters on. The oak smoke gives meat such a flavor that you hardly need any other seasoning. At least that's what some of 'em say in the Texas hill country.
 
i got some much oak chunks i will never use it up.. i bought a 40lb 4way box from chigger creek in april and hardly may a dent, good stuff though, also got a small amount from smokelicous really good chunks.. ever try one of the coffee rubs on brisket??? look interesting..

glenn in SC
 
glenn, have you ever cooked a brisket with mesquite, mesquite and beef are a match made in heaven. A lot of cooks give mesquite a bad rap, but the bottom line is they are just using to much. A little mesquite goes a long way. What ever you decide to do good luck.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">ever try one of the coffee rubs on brisket??? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Often. See here. And I make others for bison and beef steaks. Works well.
 
i love mesquite, but u are right i have not used it cuse of the bad rap, but i will try a chunk next time mixed in.. just wonder bout the quality of the chunks sold in the box stores??


glenn in SC
 
Like mesquite for grilling, can't stand it for Q. But try it and see what you think.

Mesquite from the box stores should be fine.
 
good advice... gotta start using up some of the red oak i got , maybe throw in a small chunk of mesquite.football season is here time too let it roll, finally cooled off here..

glenn in sc
 
kevin & dave & crew.. what is the opinion of the best brisket too buy?? is waygu worth it?? just tried an all natrual, pretty good, is CAB that much better than regular choice.. CAB is 5 bux per pound where i am at, so was the all natrual.. thanx

glenn in SC
 
Too poor for the pricey stuff. I get choice briskets from Sam's, and sometimes Wal-mart has choice. It seems the ungraded ones end up less tasty and drier to me.
 
Neither Sam's nor Walmart buy no-roll beef. They only buy graded. The lack of a grade on individual packages in actually standard, though many stores will apply the carcass grade to their packages (it comes from the packing crate) if they want to tout it, as many do with Choice and certainly with Prime. I would assume any packages without a grade are Select, the grade both Sam's and Walmart buy plenty of.

I am quite fond of Wagyu. It is worth it to me. (It, and Prime, are the only cuts I cook low/slow.) CAB brisket is from the top 30% of Choice. It might be worth it if the Choice you tend to get is from the lower end. Unless you are familiar with the difference, buy A CAB and see what you think.

I can usually find non-CAB/high Choice brisket so don't spend the money, especially in Florida where I can buy really good no-roll. (I don't find Angus a big deal.) In Oklahoma decent brisket is ubiquitous. I've only passed by the brisket in Vegas thus far, not having yet cooked any. Soon perhaps.
 
good info kevin.. the all natrual one i did friday was pretty good but thin in the flat.. i did a 14lb choice 1855 which is supposed too be like CAB, pretty good also.. may try a wagyu but that will have too be mail order and that really jacks up the cost, paradise meats aslo sells what they call a vintage beef brisket, just gotta find some folks too split the cost with me. maybe OU TX weekend?? hmmm 12 noon kickoff may work perfect..LOL go sooners


glenn in SC
 
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