Since it is 100*+ here in Texas... the only logical thing to do is cook brisket! I have really been into trying new ways of making brisket recently and below are the latest two attempts. Both were done on a Weber 22 kettle with a smokenator, heatermeter and hickory chunks. The smoker temp was 250* for both cooks until the internal temp was 202*. At that point off the smoker, wrapped in towels and then rested for ~2 hours.
In the past I have used the traditional Texas crutch (wrapping in foil and adding some liquid) which normally yields a super moist brisket but no bark on the meat.
8/1 cook: brisket flat with no "crutch", stayed on the smoker the entire time.
This was an interesting cook. Not adding the crutch definitely extended the cook time by about 2 hours or so. The flavor was intense and the bark was well formed. The meat was drier than I wanted, but it chopped brisket sandwiches and eggs/brisket were great!
8/9 cook: brisket flat with butcher paper "crutch"
I have seen the pros (Aaron Franklin) use this method and thought it would be fun to try. Wrapped the brisket at 163* in the butcher paper and then let it come up to 202*. The flavor was less intense, similar to the foil method that I have been using in the past. However, there was still some well formed bark on the meat! The meat was still very moist and was the centerpiece of the dinner.
In addition to the brisket, I tried my hand at home made sausage. Chicken, jalapeno, and cheddar cheese was the first batch. Overall they turned out awesome! Straight off the grill they were a little heavy, but after the rest and reheat on the smoker they were fantastic!
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I was able to stay hydrated through all of this with one of my new favorites... Thanks for looking!
In the past I have used the traditional Texas crutch (wrapping in foil and adding some liquid) which normally yields a super moist brisket but no bark on the meat.
8/1 cook: brisket flat with no "crutch", stayed on the smoker the entire time.
This was an interesting cook. Not adding the crutch definitely extended the cook time by about 2 hours or so. The flavor was intense and the bark was well formed. The meat was drier than I wanted, but it chopped brisket sandwiches and eggs/brisket were great!
8/9 cook: brisket flat with butcher paper "crutch"
I have seen the pros (Aaron Franklin) use this method and thought it would be fun to try. Wrapped the brisket at 163* in the butcher paper and then let it come up to 202*. The flavor was less intense, similar to the foil method that I have been using in the past. However, there was still some well formed bark on the meat! The meat was still very moist and was the centerpiece of the dinner.
In addition to the brisket, I tried my hand at home made sausage. Chicken, jalapeno, and cheddar cheese was the first batch. Overall they turned out awesome! Straight off the grill they were a little heavy, but after the rest and reheat on the smoker they were fantastic!
[
I was able to stay hydrated through all of this with one of my new favorites... Thanks for looking!
