I'm sitting here with our new power generator happily putt-putting out back - Jack could hardly wait until the power went out (yet again) to try it out. Power's been off for 6+ hours so far, courtesy of hurricane Ivan. Must be a tree down. Other conditions are not bad here, thank goodness. The heavy rains are about over but the winds are picking up a lot.
I cooked a 6.3-pound, 2-inch thick, brisket flat yesterday at 225*F for 11 hours (I ballparked it for 8 hours, so dinner was a little late....again) to 180-185*F internal. Pulled it off the WSM, did not add any liquid, wrapped it in Original Saran and 2 layers of foil and into a preheated-cooler for 3-4 hours wrapped in a thick towel. Used 25 ounces pecan chunks (close; next time I'll use 23 ounces) - we're not into really big smoke.
I didn't rub the meat until 30-60 minutes before I put it onto the smoker. I'd rubbed my previous brisket the night before and it lost a lot of juice overnight - never again.
The fat was trimmed a little too close (Costco) so I covered the rubbed meat with thick slices of salt pork. I didn't turn the meat, but basted it with apple juice at the halves (based on an 8-hour cook), then at 30-minute intervals until the meat read 180-185*F internally.
The smoke ring went all the way through the meat...glorious! And the meat was nice and moist, and very tender. There was very little excess juice in the wrapping - it stayed in the meat.
Thank goodness I saw Chris's mention of Paul Kirk's suggestion to trim off a slice of meat from the edge/corner, across the grain, before cooking, to act as a guide for slicing the cooked meat. It was pretty hard to see the grain of the meat after it was cooked.
The meat looked quite dark when I took it off the WSM, but the flavor was great; no sign of a burnt/overcooked flavor.
For a sauce, I made two, with Paul Kirk's Beefy Honey Barbecue Sauce from his new book ("Championship Barbecue Sauce," p. 151) being the clear winner. It was almost like a gravy. Note: you might want to leave out the 1 teaspoon kosher salt - the consomme is pretty salty on its own. Also, I held back the honey and cooked the sauce as directed, let the sauce cool to lukewarm, and then stirred in the honey.
So thanks, Jim Minion, for the top-notch (as always) guidance. I owe ya one! Actually, a couple!
Not braggin' -- just thrilled!
Rita
I cooked a 6.3-pound, 2-inch thick, brisket flat yesterday at 225*F for 11 hours (I ballparked it for 8 hours, so dinner was a little late....again) to 180-185*F internal. Pulled it off the WSM, did not add any liquid, wrapped it in Original Saran and 2 layers of foil and into a preheated-cooler for 3-4 hours wrapped in a thick towel. Used 25 ounces pecan chunks (close; next time I'll use 23 ounces) - we're not into really big smoke.
I didn't rub the meat until 30-60 minutes before I put it onto the smoker. I'd rubbed my previous brisket the night before and it lost a lot of juice overnight - never again.
The fat was trimmed a little too close (Costco) so I covered the rubbed meat with thick slices of salt pork. I didn't turn the meat, but basted it with apple juice at the halves (based on an 8-hour cook), then at 30-minute intervals until the meat read 180-185*F internally.
The smoke ring went all the way through the meat...glorious! And the meat was nice and moist, and very tender. There was very little excess juice in the wrapping - it stayed in the meat.
Thank goodness I saw Chris's mention of Paul Kirk's suggestion to trim off a slice of meat from the edge/corner, across the grain, before cooking, to act as a guide for slicing the cooked meat. It was pretty hard to see the grain of the meat after it was cooked.
The meat looked quite dark when I took it off the WSM, but the flavor was great; no sign of a burnt/overcooked flavor.
For a sauce, I made two, with Paul Kirk's Beefy Honey Barbecue Sauce from his new book ("Championship Barbecue Sauce," p. 151) being the clear winner. It was almost like a gravy. Note: you might want to leave out the 1 teaspoon kosher salt - the consomme is pretty salty on its own. Also, I held back the honey and cooked the sauce as directed, let the sauce cool to lukewarm, and then stirred in the honey.
So thanks, Jim Minion, for the top-notch (as always) guidance. I owe ya one! Actually, a couple!
Not braggin' -- just thrilled!
Rita
