Marathon smoke underway


 
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Yes indeed, they are two gallon freezer bags.

I have been keeping an eye out for them for a long time. An eight pound butt is really tough to pack into a one gallon bag. It'll make it, but it's not easy. I picked them up at "Smart and Final", a west coast chain. It's their private label "Chef's Review". It was a box of 50 bags and it didn't cost very much. They have a zip-loc type of top, but there is no color coding to let me know I got it right.
 
Hey Chet,
Thanks for the link to Smart & Final. You can order them online. Just click........"shop online" "Maintenance & Safety Supplies" "Food Service" "Food Storage Bags" and you're there. Thanks a bunch Chet!

BR
 
The SAM's club where I shop sells the butts in the cryovac two at a time. I have not seen them sold as singles. They seem to run between 6.5 and 8 lbs a piece bone in. Has anybody tried the ribs at SAM's? I haven't yet but it looks like you get two slabs in cryovac.
 
When I have purchased ribs at Sams (loin back), they have come three to a pack. As to the butts, I guess it depends on the store. Here, they usually break them out and sell them seperately unless I specifically ask for the cryovac.
 
Hi Ken,

That's the way our Sam's is, too. And they don't sell the boneless here...Must be a regional thing.

I've bought many loin back ribs in cryovac from Sam's and they always come 3 to a pack..And from what I've read, Sam's has never had enhanced ribs
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My 2 gallon zip bags are the ZIPLOC FREEZER BAGS
they are tough to find. I picked mine up at a Super Wal-Mart.Hidden on the top shelf Hope This Helps. Bryan
 
An update. The butts are almost to my target of 195 degrees. Here's a photo. The Guru is in ramp mode so everything is going like clockwork. I'm starting to get worried about the time left for completion of the brisket.
 
Butts look great Chet. I did a 7lb flat last night it took 9.5 hrs but it was very very thick. Most of my flats usally take 6.5-7 hours but they are alot thinner than the one i did last night.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chet:
I'm starting to get worried about the time left for completion of the brisket. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Maybe you should have put the brisket on the bottom rack beneath the butts? You would have had the added benefit of the butts basting the brisket that way too.
I'm glad the Guru is working so well for you. I love mine.
 
Jeff, I think the brisket was on the bottom...the pics of the butts looked as if they were on the top...and the look great!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chet:
... Here's a photo ... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
ummm, look good, I can almost smell them! How many hours so far with Guru?
 
No, this brisket is not yet on. I was doing this in series so I would have a chance to reload the charcoal. I'm getting ready to pull the butts off and then I can get started loading up for the next round.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Greg Rempe:
Jeff, I think the brisket was on the bottom...the pics of the butts looked as if they were on the top...and the look great! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmmm.... I was going by Chet's original post which said:
"After dinner, I start two Butts and After the Butts are done, I have a lovely little brisket to go on tomorrow hopefully to have some for dinner."

Those butts do look great! Why am I stuck here at work instead of cooking something in my WSM?
 
I'm kind of glad I waited to start the brisket until after I had pulled the pork. After almost 40# of charcoal had burned down, I had a lot of really hot ash to deal with.

After giving it a little thought, I just poured it out onto a corner of my concrete slab patio and spread it out so it would cool down. I then restarted the WSM with a fresh full load.

That was a couple of hours ago and everything seems to be cruising along just fine. I separated the flat and point. They are both pretty thin so maybe this won't take as long

Crossing my fingers.
 
Chet: Looks great.

BTW...I called family in Carmichael and friends in Rancho Cordova...they should be over to UR place any time now. (LOL)
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>BTW...I called family in Carmichael and friends in Rancho Cordova... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If you had identified additional people in Roseville and Folsom, you would have had me surrounded.

I learned a lot this weekend. I was very happy with the ribs, although I should have cut the sauce a little. Uncut it was too thick, still mighty tasty. They had just enough tooth to hold together, but a slight tug and it practically melted like butter.

The pork butts are pretty much idiot proof. Although as someone else on this list said, "I put the idiot in idiot proof". Raichlen, in "The BBQ Bible" suggested using a carolina vinegar sauce for the cole slaw. Man oh man, was that good. I also made a generic cabbage/carrot/onion/mayo kind of slaw and it was pretty good too.

My biggest lesson is that I still don't know how to do brisket well. The lesson this weekend was on meat selection. I don't know everything that I don't know, but I do know that that was not a quality cut of meat.

Oh well, it was fun. I don't know that I'd want to try and keep the WSM fired up for a constant two days in a row very often, but it sure did stock up my refrigerator for a week or so of good eats.

Oh, one more lesson. A metal fire pan to dispose of almost spent fuel would be a good idea. Maybe a galvanized steel trash can or something. I've got a mess to clean up on my patio.
 
Chet you could get one of those 1/2 size galvanized trash cans. I use one for my coal stove ash in the winter. Glad to here it was a success. What's the problem with your briskets.
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The brisket challenge this time was that I find it hard to find a consistent high quality cut of meat to start with. Sometimes they are huge, with a point the size of a ham. Often times I will find a stack of points right next to the corned beef flats. Or like today, it was a runt with a very wierd textured fat cap that, after trimming, left me with small pieces that were not of a consistent thickness.

It's finishing up now. Who knows, it might be pretty tasty. It's just not very pretty.

This is only my second brisket attempt, so this is not abject resignation to my fate. I'll figure this out. Hope springs eternal.
 
I think it was stogie who told me a while back to seperate the flat from the point and cook them seperate. I know he only cooks the flats in competition. I don't like the point meat so i always seperate the flat from the point. It's a texture thing with the point meat.(don't like it) Just my preference. If you do a whole brisket (packer's cut) with the flat and point together then you have to take it off when the flat gets done and seperate them and put the point back on to finish. Because the flat always gets done before the point. I never trim my briskets just seperate them (just my preference) Hope this helps Bryan
 
Chet, don't you have a local butcher in your area? This is where you will find the best cuts of meat(IMO). Plus, as you build a rapport with the butcher and he gets to know what you like to cook and how you like to cook it, he will do those special things that only a butcher will do for his good customers. There's nothing a butcher likes more than someone who appreciates his craft!

It might be a little more per lb for the brisket or the pork butt, but, wouldn't you rather shuck out a little more and know you are getting something that is second to none in the quality department?!??!

Good luck with the brisket!

Give it a try---It works great for me!
 
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