My Little Meteorite


 
OliverLeveritt

OliverLeveritt

TVWBB Member
Three point something pound chuck, dry brined w/ 9 grams sea salt then air dried for 42 hours due to schedule conflict the previous day. Added black pepper before smoking. S&P Only.
WSM 14. Dry wrapped pan. B&B briquettes. B&B Post Oak chunks.
250° - 260°.
@ 2 hrs, hard stall and reverse at 158°. Pull & wrap in BP. @ 4 hrs, pull at 205°. Hold on rack in large covered roaster at 155° for 6.5 hours. (Went to go buy a used WSM 22. Traffic . . . . )
Nice fragrance. Good beef taste with smoke floating over the tastebuds. Bits of pepper. Good salt level. Drier than I'd like.
Considering that this is the third time I have cooked on charcoal in my life AND the third time I have smoked anything, I won't complain. I'm working the learning curve on a small scale, so it's all good. I certainly don't feel that this is a mistake that I have to eat. LOL!
Tomorrow, I'll probably chop some of the chuck and cut some BBQ sauce with a bit of cider vinegar and olive oil to thin it and warm it up with just a bit of that on it.
 

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Looks good, and sounds like you are off to a fast start, and willing to learn.

My suggestion would be to NOT leave it cooking in anyway after you it. The six hours at 155 may be the cause of the dryness. My, and probably most people here, go from the smoker into a cooler, wrapped. I would have it wrapped in foil and a towel or blanket, it can go a long time in a cooler, and will stay juicy.

And I would totally eat what’s in those pics !!!
 
I agree with BrianCal's comments. I've smoked some chuck roasts and they can be quite good. I usually foil wrap and add a little beef broth which helps keep things juicy. I want to experiment with the "foil boat" sometime soon and see how I like that. I think that's a pretty good compromise..
 
John K BBQ said:
<snip>I want to experiment with the "foil boat" sometime soon and see how I like that. I think that's a pretty good compromise..
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Yep, I have another chuck in the freezer. It may be a foil boat cook. I guess I can still rest it wrapped in foil and keep all the liquid for later -- lift it out of the boat, wrap in foil, and add liquid back later.
 
BrianCal said:
<snip>

My suggestion would be to NOT leave it cooking in anyway after you it. The six hours at 155 may be the cause of the dryness.
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I have run across numerous sources who "hold" briskets for up to 12 hours at 150° - 160° and indicate that the results are very favorable, so that's why I did a shorter hold at 155°. I know a chuck isn't a brisket, but it seems that if brisket flat does well under those circumstances, that a chuck should not be negatively affected by the same treatment. I could have wrapped it in foil and put it in a cooler, but it was already wrapped in butcher paper with Wagyu tallow, so I figured I'd give it a go. I didn't see any notable fluid loss in the paper when I unwrapped. I have another chuck about the same size -- from the same package as the first. Maybe I'll just foil wrap at the stall, let it cook till "buttery", and put it in a cooler for a couple of hours and see. I don't know if the extended dry brine contributed to the dryness or not, so next time, I'll rub it and throw it on the grate.
 
The saying goes; "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". Similar limits apply to BBQ. Start with good meat. That means marbled fat meat for low, long, slow cooks. That usually means paying more for the meat.

But don't fret. There's some wiggle room. Git yourself an injection needle and some Wagyu tallow from amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0881XTCR3/?tag=tvwb-20

Put some of it in a bowl and heat it until it liquifies and inject it all over in that piece of meat you "saved" on. Works pretty good.
 
I think smaller meats are more of a challenge than larger. I have yet to cook a short rib plate that wasn't outstanding, and yet every time I try to cook short ribs that are cut up, they aren't nearly as tender or as juicy. Next time I smoke cut up short ribs, I'm going to tie them together in a tight clump and try it that way. I wish the grocery stores would just leave the ribs alone and sell them as plates, for cryin' out loud.

< ---- See avatar of recent short rib plate
 
Chuck-roaniecowpony said:
<snip>
Put some of it in a bowl and heat it until it liquifies and inject it all over in that piece of meat you "saved" on. Works pretty good.
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I didn't buy chuck to "save" money. I started small instead of jumping to a brisket. I know that chuck isn't brisket. I could possibly find a decent brisket point small enough to cook on the 14. Oddly enough, I find it interesting how many people post about their wonderfully juicy chucks that they did on a WSM. I always wondered about that. Previously, I only cooked chuck in a slow cooker to make barbacoa, so I'm familiar with the nuances of chuck. It typically requires more moisture than it originally contains before it's enjoyable.
I started with chickens, then did a chuck. I got a Hunsaker hanger, so the next chicken will be split and hung. I can probably do a smaller pork butt also. The Arbor Fab basket holds more charcoal than the OEM, so I can get a longer cook time.
 
Looks like your cook time allotment was about 10.5 hours. Your cooker ran at 250-260 F. You wrapped after 2 hrs. After 4 hrs, you pulled it reading IT 205, and then held it for 6.5 hours in a warmer at 155. Then served. You thought it was a bit dry.

You didn't mention anything about venting it.

I think venting it at 205 allowing the cook to calm down and IT to drop would have been beneficial. I believe it may have over cooked after it was pulled due to carry over. However, even pulling it at 205 and venting it - there would still be a carry over in IT. So I think going all the way to 205 may be an error.

You might consider pulling it earlier - before it reaches 205. Consider pulling it at 195 or so. Place it on a board and after a few mins, check the temp while it's still wrapped. Make sure it doesn't go over 203 or so. Keep checking. Watch it with an instant read for a while - while it's on the board still wrapped. If it gets close to 203, vent it. Don't let it go over 203.

Once it starts dropping in temp, hold it in your warmer. Even if it never reaches 203, the meat will still cook to doneness due to the holding time.

You might also consider cooking at a lower temp - like 225. This gives you more time to pull it precisely when you need to pull it. There's less chance that the cook will get away from you.

Having some heated tallow on hand to drip onto the chuck before you wrap would likely also help. You can get it on Amazon - search Wagyu tallow.

Good luck
 
OliverLeveritt said:
They don't do whole / split chickens, either. The smart ones stick with thighs and maybe lollipops.
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Actually whole / split chickens are used in competition... The chicken entry in IBCA is a 1/2 chicken from which the judges will get their samples.
And it is perfectly legal in KCBS. Just needs to be broken down to at least 6 portions.

With your reply, one might assume you have competition experience. Do you ?
 
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Kinda funny how I just found the process documented right here on this forum without really looking. I had already done the same thing, right down to using a ThermoWorks Signals. It is a well documented and widely used procedure for several reasons.
www.virtualweberbullet.com

Using An Electric Oven To Hold Brisket At Temperature - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Can you use an electric oven to hold brisket at temperature to rest after cooking? Watch how my home oven helps me make better brisket.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
 
There's a guy on youtube, a backyard cook, who says if you're gonna do a chuck roast, it better be at least 4 lbs or it will end up dry.

I'm actually doing a chuck right now! It's something I've wanted to do since I read this thread. I bought it at Harris Teeter this morning. 2.34 lbs. USDA Choice angus. Smoked it on my SnS kettle since it's so small. Rub is one part Chupakabra brisket magic, one part Lawry's seasoned salt, one part kosher salt, 2 parts 16 mesh black pepper, and about a quarter part celery seed. Then I sprinkled some coarse mcCormick's pepper on for good luck. Mustard binder. Put in kettle at 225. Kingsford blue bag and post oak chunks and chips. When the meat hit 130 I flipped it. When the meat hit 140 I laid butcher paper out and squirted it with water & apple cider vinegar to let it soak in - expecting the stall any time. When the meat hit 145 I started gently heating up some brisket tallow that I keep in a pickle jar. I watched it as it passed by 150 and hit 154 and it suddenly stopped going up. Then it dropped to 153. Then I brushed the tallow onto the wet paper. Then placed the chuck on top of the tallow soaked paper. Drizzled a little tallow on top of the chuck as it sat on top of the paper. Folded it up real tight using nice sharp clean folds. Made a nice tight package. Got some HD foil and made a shallow boat around the wrapped chuck because I didn't want the juice to drip out. Placed boat package back onto the SnS kettle. Cranked temp to 275. Kept a probe in the meat - stabbed through the paper on top. The temp rose fairly quickly. I watched it until it hit 200 F. Then I took it off and brought it inside. Foil boat was filled with juices. Placed the boat in an aluminum pan with a quarter cup of water in the pan but not in the boat. Placed three layers of every day foil around the pan crimped real tight. Placed pan in the kitchen oven set at 150 F. That's where it is right now. No photos. I need to cook up some bell peppers (orange red yellow) and onions before supper. We'll eat in about 2.5 hours. I plan on slicing it rather than pulling it. I'll post how it comes out.
 
OliverLeveritt said:
Kinda funny how I just found the process documented right here on this forum without really looking. I had already done the same thing, right down to using a ThermoWorks Signals. It is a well documented and widely used procedure for several reasons.
www.virtualweberbullet.com

Using An Electric Oven To Hold Brisket At Temperature - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Can you use an electric oven to hold brisket at temperature to rest after cooking? Watch how my home oven helps me make better brisket.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
Click to expand...
Yes - I actually watched that video a couple weeks ago - I ran across it by chance while on youtube. The idea of holding meat in the oven at a low temp has been documented a handful of times over the past couple years. I'm not sure who actually was the first person to come up with the idea. But it's become really popular since last summer, I think. Is Chris Allingham the very first person to suggest holding in an oven? This video is pretty dated - September 2020.
 
Cooking is about both time and temp. I think temp is often given too much emphasis by many cooks.

Below is the video and method that is getting so much attention on the internet lately. Steve Gow of smoke trails bbq outlines the entire process in great detail. The trick is to not wait to pull the meat when it is done, but rather, to pull it BEFORE it is done. And then allow the long hold at 150 F to finish the cooking process. He calls this method a "magical silver bullet" because it virtually guarantees brisket success. The brisket will not be under cooked and it will not be over cooked. The brisket will have a wonderful crust and it will be perfect. The method has little to do with final internal temp of the brisket. I've used his method several times with brisket since last summer and it works very nicely.

 
Mark_E said:
Yes - I actually watched that video a couple weeks ago - I ran across it by chance while on youtube. The idea of holding meat in the oven at a low temp has been documented a handful of times over the past couple years. I'm not sure who actually was the first person to come up with the idea. But it's become really popular since last summer, I think. Is Chris Allingham the very first person to suggest holding in an oven? This video is pretty dated - September 2020.
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We shouldn't be so naive to think that anything is new. People have been cooking briskets for a long long long time. There is absolutely nothing new.... Except for maybe slathering a brisket with wagyu fat.
 
MartinB said:
We shouldn't be so naive to think that anything is new. People have been cooking briskets for a long long long time. There is absolutely nothing new.... Except for maybe slathering a brisket with wagyu fat.
Click to expand...
Putting a brisket on the offset first, closing the cooker doors, then starting the fire in the firebox with matchlight briquets and spraying lighter fluid on the post oak next - is that new? It might be. I don't think I'll be doing it though...

Yes - the bbq restaurants have been holding briskets in heated boxes for a long time. Decades? I don't know.

Pulled chuck from the heated oven last night after holding 3.5 hrs at 150 F.

My chuck last night came out great - tender juicy flavorful. Even my wife thought so and she is my harshest critic. :)
 

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