Need some Direction - Brisket and/or Apps

[Drew Baker]

Hello all -

EDITED - Thanks for your comments, I decided on a variety of apps instead of Brisket.

Posted a new question below...

On the menu:

Bacon Wrapped NY Steak Cubes
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
Stuffed Jalapeno's

I decided to do this because I can't screw it up.

How long do you guys smoke your stuffed Jalapeno's if you want the pepper to still be crisp? I basically just want to smoke it long enough to get the cheese warm on the inside. There's no bacon on them, so don't need to cook the bacon. Just don't want a limp pepper. Thoughts?

Should I smoke the bacon wrapped chicken and steak, or should I grill them? I'm leaning towards putting the chicken/Bacon bites on indirect with the jalapeno's. Then, after they've been on for a little bit, bring the heat up and put the steak/bacon bites direct to grill. Move the chicken over if they need to be finished directly on the heat. Sound good?
Thanks!

 

[Brett Grant]

I would just do a brisket, the whole packer. Of course, I am a jump in feet first kind of guy. I think that I did overnight brisket as my 3rd cook. Well, and pulled pork, too. I think that it is pretty hard to mess up the whole brisket. I mean I have burnt the bottom when I tried the high heat (clearly my technique lacked ) but there was still plenty of edible good stuff.

I would just follow Chris' simple overnight brisket recipe.

Let us know what you decide. Good Luck.

Brett

Oh - I see that you are on a performer. If you don't have a smokenator or diffuser or something like that, I might go for a smaller flat, but I would still do brisket. I think that the first one I did was 17 lbs, but it was on a 22.5 WSM. I like brisket

 

[Ivson Passos Jr]

Hey Drew,
I would just stick with whatever I am confident cooking. I am always concerned about serving the best possible meat and that would be something I have already cooked and had hands on experience with. But that's just me. Brett's approach sounds much better!

In regards to bacon wrapped stakes, I would definitely go with the Filet Mignon. It might be a little expensive but boy are they good. They don't require much seasoning and I usually just season mine with either bacon salt or garlic salt. Just remember to use toothpicks in order to hold the bacon slices around the stake. I have recently cooked a bunch and they were awesome. Take a look:

Good luck!

 

[Ken Keating]

To play it safe, I'd do pulled pork and brisket, or at least have another backup meat. It's easy to do both at the same time. Brisket's can be hit and miss, whereas PB always turns out great. If I do brisket alone it's guarrenteed to turn out fair, whereas if I have backup meats it always comes out much better!

 

[Bill Schultz]

Two is one, one is none. What Ken says makes sense. Especially for your first brisket and company coming. Keeping extra by freezing works well too.

 

[Bob Sample]

I would do a high heat brisket on the performer so you don't have to worry about refueling during the night. You can easily do a 14-16 lb packer on the kettle.

 

[Drew Baker]

Thanks for the advice.. I decided to do something I know I will be fine with. I did buy a packer though, and will do that in the next couple of weeks.

On the menu:

Bacon Wrapped NY Steak Cubes
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
Stuffed Jalapeno's

I decided to do this because I can't screw it up.

How long do you guys smoke your stuffed Jalapeno's if you want the pepper to still be crisp? I basically just want to smoke it long enough to get the cheese warm on the inside. There's no bacon on them, so don't need to cook the bacon. Just don't want a limp pepper. Thoughts?

Should I smoke the bacon wrapped chicken and steak, or should I grill them? I'm leaning towards putting the chicken/Bacon bites on indirect with the jalapeno's. Then, after they've been on for a little bit, bring the heat up and put the steak/bacon bites direct to grill. Move the chicken over if they need to be finished directly on the heat. Sound good?