Really low and slow


 
J

JayHeyl

TVWBB Pro
In some thread around here I mentioned a brisket recipe from "Diva Q" that was posted on the ThermoWorks blog. As if brisket isn't complicated enough to begin with, this recipe cranked the complexity up even more.

I started with a prime packer from Costco. Considering I trimmed about 3 pounds of solid fat, I wish the initial weight had been a lot higher. I figure I had about 7 pounds left after trimming. I made an injection of 2 cups beef broth with a little Worcestershire sauce. I injected all of it and poured about 1/2 cup out of the pan when I was done. Surprising how much it held on to. Then I gave it a good dusting with a combination of onion powder, s.hitake mushroom powder, and Montreal Steak seasoning. The recipe called for porcini mushrooms but I balked at spending $6 on one ingredient for the rub. The s.hitakes were $3 and I only used about a quarter of them. The point is the glutamates and I'm pretty sure both porcinis and s.hitakes have them. I also made a spritz solution of 2 cups beef broth, 3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, and 2 Tbsp fish sauce (more glutamates).

For the really low and slow part, the recipe calls for five hours at 180F, spritzing every hour. Knowing this, I loaded the ring with unlit charcoal and put just seven lit briquettes all in one small depression at the edge of the ring right by one of the vents. After five hours I need to crank if up to 275F. My theory is by putting all the lit coals in one spot the fire will spread more slowly and hopefully make it a bit easier to maintain 180F.

I'm four and a half hours in and maintaining 180F has been difficult. I have all the bottom vents closed and, somewhat against my better judgement, the top vent half closed. Partially closing the top vent was the only way I could keep it from climbing to 200F. It's been 185F-190F most of the time, with temperature spikes every time I open the lid to spritz. Perhaps I would have been better off doing a charcoal snake to start and then loading more charcoal before shifting to 275F. I'm running the pan dry so it wouldn't have been too difficult to lift off the mid section. Maybe next time.

I'll post more as things progress.
 
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Nice going BUT isn't 180o too low? You'll still get a great product (REGARDLESS of what the recipe says to do) if you don't fight it and let it find it's equilibrium at 225-230-240.

FWIW, when you're using "bad" words, put a hyphen or period or underscore between the letters.If you wanted, you could go back and edit that post now.

s-hitakes
s_hitakes
s.hitakes

See?? :D
 
I think you'd have to use a snake to maintain that temp. What you have to wonder with that recipe is what she's trying to accomplish. My thinking is that it's aimed at more smoke exposure and better smoke ring. She's sponsored by Traeger. So my guess that this is optimized for a pellet grill where temp control is easier. Regardless I think it has some benefit for a WSM provided you could maintain that temp. I'd have to run a snake then stop and switch to minion. Anyway, let us know how it goes!
 
I finished the five hours at 180F. My idea of putting the few lit coals on one side of the ring seemed to work fairly well. I peeked through the door toward the end of the 180F time and the coals were lit not quite halfway across the ring. The piece of cherry I had toward the far side was completely untouched. Toward the end of the time the sun came out full force and 180F became impossible even with all the bottom vents closed, but it never got above 200F so I'm satisfied. To do any better I'd have to use a snake. Or maybe seal the door up a bit tighter and possibly put a gasket under the lid. If this turns out to be fantastic brisket I'll give that some more thought.

So I'm now trying to maintain 275F, which is a lot easier than 180F. Once the bark sets I'll wrap in foil until it's done.

I think you're right, Dustin, about the Traeger. The recipe did make it sound like the smoker had a thermostat where you could easily set and maintain specific temps. I guess I do have a thermostat. It just has to be fed cold beer about once an hour.
 
Final update: I let it go about three hours unwrapped at 275F. There was enough puddling of juices on top that I didn't get bark all the way around but I decided to foil it anyway. Internal was already high enough that it only needed 90 minutes in foil. Let it rest an hour and then it was time to eat.

I've only done brisket once before and wasn't thrilled with the result, so my standard of comparison is mostly what I've had at various BBQ restaurants. I was very pleased with my results today. The brisket had nice smoke, clearly present but not overwhelming. Enough chew to know you weren't eating baby food but not so much that you put any strain on your jaw muscles. The ratio of rub to meat was spot on. All told, I don't think it could have gone any better. Next time I may try a less complicated recipe just for comparison, but there will definitely be a next time.
 
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