Ribs over brisket


 
R

Russell McNeely

TVWBB Wizard
I plan to cook two or three racks of ribs and a brisket flat this Friday. I have a couple of questions/concerns.

1) I plan to cook the ribs on top and brisket on bottom so as to baste the brisket with rib drippings. Good idea or not?

2) I had planned on getting a choice grade flat and instead ended up getting a select grade trimmed flat ( about 5 pounds). Is there anyway to cook this without drying it out? Besides not overcooking it, should I foil after the bark has formed, inject, or neither? Would appreciate any suggestions.
 
Pork basted brisket is fantastic, so go for it.

Regarding ANY flat, I wouldn't even think of cooking like a whole brisket. I'd foil in the 160's, for sure, and prefer higher temps for flats, myself.

I've only injected a handful of times, so I can't say if it helps with moisture, but my guess is that it depends on what you inject with. I think most folks inject for added flavor.
 
My first cook on the WSM was ribs over Turkey Breast. Did not know what I was doing, but it was marvelous. I frequently use the ribs to baste the lower shelves. I have never been disappointed...tom
 
Russell, I have never cooked a brisket flat, always a packer. Since I started injecting, I have never gone back. I use Kosmos. The flavor and moisture to me is worth it.

Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chuck Dugas:
What is Kosmos?? New to me. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I little work and I found this ....


http://www.kosmosq.com/
 
Yep, that's the stuff. Give Kosmo a call. He has some helpful suggestions on using the brisket injection. I personally dilute with water till the taste is less salty than the instructions. The salt taste does not come thru when cooked, at least with my dilution.

Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chuck Dugas:
What is Kosmos?? New to me. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yeah, new to me too. Would like to give some a try though. Too bad you can't buy it at Wally world. I could get some and try it out Friday.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Russell McNeely:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chuck Dugas:
What is Kosmos?? New to me. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yeah, new to me too. Would like to give some a try though. Too bad you can't buy it at Wally world. I could get some and try it out Friday. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Russell, I would be willing to share, just a short drive to Kalifornia
icon_biggrin.gif


Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:

Regarding ANY flat, I wouldn't even think of cooking like a whole brisket. I'd foil in the 160's, for sure, and prefer higher temps for flats, myself. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, sounds like a good idea to me. I'm definetly going to foil and possibly cook at higher temp than usual. If I cook at higher temps, I may decide to do the ribs seperately.
 
I have found when cooking a trimmed flat that I get the best results by: inject with low sodium beef broth the night before, cook it very low and slow around 200-210° in the chamber, drape some bacon over it for the first part of the smoke, and foil it a bit sooner - around 160° instead of 165°.

Make sure to rest it real well in a towel lined cooler, 1 hr. minimum. If you cook it hot and fast all the outer layer is going to tighten up and turn into shoe leather.

And on a side note, ribs cooked real low and slow like that come out awesome with no foil needed at all!
 
I made up some Big Cow Beef Injection last night (which I found in the recipe section). I plan to inject tonight and cook tommorrow. The bacon sounds like a great idea. I agree - bacon is the 5th food group!
 
Well, the brisket (a ~5 lb. flat) turned out a little disappointing. I foiled at about 160 and cooked until fork tender. It wasn't dry but the meat just lacked flavor. The injection did not help with this. After a little more reading, I've attributed the lack of flavor to it being a cheapo select grade piece of meat (less marbling = less flavor). I think my next brisket will be choice grade whole packer. I'm going to try and resist the temptation of buying inexpensive
Select grade flats. Some people may have had better luck with the latter and that's fine, I just didn't like the results I got this time.
 
Russell, sounds like the technical part of the cook went great. I am not convinced that choice is better than select when it comes to brisket, however, I only cook packers. I think that the best flavor of the brisket come from the point and can only assume that the higher fat content adds considerably to the flavor. When I cook my packers I do not separate the point from the flat until after the cook is done just for the flavor reason.

Regarding injections, I have found a big improvement in texture and flavor with the one I am using. I have used others with not so big a bang. Point being like anything else, some recipes are better than others and using those recipes to our advantage is sometimes not as straight forward as we thought.

And the good news is, you can do it all again, and again, and again. Cooking is fun, even when we find that improvement is needed. In fact, maybe more fun if it's not perfect.

Happy New Year!

Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JIRodriguez:
I have found when cooking a trimmed flat that I get the best results by: inject with low sodium beef broth the night before, cook it very low and slow around 200-210° in the chamber, drape some bacon over it for the first part of the smoke, and foil it a bit sooner - around 160° instead of 165°.

Make sure to rest it real well in a towel lined cooler, 1 hr. minimum. If you cook it hot and fast all the outer layer is going to tighten up and turn into shoe leather.

And on a side note, ribs cooked real low and slow like that come out awesome with no foil needed at all! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just thought this post was interesting.
 
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