Brisket for Sunday - An Experiment

[ArnieM]

Please feel free to comment on this - I know you will  ;D

The problem is that T'Storms are predicted for later Saturday and Sunday.  The OBS is out on the deck and I don't want it pouring on my brisket.

This is a 7.5 pound hunk.  I went with Pachanga's brisket rub, short a couple of ingredients, and the mustard slather.  It has been in the fridge since mid Friday afternoon.

I'm planning on giving it 5 hours of cold smoke; 2 hours each of mesquite and oak and an hour of apple.  That'll be Saturday morning before the T'Storms roll in.

Then it gets wrapped and goes into the fridge.

Early Sunday morning it'll go into the oven on slow cook.  That runs around 200-225.  Finally an FTC.  Hopefully, it'll be done for dinner.

My alternative is to go with 5 hours of hot smoke and then into the oven.  I figure it would be done around midnight Saturday - a little early  :-\

[classicrockgriller]

I may be wrong and forgive me if I am, but I think 5 hrs of cold smoking then fridgen

is not something you really want to try.

[EZ Smoker]

I was just about to say the same thing.  I don't know exactly what the danger zone temp range is, but your brisket would probably be in it for 2-4 hours, then into the fridge for a day or so to cultivate any bacteria that shows up during the cold smoke.   I'm still new a this whole meat temperature thing, but I think you'd run the risk of contamination there.

[ArnieM]

Yeah, I was kinda worried about that too.  The danger zone is probably around 45-135.

I guess it's the hot smoke and then into the oven and a late Saturday night.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Arnie,

You already got the cold smoke and hold answer, and I think you have the right alternative.  But here's a twist you might want to consider, and it comes from a very good authority - Scott Roberts, owner of the Salt Lick restaurant.  Their standard method for brisket is to cook, then cool and chill for 24 hours, then reheat and serve.  Many other TX barbecue restaurants are doing the same.  The drill is cook as you would like, throw it on a sheet pan and cool it down then into the fridge, then the next day warm it to service temp in a low oven, 2-3 hours at 225 ° should bring you to 140 °.  He says it makes them better.

This is what I am going to try next time, using 175 as the IT, 1-2 hrs FTC in an a disposable AL pan, then off with the foil and into the fridge to cool, then cover tightly with foil and hold for ~ 24 hrs, then rewarm to ~ 150 °F to serve.

"Before we learned that meats get better if refrigerated, we had to cook briskets 24 hours a day," says Roberts, who has drawn his share of that 3 a.m. pit-tending shift. Now the restaurant cooks brisket to 165 degrees internal temperature, removes it from the smoker, and places it on a rack on a sheet pan, fat side up. Then the brisket is put in a freezer and chilled to an internal temperature of 40 degrees. For food safety, this must be done in six hours. Then the meat can be held in barbecue sauce for a moisture barrier for 24 hours, in a plastic bag or wrapped in foil, in the refrigerator at 38 degrees to enhance the flavor. To reheat, bring the brisket to 140 degrees in a 225-degree oven (3 hours for a 12-14 pound brisket).

http://www.austin360.com/food_drink/content/food_drink/dining_at_home/stories/2006/06/14kitchen.html

[Habanero Smoker]

I always fully cook my briskets ahead of time and reheat before serving, so I would apply the smoke and move the brisket to the oven. Fully cooking the brisket ahead of time works out well, but I reheat at higher temperatures, being that the collagen has already converted to gelatin. I generally reheat at 350°F, in a tightly sealed pan with a little low sodium beef broth.

Just to clarify what is recognized as the danger zone; that is 40°F - 140°F. That means if the meat is kept cold at 40°F and below; or hot at 140°F and above the food will be safe, temperatures in between food borne bacteria can grow at a rapid rate.

[ArnieM]

Thanks for the tips guys.  I'm going with the cook ahead method.

Work in progress.

Ready to go into the smoker at 10 AM.


As my (bad) luck would have it, it started raining at 11 AM.  Had to get the OBS into its rain gear.


To be continued ...

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm glad you beat the weather. The storm hit my area around 9:30 AM.

[ArnieM]

It was pouring by 1 PM.

The smoke phase was over by 3 PM.  Did 1-2-2, apple-oak-mesquite.  The sun was out and the birds were chirping.

Here it is, ready to go into the oven.


No, the greenish cast isn't mold  ;D

I put a probe in each end.  They read 171 and 172, kinda nice.  Then it stalled.  The temps went down to 168 and 169.  Been that way for an hour and a half.  I hate it when that happens.

[DarqMan]

Looks mighty fine there Arnie.  Wish we had scratch and sniff technology online ;D

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Since it's just the flat, you might want to think about how high you take it.  When the temps start rising again that's an indication that most of the magic is done.  Pushing it further just tends to dry and overcook.  Since the wall was hit ~ 170, you might look for ~ 180 to be a sign that it's done it's internal thing.

[classicrockgriller]

Good idea. Sorta treat it like a shoulder cod.

an Hr after the start of the rise from the stall, pull it.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

I was thinking +10 °F from the stall onset temp.  My guess is they will be very close but your one-hour out may be better as it may be less overdone.

What I'm slowly coming to, with the combination of temp control and sensing that I've gotten with the DBS, is that when the magic's done (i..e, collagen conversion), then the cooking is done and further impression of heat is mostly serving to overcook and dry the meat.  So the key is to figure out when the conversion is basically done, pull it and allow a rest for the heat to distribute evenly and equilibrium to be attained (e.g., FTC).  Then it's done.  What's difficult is that the onset of that magical conversion is typically different for each piece.  Arnie did great actually seeing it hit the wall and drop back a degree or two - now he has a number to work from.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

So just after posting the above, found this one ...  note the IT

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=16442.msg197750#msg197750

[classicrockgriller]

Probably a +10 might be better than a time.

Maybe Arnie will read this and know at what hr He was +10* of the stall.

I have done a couple of shoulder cods and used time and it was nice, but it is also a different cut of meat.

Maybe I should experiment with my stuff and not Arnies. ;D