I have been doing some reading here and decided to chime in.
I picked up my OBS 2 weeks ago and since have smoked 2 pork loins, chicken legs, chicken wings and bone in split chicken breasts. It all turned out pretty good and my family seemed to enjoy it.
I have been experimenting with sauces and rubs, as of yet I have not found a go to of either, however I did make bourbon bbq sauce that might do the trick, we will try it out this weekend.
2 of my sons have birthdays this week so I will be smoking a beef brisket for our Sunday birthday celebration. I have done a bunch of reading on brisket smoking and hope I am ready for the challenge. I picked up a 7 pound choice brisket that I will smoke Saturday as a trial, if it turns out good I will invite the neighbors for beer and brisket (if they bring the beer). Also there is an 8 pound prime brisket in the fridge for Sunday, hopefully the Saturday smoke will give me some insight on when to put the 8 pounder in the smoker for Sunday.
The wife does not like heavy smoke, therefore I plan to try 1.5 hours worth of Jim Beam smoke.
Thanks for listening, I really like my new Bradley smoker and am glad this forum is in place.
W E L C O M E to the Forum dieseldude!
It sounds like you have a good plan.
Brisket is one of those cuts that requires patience....
Welcome aboard DD!
Sounds like you have done your homework. Have fun and let us know how it all goes.
KyNola
Welcome!
Where on earth did you find Prime brisket??
You'll have to share that bourbon BBQ sauce if it turns out well.. I've been looking for one that someone has actually tried and liked.
I found the prime at a meat shop up the road from me (at least they said it is prime) in Springboro Ohio, the shop has an excellent reputation with good reviews. From what I understand choice or prime is what to use, should stay away from select?
I can get prime brisket from my butcher.
it is awesome.
Welcome to the forum DD!
Mmmmmmm Brisket! Can't wait to hear how it turns out! Good luck and keep us posted!
C
Dang, I need to find a reputable local butcher..
My buddy ordered me a box of prime steaks from a supplier in Chicago, and they were the best thing that ever came off of my grill. No comparison to the 'grocery store' steaks.
Welcome to the fun of smoking
Sounds like you have ben doing your home work, remember the internal temp of a brisket will stall out at about 150 F and take quite a wile to clime up again. Be patient and dont raise your cabnet temp, some times it's taken up 4 hr be for the IT started to raise again.
If your wife dont like a strong smoke taste have you tried a lighter tasting wood like Apple or Alder? The Jim Beam is Oak and Oak is one of the stronger tasting woods.
I like Alder or Apple on chicken and fish, Hickory or Oak on bacon, brisket and sometimes on pork butt and Pecan on every thing else. I smoke all my snack sticks and sausages with Pecan. But thats just me.
I have not tried apple or alder, I will however.
When we purchased the unit we picked up pucks in hickory, mesquite and the Jim Beam oak pucks.
The first smoke was on a pork loin with hickory for 5 hours, I found out that 5 hours of hickory was too much (for our tastes any way).
The 2nd smoke was chicken (legs & wings), I ran 3 pucks of Jim Beam through it and it was in my opinion very good.
The 3rd smoke I used 5 hours of mesquite on pork loin and chicken breasts, again that was to much smoke for my wife and border line for me, my Father and Sons loved it however.
The flavor I am looking for is more of a mellow flavor rather than a bold one, having said that I will fire her up in the morning and give brisket #1 3 pucks of the Jim Beam and see what happens.
I may try some sandwiches with the left over, a little bourbon bbq sauce on the brisket topped with slaw on some big buns.
Thanks for the tip on the apple and alder, I may run and pick some up tomorrow once the smoker is dialed in.
The three typ's of wood you are smoking with are the strongest smoke flavor of the bunch.
Mesquite-very strong flavor
Hickory-strong
Oak-strong but not over powering
Pecan-milder version of hickory
Maple-mild
Cherry-mild and fruity
Apple-mild, fruity and slightly sweet
Alder-light with a hint of sweetness
Little late, missed this thread, welcome to the forum.
dd, welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are in the groove.
Welcome to the forum. It looks like you are set up for some serious smoke this weekend.
Don't forget to post some pictures and share that bourbon sauce.
HR
Welcome , Glad to have you with us.
This is the place to learn, lots of good info and helpful friendly Members.
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h151/pkcdirect/Welcome/BDS6.gif)
Paul
Quote from: dieseldude on September 18, 2009, 11:57:29 AM
I have not tried apple or alder, I will however.
When we purchased the unit we picked up pucks in hickory, mesquite and the Jim Beam oak pucks.
The first smoke was on a pork loin with hickory for 5 hours, I found out that 5 hours of hickory was too much (for our tastes any way).
The 2nd smoke was chicken (legs & wings), I ran 3 pucks of Jim Beam through it and it was in my opinion very good.
The 3rd smoke I used 5 hours of mesquite on pork loin and chicken breasts, again that was to much smoke for my wife and border line for me, my Father and Sons loved it however.
The flavor I am looking for is more of a mellow flavor rather than a bold one, having said that I will fire her up in the morning and give brisket #1 3 pucks of the Jim Beam and see what happens.
I may try some sandwiches with the left over, a little bourbon bbq sauce on the brisket topped with slaw on some big buns.
Thanks for the tip on the apple and alder, I may run and pick some up tomorrow once the smoker is dialed in.
DD Welcome Aboard!!! From what you stated here your killing everything with smoke. Most folks tend to stay in the 1 1/2 - 2 hour range with smoke give or take some. I think that if you drop down to that time frame you should be able to get back in good graces with Momma, and your food wont just taste like smoke.
Hear is an update on the brisket.
I fixed 2 over the weekend, Saturdays was not very good. I used butt rub on a bad (in my opinion) piece of meat. I also had an issue with the thermometer I bought, the brand escapes me at the moment but it is not a Maverick, it is the type that reads meat temp and chamber temp with the same probe. I do not believe it works very well and will be returning it tonight. Another note on the thermometer, I purchased another single reading and used both on Sundays brisket.
Sundays brisket was very good. The meat was purchased from a different location from the first and proved to be much better. I used Big Bad Beef Rub on this one. I fed 10 people with it and everyone thought it was great. The 2 thermometers were both inserted into the meat side by side about 2 inches apart, there was as much as a 20 degree difference in their readings to as little difference as 5 degrees. I am going to take both back and get a Maverick.
Sundays brisket was smoked for 8 1/2 hours at around 225 to 240 degrees. I used 3 Jim Beam pucks and 2 hickory. I removed it at 178 degrees internal temp, I was shooting for 190 but time was an issue, I wrapped it in foil and let it rest for 30min. It turned out to be pretty tender and very juicy.
Some folks used sauce and some did not, I had 5 sauces out and the most popular was the sweet and sour from the Bradley book and the bourbon sauce. I will post the bourbon recipe tonight when I get home.
Thanks for the warm welcomes and advice. The local grocery store has whole chickens on sale this week so that is the menu for next weekend. If this post is a little unorganized forgive me I am busy here at work and trying to get all this in while eating lunch. DD
It sounds like Sunday was the day to be @ your place!
Bet you learned allot from the sat smoke to make the sun smoke a hit :D
I also serve the sauce on the side, most of the time we have mashed taters and gravy with the brisket. I make the gravy out of the drippings. Just put a foil roasting pan on the rack below the brisket and save the drippings for what ever you like, like some dipping sauce or save it to put on the meat be for you serve or next time you warm it up.
Glad everything worked out for you, keep the smoke rollin
Congrats Double D!
Sounds like you're well on your way to being addicted like the rest of us.
KyNola
Great job Double D. After the adventure of learning to smoke, the addiction set in.
Sure is fun!
Quote from: classicrockgriller on September 22, 2009, 02:34:27 PM
Great job Double D. After the adventure of learning to smoke, the addiction set in.
Sure is fun!
Ditto
HR
Congratulations Dieseldude on wading up to your armpits and smoking 2 briskets in a weekend! I'll give ya a well deserved pat on the back!
The prime brisket was a find - not many around. Choice is the vast majority of what you can buy. Bought and cooked a select or two - and really did not notice much if any difference. Most primes are so much more expensive and generally used by competition cookers for a leg up on the competition, but supposedly, the choice wins much more often than prime. I don't smoke them either - mainly for cost and not finding them only but very rarely. The main, if only difference between that and a choice is the amount of fat marbling - not likely to be much more tender, but a brisket has so much fat, anyway, I don't usually opt for the prime. It's all going to be cooked low and slow to tenderness anyway.