Brisket temps ?

PigOut · January 14, 2007, 10:43:05 AM

Hi,
Ive been smoking about 6 mths and got a DBS a month ago,went through the fuse meltdown thing,called Bradley,back in business!!!
This thing puts out some awesome food!! MY question is about my first brisket, if I like my beef a little on the pink side for sandwich slices,not well done and fallin apart, what will I achieve cooking to the temps that I'm reading about?.(190) sounds a little on the well done side of Beef. Should I try another cut of meat ?

Thanx
Skip 8)

West Coast Kansan · January 14, 2007, 12:33:18 PM

Brisket really does like the higher temperature. All part of the magic you read about hear on the forum. Low and Slow to 190. Really not a function of pink or not with Brisket.

Might try Tri Tip roasts. They smoke real nice and the temp / color may be more to what your looking for...

I think you gotta do a brisket though. I heard it is an un natural act to have a smoker and not smoke a brisket.

Wildcat · January 14, 2007, 12:58:43 PM

I totally agree with WCK. I only took mine to 180 and then FTC for 4 hours. Turned out perfect (moist and falling apart). I had a hard time slicing through the bark without the rest of the meat falling apart.

You may want to try prime rib. I have no experience there, but in the local establishments I usually get it medium rare. Unsure about how it will turn out in the BS.

Habanero Smoker · January 14, 2007, 02:55:18 PM

Brisket needs to be cooked low and slow and cooked beyond doness to make it tender. It is a cut you should at least try once in your smoker.

If you want a cut that you can smoke to medium rare, an 8 pound Top Loin roast is also a good choice. If you butcher or meat cutter doesn't call it Top Loin ask for NY strip. Tell him you want the cut for the rib end (it's more tender), and don't have him slice it into steaks.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4235.15

MallardWacker · January 19, 2007, 09:11:59 AM

Medium or Medium rare Brisket is one tough animal....I think that's why you see the 180"s...If you want it good and slicable...keep it to the mid 180's anything after that is pot roast material and darn good at that if you like it that way.

iceman · January 19, 2007, 11:27:49 AM

Quote from: MallardWacker on January 19, 2007, 09:11:59 AM
Medium or Medium rare Brisket is one tough animal....I think that's why you see the 180"s...If you want it good and slicable...keep it to the mid 180's anything after that is pot roast material and darn good at that if you like it that way.

Yeppers, what MW said :P ;D

Habanero Smoker · January 19, 2007, 02:38:46 PM

Just one more thought. I forgot to mention earlier, but you can bring brisket up to 165°F and still have a decent slicable meat. When I make beef pastrami from brisket I only bring it to 165°F, but you need to slice it really thin; across the grain. But again 165°F is still considered beyond doness.

PigOut · January 20, 2007, 08:07:42 AM

Thanks for all the replies ! I'm definitely doin a brisket when i get a fresh one. I'm learning that supermarkets are not really a good source.
The closest butcher shop is about 15 miles away. Maybe next week. This week I'm goin to try my 4 alarm chili in the smoker. I was goin to brown the meat, onions,peppers and garlic in the DBS, then add the crushed tomatoes and beans and slow cook for hours. I thought hickory and apple would be a good choice.(just guessing!) Any feedback on that ? Has any one done chili before ? Should this be a new thread ?

Thanx again
Skip

West Coast Kansan · January 20, 2007, 10:43:41 AM

This is a recipe for white / chicken chilli taken from the recipe site. have not tried it but will before warm weather comes back.

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45

PigOut i have found brisket from costco, sam's etc are fine. Just look for "choice" grade - not select. Butts are good from thier also.

PigOut · January 24, 2007, 03:27:53 PM

The chile turned out great. Still hunting down a brisket!!!

Skip

Gizmo · January 24, 2007, 10:47:43 PM

PigOut:
Did you put the chili in the smoker or just some of the ingredients? You mentioned browning meat, onions, peppers and garlic but said in the DBS. Have not done that so didn't know how well the DBS would brown the meat. I have been planning on making some smoke house fire roasted chili so that is why I was wondering if the entire mixture went in to the DBS after being combined?

PigOut · January 25, 2007, 02:41:38 PM

Gizmo,
I decided to just brown the meat and garlic cause I like the veggies to have a little crunch instead of soft and mooshie.(need a spell check on that one!) In hindsight I would brown the meat in a frying pan.(it was a little chewy untill the next day with a warmup. Then add the rest of the ingredients to the meat . I then put all the ing. into 2 shallow alum. pans and smoked for three hours at 210-220 with apple and hickory mix stirring every 1/2 hour or so. This worked well as far as picking up the smoke flavor. Dont forget to rotate pans evenly as one pan of mine the beans were still a little "al dente" . I did not use a thermometer , I was just using the spoon tasting method. ( my favorite method !!) This produced about a gallon of chile.Thats why I used 2 pans to increase the surface area exposed to the smoke. It worked great and got rave reviews.The smoke flavor was just right. Not over smoked. ( Im trying to get better at that!
Us newbies have a tendency to over smoke). The whole thing took my chile to another level ! Let me know how you make out.

Skip

Gizmo · January 26, 2007, 10:23:23 PM

Will do.
I don't do the beans in the chili. I have never been a huge bean fan and since chili gets better with age, the beans don't fare so well, so I prefer to leave them out. They tend to be a filler for most and I cook enough to not need it. ;D

West Coast Kansan · January 27, 2007, 10:46:44 AM

Some folks (TX etc in the south) really frown on beans in chile. I have always used them but more from habit.

PigOut · January 27, 2007, 03:16:55 PM

OK, lets get back to the brisket ! I got the butcher at the Acme to order me one for next weekend. How about the prep. Mustard or no mustard ? Rub or no rub ? I have used it on pork and I read that guys use it on brisket too. Thoughts on that ?
This weekend is 6# of london broil for jerky !

Thanx
Skip

P.S. Hey Iceman, how bout your rub ?