If it was unopened cans in the cooler it was just for thermal mass, and therefore allowed.Originally Posted by marshall_mosty
If it was unopened cans in the cooler it was just for thermal mass, and therefore allowed.
#39 CMC Camaro
Orange is Fast!
CMC-NT01 FTW!
Ah yes, we really should plan an AI/CMC trip to the Mountain
http://www.motorsportretro.com/2012/04/ford-xy-gtho/
That would be spectacular. I'll see your video and raise you another one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJCE-0CnoVA
2012 NASA-TX American Iron Champ
AI #29
And another...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR6PXvhXTj0
Marshall Mosty
AI/SI Texas Regional Director
2011 NASA-TX American Iron Champ
AI #67 "Mosty Brothers' Racing" (RIP)
ST6 #21 Toyota Corolla (being revived)...
LOL! Sort of reminds me of the full field inverts that used to happen in 06-07.
I really want to drive that track someday in something with some balls....not a micro rental car!
Ah, fugg it.
Well, Saturday night/Sunday morning actually, needed to put together some Sunday lunch...
Work friend sold me on a Traeger pellet smoker. Couple batches of ribs have been excellent but needed to get a brisket done. I used their brand dry rub and let it sit in the fridge about 8 hours.
Let it smoke/180 degrees-ish with a quick spray on the hour for the first three and a bowl of water in the smoker for some moistsure. Used a 1/2 apple juice, 1/2 apple cider vinegar and a little worse-ta-shista-shire combo in a spray bottle. Checked on pellets, progress, and a little spritz around 4:00am and all looked good. Got up around 7:00 expecting temp to be 175-180 and need a couple more hours. Nope. 205ish... little more than I wanted that early but no choice to pull it off.
Wrapped in foil and let it sit for about 40 minutes. On second thought I won't slice the next one until we're ready to eat, but hey, live and learn. Wrapped up tight in foil and into the warming drawer in the oven.
My mom brought green beans and the Brother in law/sis in law brought the potatoes - could cut it with a fork and we all ate it without sauce.
So who's got a brisket rub they really like?
I think the worcestershire sauce was the flavor I could do without, and too much chunky garlic in the rub.
#39 CMC Camaro
Orange is Fast!
CMC-NT01 FTW!
To your question:
I use a rub I make that is basically a typical 11 season mix with paprika, cumin, garlic, cinnamon and so forth - same rub for beef and pork though depending on the audience I might spice it up more on the brisket or add a more fruity finish for the pork.
For a great off-the-shelf pork or steak rub, I really like John Henries Pecan rub....yummm.
Now for all the other stuff I know you were just jonesing to ask
One key to good brisket (same for all cooking I guess) is prep.
Look for a brisket with good marbling and probably more fat than you think should be there. A good meat will always out perform a poor meat no matter how much seasoning, sauce and magic you throw at it.
And it does not mean you have to buy a $50 brisket. My best brisket has come from our yearly cow, but I've found excellent packers at Sam's for around $35 and flats for under $2.25/lb. I check out the product at our local stores regularly (Sams, Krogers, etc.) and when I find a good selection I fill up my freezer.
When you prep the brisket leave about a 1/4 inch of fat on the bottom but trim everything else. A good marbled brisket will just cook beautifully even with just salt and pepper.
If you are cooking a whole packer, you may want to inject the flat - when I do a whole I use a beef broth with a little ground (fine) garlic...let sit at least 4 hours or overnight if you can.
If you are just cooking a flat, skip the injection and go straight to rub. For the last year or so I've been usually cutting the tip off the packer and cooking it separately from the flat. Seems to make managing the cook easier.
The rub is intended to help create a bark that will aid in keeping moisture in and render the fat evenly. It will of course aid in the flavor profile as well so that's where various ingredients come in.
I lather the brisket with mayonnaise or spread butter (I use mustard on the pork) and then sprinkle the meat heavily with the rub. The combo of the rub and spread make for a nice thick bark and help keep the first 1/8 of the meat from drying out too fast.
Depending on schedule, I get a fire-side temp of 300-325 and the other end 200-220.
For the smoke we use a mix of hickory and plum. Probably the best subtle smoke mix there is. I know there is all sorts of people with conviction that say mesquite is the best or oak but I find them too overpowering. For the fruit you can't go wrong with pecan or cherry. I've also experimented with orange, peach and other fruits.
We also use a good lump charcoal to keep a stable temp (we also have ceramic bricks wrapped in tinfoil lining the bottom of the smoker).
Make sure the wood is good and dry and ideally no bark. Freshly cut wood will contribute to the creation of creosote and so too will moisture trapped between the wood bulk and bark. Even if your wood is "good" you can create creosote with improper airflow for the fuel being consumed. A light thin smoke is what you are after (with a blue tinge) vs a heavy dark (white, yellow) smoke.
Ribs go on the low side, tip on the high and the flat in the middle - yardbirds, links and ABTs in the middle as well.
When spritzing I use is either 3/4 apple or 3/4 white grape juice, a smidge of soy sauce and the rest cooking oil.
Flat gets wrapped at the 4 hour mark, tip at the 6 or when it hits around 160-170 internal. After that you are not getting any more penetration from the smoke and the meat is basically steaming itself internally giving off a lot of the yummy internal juice (this is known as "the stall")
It's time to work the inside and get all that fat rendered - this is the next chance for you to adjust the flavor profile.
At this point I mop the brisket with our plum chipotle and wrap tightly...double wrap (make sure second layer is definitely shiny side in) and put fat side up so that the juices run down.
Shooting for an internal temp of 220F at max so look to pull the brisket at 200.
At this point you can again nudge the flavor profile.
Since all the "kick" in our plum chipotle will have been cooked out of the mopping while the brisket was cooking wrapped, I mop again now.
Then wrap with tinfoil and pack in cooler wrapped with towels - it will continue to cook and be oh so good.
I usually have a section of the brisket that I leave wrapped in the smoker for an extra couple hours for the "cook's" cut - aka moist cut. Its what the folks get that hang around drinking beer with the cook - its like candy
Ribs go either 3-2-1 or 2-2-1 depending on if I am lazy or trimmed for baby backs. Same concept for the ribs on the mop when wrapping - then mop again for the last hour they are unwrapped - remember to let the ribs sit for 20 minutes or so before serving to let them firm up...they will fall off the bone and some like that, but I call that pulled pork, not ribs
Thank you, sir. Knowledge base enhanced. The couple slabs of 3-2-1 ribs I have done have been pretty darn tasty.
#39 CMC Camaro
Orange is Fast!
CMC-NT01 FTW!
Got my car running today. All seems well. Looking to do a open track day to get some rjn time on the motor. Then I should be ready for TWS.
Glad to hear it! Yeah I really like the 3-2-1 (ala St Louis style cut) approach I seem to get more consistency but maybe it's just that there is more time to fix mistakes on the cook
Nowadays I really only use 2-2-1 if I am doing a whole mess of ribs or are really pressed for cook time - plus there is whole trimming exercise getting to baby backs and I am a lazy cook.
Now I just need to find a good source of plum for the fall...just about out of the wood we cut from our trees....I can find pretty much everything else around here but plum.
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