The OFFICIAL meat smoking thread

[cardsfansince82]

I prefer to have someone else smoke my meat for me.

[Jocephus]

I enjoy having breakfast in bed. I like waking up to the smell of bacon- sue me- and since I don't have a butler, I have to do it myself. So most nights before I go to bed I will lay six strips of bacon out on my George Foreman Grill. Then I go to sleep. When I wake up, I plug in the grill. I go back to sleep again. Then I wake up to the smell of crackling bacon. It is delicious. It''s good for me. It's the perfect way to start the day. Today I got up, I stepped onto the grill and it clamped down on my foot. That''s it. I don't see what's so hard to believe about that

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

[SHOW]

Omg. Wtf was I thinking. 12# brisket. Wont even fit in my freaking roaster. Guess im gonna start this bad boy ab midnight and try to het it done by tomorrow night before I go to bed? Or cut it in half.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Trimmed all the excess off this thing and put a good rub on it. But, what an amateur mistake, I'm gonna end up putting it on sometime around 2 am to make sure it gets done in time to eat it for dinner. Jeebus, that was stupid. Should have just got it Friday and put it on first thing this morning and taken it off sometime around now. No no.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

[SHOW]

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Here's the rundown:
Trimmed and rubbed this thing Saturday afternoon.

[SHOW]

Injected it with an olive oil/butter/garlic/cider vinegar/water/beef broth/pepper mop. Put it on at 3 am kept it pretty much right around 220-250. Took this pic about 9 am after mopping it.

[SHOW]

Wrapped it about 2 pm and took it off about 5.

[SHOW]

The taste was pretty awesome, but the flat part got a little dried out.

[SHOW]

But, the tip was freaking awesome with a great tasting bark and juicy meat.

[SHOW]

One thing I did different than I've ever done, due to the size and time, is I flipped the brisket to put the fat cap down a couple hours into it. Seemed all my injected mop was escaping, and the bottom meat was getting a bit too much heat. So, flipped the fat cap down to keep the juices in and act as the sacrificial lamb if there was going to be one. Towards the end, and when it was wrapped, flipped it back to where the fat cap was on top. It got to about 180 degrees after resting. The only problem is the flat being dry and the lack of juiciness in other parts. But, the taste was good. Mrs. AW said it was dry, but liked it. So, for a learning experience, I give it an A. But for actual meat quality, C-. I'll probably never do a full brisket again.
Cost:
$35 for the brisket
$10 for charcoal
$3 for wood
$1 for cider vingegar
$3 butter
$2 oil

There was beef broth, garlic, foil etc that were negligible costs. So....about $55 and a lot of time.

[Jocephus]

those pictures make me want to eat meat again...

[Fat_Bulldog]

AW,
Looks like you trimmed too much off before you smoked it. I never trim a brisket before cooking. You can always remove the fat later.

Also, how long and what temp?

[Fat_Bulldog]

Also, if you think it's not going to be juicy / tender, you should always wrap in foil with some type of liquid / beer and finish in the oven. Good way to cheat...

[cardinalkarp]

Wow, that thing looks fabulous. One question, when you wrapped it did you put any type of liquid agent to keep it from drying out? If anyone has ever watched the show "BBQ Pitmasters" on Destination HD channel? They have them smoking anything but everything on that show & you can get some really good tips. Next time I smoke something....brisket, ribs, pork butt I'm going to add apple juice mixture (which I'll typically spray it w/ before foiling), but these guys add a healthy amount of that squeeze butter before they seal it up to keep things from drying out. And depending on the flavor you're looking for (on ribs for example) they'll add honey to it as well to add a bit of sweetness.