A Basic No-frills Brisket...'cause I'm too tired right now

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forluvofsmoke

Smoking Guru
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Aug 27, 2008
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Part two of my back-to-back smokes is well underway...I waited to post pics 'cause I was too tired lastnight.

I was also too tired to remember to score the fatcap, but I did remember to toss some cbp and kosher salt on it and put smoke wood in the pan, etc....LOL!!!!!!

Anyway, this is about as basic of prep and smoke as I think I've ever done. I woke up this morning before 6:00 am...not because I wanted too either...just happened, so I decide to stab a probe into what started out as my least closest thing to a masterpiece for a look at how we were doing after 11+ hours into the smoke. 168*, and by the time I let a dog out for a quick #1 nature call, it was to 170*. Must be just waking up from a stall, like me. Yea, I'm feeling the pain today again, running on maybe the same amount of sleep as I got yesterday morning, which was next to none. Oh well, I'll get all the sleep I need when I take a dirt nap...right now though, it's brisket time.

Finishing the thaw in a cold water bath...only 14lbs, but getting it up from 20* to about ~34* took a few hours:

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CBP and kosher salt only...getting back to the basics here, where it's all about the meat and smoke:

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And, the back-to-back...still finishing the pork brisket bones for lastnight's dinner when the beef hit the smoke:

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28 hours non-stop for the vault (and counting), but here's what 11 hours did for the brisket:

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If I met a Jeanie right now and were only grant one wish, it would be to never fell tired again...then I could stay up all night and smoke a brisket whenever I wanted...aah, such a great life, what else could I ask for?

I need another nap now...but 170* in the brisky...OK, just for 1 hour. Then it back to work on the brisket.

Burnt ends and sliced beef will be the order of the day from my kitchen...then, SLEEP before work in the morning...LOL!!!!!

I'll keep the rest of this short and sweet...would a couple pics of burnt ends later and sliced flat suffice later?

Back to sleep for a bit.........

Thanks

Eric
 
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Brisket looks good so far!  Keep doing those long smokes and you'll wear out the vault!
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Looking good. I hope your entering the throwdown with some of that brisket.
 
Just gotta love stayin up way way to long. BUT its always worth it in the end. Talk about sacrifice for a good cause.

Chunk-o-meat is lookin great!! The briskets that I did last weekend with the s&p with a splash of worcestershire sauce turned out very good. Thur night I split up the meat and put in vac pac bags to go in the freezer. I left one full bag and also a bag of the scraps out to take to work on fri. OMG. I left the bag of scraps in our office for the bosses and secretary's to snack on and now I have at least 8 people wanting me to cook and sell them brisket. I took the full bag of slices to the job for myself and my guys to have for lunch.

I have taken my brisket before with many different types of rub and such but never got the hype that I did with the S&P rub. Now I am stuck trying to figure out what to charge per pound.

I hope ya catch a nap here and there today and can't wait to see the finished product.
 
Brisket looks good so far!  Keep doing those long smokes and you'll wear out the vault!
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Thanks, hey, you can wear them out?!?!?!?!?............................................................LOL!!!!!!! I'll try, but, my best non-stop time on the vault was this run...gotta think now...started @ 2:22 am in Friday morning with pork brisket bones and I just shut it down when I pulled this packer out @ 10:15 am, so, just short of 30 hours.

Oh, believe it or not, I started this run with aprprox 3/4 a 20# tank of propane, and when I shut down it hefted and sloshed like a 1/4 full tank. Crazy as it may sound, that's getting a 30 hr run on about 10lbs...1/3lb/hr.

Anyway, part of this is due to my mods, I'm sure...fully closed side intaker vents makes a difference.

 EDIT: Sheesh, I must be out of it still...I'm usually pretty good with numbers. The smoker was running for a total of 32 hours, not 30. Man, I'm about half silly this morning...uh, I mean this afternoon...it's almost 1:30 pm already.
Looking good. I hope your entering the throwdown with some of that brisket.
Thanks, I hadn't thought about the throwdown, as ussual. I think I'll let the up and coming hardcore smoke enthusiasts go for the silver & gold, though. I'm just enjoying myself and the skills I've honed after hanging out here for the past 2 years. It's just another good in the thin blue smoke for me, and something to share with everyone on the forums to help keep lots of fresh q-view rolling for those needing soem eyecandy.


 
Just gotta love stayin up way way to long. BUT its always worth it in the end. Talk about sacrifice for a good cause.

Chunk-o-meat is lookin great!! The briskets that I did last weekend with the s&p with a splash of worcestershire sauce turned out very good. Thur night I split up the meat and put in vac pac bags to go in the freezer. I left one full bag and also a bag of the scraps out to take to work on fri. OMG. I left the bag of scraps in our office for the bosses and secretary's to snack on and now I have at least 8 people wanting me to cook and sell them brisket. I took the full bag of slices to the job for myself and my guys to have for lunch.

I have taken my brisket before with many different types of rub and such but never got the hype that I did with the S&P rub. Now I am stuck trying to figure out what to charge per pound.

I hope ya catch a nap here and there today and can't wait to see the finished product.
Yea, I've caught a couple hours at a time for the past 2 days...I think I'll go to bed pretty early this evening though, so I'm not a zombie at work on Sunday. I really haven't done any marathon smokes since I was getting some briskets and butts smoked up for our family reunion back in July, so maybe I was overdue...heh-heh!

Oh yea, do be careful how you distribute your smoked meats...I've gotten some requests for doing another Bbq for a safety meeting at work. I did pulled pork, a version of Dutch's beans and brisket about a year ago, and word has spread far and wide since then. What's a guy to do? Maybe things will come together where I can do another burn for a work meeting again soon...I'll wait and see. They'll all just have to be patient until that time comes.

I tapped my snooze bar on the alarm clock for almost 90 minutes after the 8:00 am alarm went off. I finally crawled out to the smoker in no big hurry, even though my digital probe was in alarm, set for 180*. Yep, it was at 181*, so I killed the burner in the vault and started grabbing pans, a board, knife, steel, and rearranging my scrambled brains back into order as best I could.

Point/Flat separation and trimming went smooth as ever, and I now have the start of my burnt ends chilling in the fridge to season and double-smoke later today. The flat is resting peacefully, and I think I'll just do a full chill and toss it through my slicer for a reheat today...the thin sliced brisket flat I brought for our reunion was like gold...everyone loved it, so I think I'll try that trick again.

Here ya go:

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Burnt Ends in waiting:

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The flat, about to go under cover:

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Now I can just lay around and wait for a few hours to make the rest of it happen for dinner tonight. Pics to follow, of course.

Thanks all!

Eric
 
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Thanks Bear, I guess I'll keep rolling with this. I'm not feeling as tired as I did earlier today...I even did some more organizing and cleaning in my outdoor kitchen. Not looking forward to it, but the inevitable of winter isn't far away, so I'll be ready when it happens...cold, wind, nor snow shall shut-down my kitchen, no sir!!! 
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I chilled the brisket flat @ 20* for about 2-1/2 hours in my outdoor fridge after it had rested for an hour. I decided that dragging out the slicer for a 2-3 minute job and then spending 10 minutes doing clean-up of the slicer just didn't sound very appealing, so I grabbed a good thin blade Chef knife and steel and went to work doing it the old fashioned way instead.

Man, this slices up easy with the right knife, some well chilled meat and a few minutes of carefully spent time...I just couldn't stop myself from sharing these pics:

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The sliced flat is reheating with a bit of water in a foil covered pan back in the smoke vault @ 235*.

So, you say you like Burnt Ends? Well allrighty then...

Dave, meet cubed brisket point:

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The two of you are now joined in hickory matrimony, by the power vested in me through the state of thin blue smoke...LOL!!!!!!!:

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I did a rotation of the outer pieces towards the center and vice-versa, as the outer edge of the Gourmet grate runs a bit hotter than the center...not a problem once you know the tricks to your rig.

The final chapter of this smoky documentary will follow soon...dinner is slated for 35 minutes...yum!!!!!!!!!

Eric
 
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Hey all! I had a good head of steam built for taking care of my outdoor kitchen and didn't want to ruin a good thing (LOL!!!!), so I just now sat down to eat and post.

Burnt Ends were fantastic, as always:

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The sliced Brisket Flat, after a slow steamed reheat...wife said this was very moist and tender...I have to agree:

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I forgot to get a pic of it, but I slathered some Hickory Farms Sweet Hot Mustard on these Swiss/American Cheese and Brisket sandwiches...very good eating:

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Well, the final chapter has come to a close, and it tasted FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!   I can only hope my pics made it look as good as it tastes!

Aaaaaaaaaaah, I'm in Brisket and Burnt Ends Heaven again....if tonight is my night to leave this beautiful place I now call home, then I die with a very happy belly!

Nite all!

Eric
 
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I bow down to you there Eric. You are the man for that smoke. Now thats one I could only dream of I believe. You have made quite the smoke for sure. Great Job again. 
 
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I bow down to you there Eric. You are the man for that smoke. Now thats one I could only dream of I believe. You have made quite the smoke for sure. Great Job again. 
Eric,

I gotta do it again----Agree with Mark entirely! He said it so well. Sometimes I think he's reading my mind, or I his.

Thanks again for a great tutorial !

Bear
 
WOW is all I can think of - you have set the new gold standard for this smoke. Congrats on one beautiful smoke
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Thanks all! I was just havin' some fun again with this brisky, and it tasted great!

 
Great Work!!

I sure wish I could slice with the consistency that you have.
Hey brother smoker, you can slice like I did...just have the proper knife and keep it sharp...and I do mean scary sharp...put your steel to it as soon as you pick it up and straighten the edge before you draw it upon anything...a dull knife can be a cook's worst enemy, either by causing you to force the blade through the food and making your cuts undesirable, or, by making you slip and risk injury to yourself. Also, any knives you use should fit your hand, just like an extension of your arm...it should feel natural to pick up the knife and begin drawing it through your food...if it doesnt feel right, it isn't the right knife for you.

Another trick for thin slicing of really tender meats as this was, is to chill it very well before slicing. I have better results with my electric slicer using this method as well. I don't own an electric knife, so can't make any recommendations on them. If you have a tender meat which you want to slice hot and serve while still hot, you'll probably have to bite the bullet and just go for thicker cuts, as it will just fall apart if you don't...that's been my experience anyway. A tough piece of cooked meat will seem to actually slice thin more easily than a tender piece.
 

I didn't post a pic of the knife I used for the brisket flat slicing...it's a solid stainless steel Chef style, medium/light weight 8 inch blade from Chicago Cutlery...this particular knife is one of my favorites for food prep due it being very well balanced, and it fits my hand like we were meant to be together...raw veggies, raw or cooked meats (yes, I use this instead of a butcher knife at times), raw potatoes...it just does such a nice job for me, mostly because it fits my hand so well and it is a thin profile blade, causing less resistence moving through the food...for cutting hard bones as in quartering a chicken, I go for the cleaver, or a heavy blade chef knife:

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EDIT: here's one of the edge...pretty consistent grind...I used a grinding wheel type electric sharpener on this about 6 months ago and it's holding up beautifully:

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WOW is all I can think of - you have set the new gold standard for this smoke. Congrats on one beautiful smoke
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Thanks brother, I don't know about setting any standards here...just another good day (and a half, I guess) of smokin' for me, IMHO. I seem to have the touch for turning out alot more good smokes than not-so-good, thanks to all the great info I've found posted here on the forums in the past 2 years. I really do owe alot for my success to many of the members here.

Holy cow, pig, chicken & turkey!! I just realized that I missed celebrating my 2-year SMF anniversary on the 27th!!!!!!!!!!  
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Well, I did have a good smoke going that day, anyway...

Thanks again everyone!!! It's been a pleasure doing smoke with ya!!!!

Eric
 
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I got to this party a little late Eric, 

Awewome Brisket.....I will have to agree that there are times when simple is better.  Great knife skills too..
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