- May 25, 2008
- 2
- 10
I just found this forum some time last year and then promptly forgot about it when smoking season got buried under 4 months of ice and snow. I've been pretty successful on the grill, and smoking turkeys, game hens, chickens, sausages, etc. My ribs tend to be too tender for competition, but the folks like them.
But my one brisket did not work out well. Today I smoked my second, and it came out fantastic. It was a 15 pounder, and it was a beautiful slab of meat.
I use an offset smoker, not sure of the brand anymore, but we just got it and it works great. I've been reading about the mods that are suggested, and I think I can handle most of them without losing any body parts. The smoker seems to use a tremendous amount of charcoal as it sits, so some of the mods make a lot of sense.
I have an ECB, but have only used it once. I don't know how you guys keep a fire for any length of time or get it to keep a temp, etc. More power to ya.
So this AM I fired up the firebox and seared the brisket, smoking it in a pan as was suggested by some. It came out great. I pulled the point, and plan to slice the rest. But it's just the two of us, and this was a practice brisket for the big campout.
I have a couple of questions for the experienced smokers:
The au jus in the pan was beautiful and very dark. But when set aside, it didn't separate. It just sat there. I tasted it as it was and it was very fatty. Is this normal? How should I use it? Will the whole remainder of the brisket freeze well to be sliced later? Or should it be sliced then frozen? Or would it be better to donate it to coworkers and smoke another one just before the campout?
But my one brisket did not work out well. Today I smoked my second, and it came out fantastic. It was a 15 pounder, and it was a beautiful slab of meat.
I use an offset smoker, not sure of the brand anymore, but we just got it and it works great. I've been reading about the mods that are suggested, and I think I can handle most of them without losing any body parts. The smoker seems to use a tremendous amount of charcoal as it sits, so some of the mods make a lot of sense.
I have an ECB, but have only used it once. I don't know how you guys keep a fire for any length of time or get it to keep a temp, etc. More power to ya.
So this AM I fired up the firebox and seared the brisket, smoking it in a pan as was suggested by some. It came out great. I pulled the point, and plan to slice the rest. But it's just the two of us, and this was a practice brisket for the big campout.
I have a couple of questions for the experienced smokers:
The au jus in the pan was beautiful and very dark. But when set aside, it didn't separate. It just sat there. I tasted it as it was and it was very fatty. Is this normal? How should I use it? Will the whole remainder of the brisket freeze well to be sliced later? Or should it be sliced then frozen? Or would it be better to donate it to coworkers and smoke another one just before the campout?
