New Member from SE Texas

[texastwister]

Just thought I would drop a note and introduce myself. I've been lurking for a month or so and decided to join.

My name is Bret and I live outside of Houston near a small town called Richmond. Kinda the best of both worlds where it's still like the country but shopping and stuff are only 10 minutes away. It'll change soon, you can hear the bulldozers on the horizon.

Anyway, I got a Char Griller Smokin' Pro w/SFB for Christmas after much whining

! First thing I smoked was a butt which turned out okay. Didn't cook it long enough (ran out of time foolin' around) and it had too much smoke. Next was 2 racks of Kansas City style ribs...yummy!

Right now I have a 9 1/2 pound brisket which I started last night at midnight. Finally got past the 156° plateau and temps have been slowly rising since then.

Anyway, this brings me to a question... is there an easy way to explain how to slice this brisket up? I've watched the guys in barbeque restaurants take out a newly smoked brisket and start slicing at an angle so that their slicing against the grain. What I don't understand is how they can tell the way the grain is running when the meat is covered in bark? Are there any tutorials online you can point me to?

Thanks folks for any replies.

 

[craig chamberlain]

Welcome to SMF,glad to have you here.As you've seen this is a great forum on smokin!!

 

[desertlites]

welcome to SMF Bret,won't be long till a brisket brother will be here to answer your question-I would think that from the shape they know how the grain runs,just my thought.

 

[kookie]

Welcome to the site............ Glad you stopped lurking.......... Now you can post some of your q-view...........

Kookie

 

[smokin for life]

Welcome to the SMF Bret, you sure came to the right place to learn a little more about smoking.To answer your question on how to find the grain after you smoke it. I'm sure you will hear a lot of different ways. I have a simple one, before I put it in the smoker I stick 2 tooth picks in it following the way the grain goes. One at the begining, and one at the end. Simple but it works.

 

[bb53chevpro]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[texastwister]

Thanks everyone. I've done some reading since being on this morning.

Thanks for the tip Michael. I read a similar one on the 'net which suggested cutting off a slice of the brisket perpendicular to the grain before smoking it. When it's done, just continue slicing in that direction. Seems like it would waste some meat though

!

Anyway, I've read enough about the "flat" and the "point" of the brisket to be thoroughly confused, so I'm just going to go for it when everyone gets here in an hour or so.

I'll post a pic when I pull it out of the ice chest.

 

[travcoman45]

Welcome aboard Bret! You will find all kinds of adice here! Lots of knowledge, remember to ask and also we like show and tell! Post some q-view!

 

[smokeys my pet]

Bret welcome to smf and hope you enjoy us here!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cman95]

Welcome to SMF. This is THE place to be.

 

[mossymo]

TexasTwister
Welcome to SMF !!!
How was the brisket, very much want to hear about your first brisket smoke.....
Since you recently got your Chargriller, may I suggest checking out some of the modifications SMF members and myself have made to ours; may make future smokes easier and more stable. Here are a few links to see a few modifications -
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=1922
and
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=9774

 

[bustedluckbarbq]

Welcome to the SMF!! The mods to the chargriller that are posted really helped mine... when i did a brisket... when it was done i pulled a small piece off the one end (needed a taste) with my fingers and could see which way the grain was

 

[texastwister]

Thanks for the warm greetings everyone.

Well, here is a pic of the brisket after I sliced it (I forgot to take a pic before). Anyway, nice 3/8" smoke ring, very juicy. The meat actually sat in an ice chest for six hours, double foil wrapped, between 2 pillows, and was still to hot to handle without barbeque gloves. All in all, a successful experiment.

I did a few mods before I smoked. I turned the ash catcher in the main unit upside down to act like a damper for the heat coming out of the SFB. HUGE difference! I will smoke this way from now on!

Also, I made my own charcoal box made out of expanded steel and used the "Minion" method. This worked great! I only added coal twice during the 12 hour cooktime instead of handfulls every 30 minutes. This allowed me to take 1-hour naps here and there which was great since I was doing this overnight.

Next, I might mod the smokestack down to grill level. I think I will need less smoking wood if I do this.

Thanks to everyone for the greetings!

 

[richoso1]

Hello Bret, and welcome to the best smokin' site on the net. If you're smokin a Tri Tip, you can tell by the shape of the cut. Start at the small pointed end and you'll be cutting across the grain.