Hi everyone. Guess I'll say a little about myself first: I'm 36, married, and have a beautiful 6 year old daughter, and a 1 year old furry kid (Boxer dog). I've been cooking for over 20 years, started out in fast food as a kid, but progressed into real, actual food preparation as I got older. Cooked it all, from American cuisine to Mexican to Italian to even some Greek. And of course, lots of good ol' home cooking. One thing I never did, was use a smoker. But this past Father's Day, I got my first smoker. A no-frills (just the way I like it) Brinkmann Smoke 'N Grill.
Thought I'd start with something easy, and put on some salmon that was on sale. I brined them for 30 minutes, then used a creole seasoning, and painted them with a maple glaze the last 30 minutes.
They tasted good, but they were kinda dry. Completely my fault, as I went by time instead of keeping an eye on them. Oh well, live and learn right?
Next I went with some boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I marinated in a pineapple/soy/ginger (also a few other things I won't tell) sauce, stuffed with a compound butter, and smoked with hickory.
These turned out fantastic. The thin, tip part of the breast was a little dry, but the rest was moist and succulent. Next time, think I'll wrap in bacon and see if I can't keep the whole thing moist.
This next weekend, I'm gonna step up and try my hand at a brisket, which is what brought me here. After reading through some topics here, I believe I'm gonna try to bring it up to 170 IT, then foil it until it hits 190. After which, throw it into a cooler. Do I leave it in the foil? I'm guessing yes, since the towels would end up soaking any juices that escape these last 2 hours, but I never read anything definitive on that so I wanted to ask. Only dumb question is the one not asked, right? Another question I had was concerning wood chunks and if I soak them like I did the wood chips I used on the chicken and salmon.
Ok, so I'm gonna end this post before I really start to ramble on and on. Thanks for the help this place has brought me so far, and hope to be around here for awhile.
Thought I'd start with something easy, and put on some salmon that was on sale. I brined them for 30 minutes, then used a creole seasoning, and painted them with a maple glaze the last 30 minutes.
They tasted good, but they were kinda dry. Completely my fault, as I went by time instead of keeping an eye on them. Oh well, live and learn right?
Next I went with some boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I marinated in a pineapple/soy/ginger (also a few other things I won't tell) sauce, stuffed with a compound butter, and smoked with hickory.
These turned out fantastic. The thin, tip part of the breast was a little dry, but the rest was moist and succulent. Next time, think I'll wrap in bacon and see if I can't keep the whole thing moist.
This next weekend, I'm gonna step up and try my hand at a brisket, which is what brought me here. After reading through some topics here, I believe I'm gonna try to bring it up to 170 IT, then foil it until it hits 190. After which, throw it into a cooler. Do I leave it in the foil? I'm guessing yes, since the towels would end up soaking any juices that escape these last 2 hours, but I never read anything definitive on that so I wanted to ask. Only dumb question is the one not asked, right? Another question I had was concerning wood chunks and if I soak them like I did the wood chips I used on the chicken and salmon.
Ok, so I'm gonna end this post before I really start to ramble on and on. Thanks for the help this place has brought me so far, and hope to be around here for awhile.
