Brisket the easy way !!!

[SmokinVOLfan]

Sure, I can understand that smoking meat CAN be a simple process. But if everyone on this forum just posted "Hey I smoked this and it was great" then how would anyone learn anything? How much fun would this forum be? I for one am grateful guys like Bearcarver SmokinAl Pops etc...posted great pics and processes on things. I didn't know shit when I first started smoking meats and that sure helped me a lot. Not pompous BS IMO.

 

[cal1956]

this forum SHOULD be about helping the new fellas understand the BASICS of how to get started, NOT about how fancy it can be ...that has caused many a good peice of meat to be ruined by trying to follow a bunch of convuluted nonsense
smoking meat is cooking at its most basic level ... nothing more !!!

 

[TNJAKE]

this forum SHOULD be about helping the new fellas understand the BASICS of how to get started, NOT about how fancy it can be ...that has caused many a good peice of meat to be ruined by trying to follow a bunch of convuluted nonsense
smoking meat is cooking at its most basic level ... nothing more !!!

Thanks for showing us the error of our ways.....

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

this forum SHOULD be about helping the new fellas understand the BASICS of how to get started, NOT about how fancy it can be ...that has caused many a good peice of meat to be ruined by trying to follow a bunch of convuluted nonsense
smoking meat is cooking at its most basic level ... nothing more !!!

Everyone is obviously entitled to their own opinions. You are obviously older as you stated and set in your ways. Cave man-esq meat, grill, smoke. Nothing more. The rest of us might like to think outside of the box a little. Like more in depth flavors. Try new things. Like to learn. Nothing pompous or arrogant about it. Thanks for sharing your brisket story. Glad it worked for you and your neighbor.

 

[motocrash]

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

keeping the stack temp at a nice steady 225

I'd be curious to know what your actual chamber temperature is at grate level as opposed to the temperature in the stack. Plus, what sort of thermometer is in the stack, e.g. digital probe versus a stock bimetallic dial?

 

[noboundaries]

Fun read!

I'm in the simple camp, but wasn't always there. I jumped hard on the tech wagon when I first started smoking. With time and experience, I've used less and less tech. The one exception is when I'm experimenting.

Briskets? Fire, rub, smoke, time, probe for tenderness. Yeah, I still use tech to monitor chamber temps. And I usually, but not always, check meat temp toward the end of a smoke, but that probe for tenderness tells me more than any digital readout.

My resting period in a warm oven has grown from 1-2 hours to 5. The meat transforms during that rest in a way you taste and feel. Kinda reminds me of spaghetti sauce. It's good at 2 hours, but transforms over 4. Just let heat do its thang whether it's sauce or brisket.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

I'd be curious to know what your actual chamber temperature is at grate level as opposed to the temperature in the stack. Plus, what sort of thermometer is in the stack, e.g. digital probe versus a stock bimetallic dial?

I was also curious why the smoke was only rolling for two hours.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

I was also curious why the smoke was only rolling for two hours.

I was curious about that too.

 

[cal1956]

the reason for ONLY smoking for 2 or so hours is simple , after that your just wasting wood as it does 0 to the flavor of the meat and anyone that says otherwise is just blowing smoke up your rear end


The smoke ring also points us to an interesting truth: The depth of the smoke ring is the maximum depth of smoke penetration, and therefore of flavor penetration from the fire.


It doesn’t matter for how many hours you smoke your pork butt or how perfect your fire management is, the dead center of the butt will not taste like smoke. The gasses and particulate matter that smoke is made of just can’t penetrate the muscle fibers that far down. In fact, almost all of the penetrative smoke flavor in barbecued meats is achieved in the first couple hours of cooking.

 

[sandyut]

cooking a brisket need not be complicated and you don't need anything more than a good dry rub

AMEN brother! That's all I do as well, rub it and smoke till probe tender.

 

[cal1956]

now as to using thermometer's for measuring meat temps , if your new to cooking /smoking, i can see that you might need to use them for your 1st few cooks but part of learning to cook is learning how to tell when meat is done and after a while you will get the hang of being able to tell how done meat is by both the look and feel of it , in my case after 40 years i have 0 need for thermometers other than the stack temp

 

[noboundaries]

I'm an engineer by education, but using technology to get the perfect pitmaster smoke is kinda like buying a Corvette to believe you're a race car driver. Nope. Depending on technology alone results in a lot of crappy but edible results before you achieve TBS perfection. If you can start simple, have patience, and not overthink a smoke, that journey to perfection is a lot quicker.

 

[Nefarious]

this forum SHOULD be about helping the new fellas understand the BASICS of how to get started, NOT about how fancy it can be ...that has caused many a good peice of meat to be ruined by trying to follow a bunch of convuluted nonsense
smoking meat is cooking at its most basic level ... nothing more !!!

I'm new so I will chime in. From your original post one can't tell anything about how you did it so easy and what changes to the normal process you made to get this result. You haven't helped me at all, in fact, you have confused me.

From a newby, I have only made one brisket, I get no value from your post. It seems like you are proud of your result but don't want anyone to know your secrets.

 

[chopsaw]

don't want anyone to know your secrets.

It's the stack temp . Makes all the difference .

 

[Nodak21]

now as to using thermometer's for measuring meat temps , if your new to cooking /smoking, i can see that you might need to use them for your 1st few cooks but part of learning to cook is learning how to tell when meat is done and after a while you will get the hang of being able to tell how done meat is by both the look and feel of it , in my case after 40 years i have 0 need for thermometers other than the stack temp

Okay Smokey McSmokemaster. Now that you have taught us how to cook a brisket, what is your secret for mastering chicken?

 

[gmc2003]

767 views, 35 responses all on a thread that's ambiguous. This guy is probably sitting back in his rocker like Baker Mayfield after the Browns signed Watson to that ridiculous contract. The devils advocate at it's best.

Chris

 

[chopsaw]

I tried to stay away .

 

[TNJAKE]

I tried to stay away .

I used my psychic abilities to draw you in lol

 

[gmc2003]

So did I.

Chris