Cooking Butt and Briskett ahead of time...?? Thoughts?

[chef jimmyj]

Go ahead and Foil the meat and swap the position periodically during the rest of the cook. This will even out the cooking time...JJ

 

[chef jimmyj]

Sounds like it's gonna be good...JJ

 

[austinsmoke]

Thanks Man....I think I am going to treat my company to some burnt ends I have never done. Do I let the point finish to 180, then let rest before cutting it into cubes and throwing it back on?? Or pull it at 180, cube it and put right back on??

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Thanks Man....I think I am going to treat my company to some burnt ends I have never done. Do I let the point finish to 180, then let rest before cutting it into cubes and throwing it back on?? Or pull it at 180, cube it and put right back on??

Crap, I didn't know this thread went active again...

My best burnt ends come from cubing the point at around 160*...much better moisture retention and texture. If you get much above 170* before cubing, make the cubes a bit bigger so they don't dry out as much.

...hope I'm not too late...

Eric

 

[austinsmoke]

No, I foiled it at 165 and it is just getting back to 160 now....do I pull away or trim the fat before I cube it??

Tom

919 332 1957

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I always trim most fat before cubing the point into burnt ends. If I know ahead of time that I'm making burnt ends, I like to trim it lean before I smoke...in fact, a pre-smoke separation of the point/flat and lean trimmed point works great for burnt ends.

Eric

 

[austinsmoke]

Ok, Awesome...I did separate before cooking and trimmed off 1.5 lbs of fat...not exactly lean, but better. I pulled it off after your last post, letting it rest briefly before cubing... do you probe the cubes after an hour or so to test IT?

 

[forluvofsmoke]

No probing for temps on the burnt ends...just smoke a second time to caramelize @ 225* chamber temps for a couple hours...go mostly by looks, anywhere from a deep golden brown to so dark it almost looks charred (depending on your dry rub ingredients). I like to go on open grates instead of into a pan like some do. Open grate gives a nice variation in textures...some of the surfaces will be a bit softer, while much will get a very firm to crisp crust. If you rest early enough (low enough internal temp before pulling from the smoker) before cubing, the interior should be moist with a tender chew that has somewhat of a pop from the membranes over the small muscle groups...great experience to eat them this way.

Eric

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Oh, I forgot to mention, if you're smoking the brisket ahead of time, when the point reaches 160* or so, you can foil to rest, then chill/freeze, and cube up to smoke into burnt ends a few hours before serving.

Eric