First try at a full packer...and some questions...

[tuxbobble]

I finally got around to finding a good butcher shop where I could get a full packer brisket. I've only ever done flats before, but burnt ends have been calling my name for too long to ignore.

Seems like there are mixed opinions about smoking it whole and cutting after, vs separating beforehand and smoking separately. I split them ahead of time since I wasn't sure and thought it might help me keep the flat from drying out.

Everything came out great, but I've got a couple of takeaways, and a question at the end.
1: I need to lower the top rack of my UDS so I can fit a packer or pork butt under the lid.
2: I need more probes to keep track of temp for when I'm doing multiple cuts of meat. Only having one for meat and one for the pit temp, it was harder to keep track.
3: I overestimated how long the cook would take. Running in the 250 range, I was expecting it to take about 4-6 hours longer than it actually did. I was going somewhere on a specific schedule, so it sat in a cooler much longer than I had planned. The flat and the pork butt both dried out more than I've had in the past, so I'll need to adjust for that. More probes will help.
4: I need to do a much better job trimming my packer. I lost the seam halfway through separation and it wasn't great after that. After separating, when I tried trimming the excess fat with my chef's knife, I nicked my finger pretty good at one point (I was very careful for food safety after and also put on a glove for the rest of the trim)

And finally two quick questions based on the smoke...

1) Has anyone got any good (wireless) thermometer recommendations? I'm curious about the Meater in a 4-pack, but if there are better suggestions out there I'd be interested.

2) Is there a recommended type of knife to use when trimming fat off large cuts like my pork butt or brisket? My chef's knife is great in general, but it's a larger blade and I felt awkward trying to follow the curves of the meat.

 

[noboundaries]

Tuxbobble, something you said caught my eye. The cook took 4-6 hours less than you planned, and both the butt and the brisket were dry. An overcook butt is mushy. An overcooked brisket crumbles. Based upon your pics, the butt doesn't look mushy, so it may have been undercooked. But the brisket looks crumbly. Interesting.

When I depended on my Maverick for more than one cut of meat, I just loaded the smoker up with labeled meat probes. I think I had four at one time. Put them in the meat, then switched them out on the transmitter to check temps. Worked like a charm without dropping the connection.

My favorite knife for trimming any cut of meat has a 1/2" x 5" blade. It is easy to handle and minimizes the possibility of cutting my hands. I have cut resistant gloves, but usually don't wear them when trimming with the 5". Larger knives are more clumsy to me, so that's when I wear the gloves. I also wear them religiously with my vegetable mandolin. My wife learned that lesson the hard way, requiring stitches.

 

[tuxbobble]

Tuxbobble, something you said caught my eye. The cook took 4-6 hours less than you planned, and both the butt and the brisket were dry. An overcook butt is mushy. An overcooked brisket crumbles. Based upon your pics, the butt doesn't look mushy, so it may have been undercooked. But the brisket looks crumbly. Interesting.

When I depended on my Maverick for more than one cut of meat, I just loaded the smoker up with labeled meat probes. I think I had four at one time. Put them in the meat, then switched them out on the transmitter to check temps. Worked like a charm without dropping the connection.

My favorite knife for trimming any cut of meat has a 1/2" x 5" blade. It is easy to handle and minimizes the possibility of cutting my hands. I have cut resistant gloves, but usually don't wear them when trimming with the 5". Larger knives are more clumsy to me, so that's when I wear the gloves. I also wear them religiously with my vegetable mandolin. My wife learned that lesson the hard way, requiring stitches.

That's a really good tip about the extra probes. My Maverick takes two so having a couple of extras and swapping outside the drum might be a good way to deal with it.

As for the cook time, it's possible I pulled the butt too early. The flat was done even further ahead of schedule, so I left it a bit longer and wound up pulling the butt much later, at what I thought was a reasonable time.

I was looking at a no cut glove but as a first timer with limited space it was already tough to rotate and flip the brisket to get at all it's fat, and that kind of glove would only make it harder. I'll look for a blade with that profile to compare against.

Thanks for the great tips!

 

[tropics]

For cut resistant gloves I have a pair I use when handling my meat slicer blade
Ray has you covered on the rest
Richie

 

[tuxbobble]

For cut resistant gloves I have a pair I use when handling my meat slicer blade
Ray has you covered on the rest
Richie

Almost ordered that exact glove yesterday since it went on sale. I stopped myself thinking I'd have less dexterity and do a worse job of it, but if it's manageable maybe I'll go back and place an order.

Thanks for the input.

 

[noboundaries]

The cut resistant gloves I have are a woven, stretchy fabric. They don't interfere with dexterity at all.