Game Day Brisket (screwed up the smokie okie)

[jaynik]

I tried to sear my brisket the smokie okie way, but it seems that I did it wrong. I didn't get the nice bark like in the pictures that I've seen. I guess my grill doesn't get as hot as a wood fire. I'll try it in the fire pit next time and see how it goes. I also didn't have an aluminum pan, so used a glass pan to put the brisket in. It's a 6lb brisket that I've been smoking with cherry and hickory since 6 this morning (smoked about 4.5 hours) and now have it finishing in the oven, covered up. I'm worried though because I'm fast approaching 200 already! If it gets to the magic number too soon, I"ll try to towel and cooler it until we're ready to eat it during the game.

I also did a small chuck roast since the smoker was fired up already. It was only a pound or so, and cooked quick. I keep that size on hand to smoke up chili/stew meat. I'm going to maybe cut this up for lunch and see how that goes!

I've got a batch of wings to go on later this afternoon.

Pics to follow!

 

[pigcicles]

Jaynik I wouldn't say you screwed it up by any means. Be sure to have an extremely hot fire. I bet it still tastes great when it comes down to eating it.

 

[richtee]

IMHO, you gotta have FLAMES to do the Okie thing. Gas is not the same...

 

[jaynik]

I hear you Rich. I got home too late to set aside some of my walnut for the firepit. The dew/frost wet it so that there was too wet to burn hot! That would have been ideal.

By the way, I've officially hit 200 and have to wait until 6 pm to eat. I've got it in the oven on the "keep warm" setting (150 degrees) The meat is at 186 right now. It doesn't fit into my cooler as it is now. Should I cut it in half and put it in a smaller dish, then in the cooler? I don't want it to dry out!

 

[peculiarmike]

Okie sears brisket over a HOT lump charcoal fire, bout 10 lbs worth that is fully lit and burning. The flames are from the fat cap on the brisket melting off a bit and dripping into the bed of lump, that's how hot the fire is. He has a custom made fork about a foot and a half long the builder of his smoker made for him and wears welding gloves. THAT's how hot the fire is. That tells you how hot your fire needs to be. HOT

If you still have hair on your arm after searing the brisket your fire was not hot enough.

 

[jaynik]

Yup. That's what I needed. I imagine you could use a chimney of your coals when they're flaming and just move the meat around to get coverage.

Any ideas on how to keep this thing warm?

 

[bustedluckbarbq]

i'd put it in foil with its juices poured over it wrap it in two bath towels and put it in a cooler.....

 

[jaynik]

Just getting to update this. I didn't get any shots of the brisket, but here are a couple from the small chuck that I smoked! It was pretty good, but I dried it out a bit. It will make some killer quesadillas though!

BTW, no pics of the brisket as the day got too complex and I had to serve quickly! The brisket was very juicy, but I noticed it was less smoky than usual. I do think the chuck fat and brisket fat mixed in the pan, and to me, brisket fat is in its own category, so the two mixed was weird I think.

 

[cman95]

Looks good there jaynik!!

 

[legomom]

Hello, everyone. I am totally new to this website (although I did sign up in 2008 when we had a smoker and I coudn't figure out how to work it and gave up; carpool & life, etc.). So here I am now, trying to master (or at least get a a minor) in brisket. My first one last week was 3.4 pounds. I cooked it and I cooked it and I cooked it, trying to get an internal temp of at least 180. (And yes, I do have that remote ThermaPro thing). Keeping heat consistent was not a problem (sorry, fellas --it's a gas grill; wasn't my purchase). Anyway, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being fantastic, my 3.4 pounder was about a 2.5 -- barely edible. My smoking attempt for the 3.4lb brisket: used two 8-inch Lodge skillets w/hickory chunks and put the skillets directly on the heating element w/brisket on indirect heat. The smoking worked fine and once the chunks were smoking away, I put the meat directly on the adjoining racks. Sole heat source was the heating element used to smoke the wood chunks.

Today I started an 8 pounder at 3pm, at 250F. It is now 3AM and my top internal temp is 149. I finally pulled it off the gas grill, worried it would dry out. It looks gorgeous and the tips are good. But how much longer should I continue to cook this darn thing? Twelve hours for an 8 pounder and I'm still, still cooking. Does anyone have any idea what I am doing wrong? (PS -- my short-stick digital quick-read thermometer is consistent w/my ThermaPro, so I don't think the probe or the temp reading is the issue). Did same smoking trick w/the Lodge skillets for first 6 hours of cook and apparently they did the trick because the few bites of the tips I tried had a wonderful smoke flavor.

Also, my 8-pounder has a nice bark, but it's not very dry or crunchy. Should I consider giving it a fast 10-minute blast at 400 in the oven, where it is cooking now at 250, once it reaches 180, to help crunch up the bark? One other note: the probe and instant-read thermometers go in the brisket like butter -- zero resistance -- and the brisket is nice and jiggly. It sure seems done to me. But being at only 150F, I don't want to kill anyone w/undercooked, unsafe meat, so I'm in a bit of a pickle and desperate for a quick answer if anyone is awake!

Many, many thanks for any help or suggestions. And apologies if I am posting this question in the wrong forum or board; just learning how to navigate this website.