Brisket

Brisket, where to start? Well I did as I had been doing using a basic commercial rub (Oklahoma Joe's All purpose rub). I followed the directions that came with my smoker and, in a word was crap. The smoke flavor was there, but the final product was so tough it was almost inedible.

So I went back to the drawing board and tied again a few weeks later. Almost the exact same result. Needless to say I was very discouraged and decided to go back to pork.

Now the turning point in my brisket story was that a friend and one of the Usual Suspects of Baypoint (S.M.) had been smoking brisket for events at the condo and it was the best brisket I had ever tasted. Great smoke, flavor and tender beyond belief all while not falling apart.

I presented S.M. with a proposition, if he would teach me his secret I would provide the meat and do most of the work. Happily S.M. obliged and even picked up the meat. S.M. also had a recipe for a rub that I believe he found on the internet. So on a Friday night around 10:00 we set up the smoker and he brought the brisket over. Now at this time I did not realize how much work was involved in trimming the brisket. Silly me just assumed it came that way (which it does if you want)

Me Manning the Smoker in the A.M.

We put in this mammoth cut of meat and watched the smoker for a few hours to be sure the temp was around 200 - 225 while imbibing on our favorite adult beverages. We smoked overnight and the next morning the temp had climbed to around 240, but that was not an issue. I adjusted the temp and we let the brisket smoke for a few more hours until the internal temp was around 185-190.

Then S.M. let me in on the part of the process I was missing, he double wrapped the brisket with foil and placed it in a cooler (no ice) and let it continue to cook in it's own juices.

Well the result was absolutely phenomenal we all ate until we nearly burst!

The Master on the left (S.M.) and the Student

Gadget Corner:

I had been suspecting for a few months that my smoker thermometer was not as accurate as it once was so I did some research for a new high tech way to keep track of both the internal smoker temp as  well as the food team.

This is what I selected.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009ITJT92/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used it for the first time yesterday and I was very pleased with the functionality. It kept a very consistent temperature (I was double checking with another thermometer) of both the smoker and food by using two different leads. It was easy to set up and allowed me to sit on my patio without jumping up and walking back to the smoker anytime i was curious of the temp. As  you can see in the picture the remote unit has both temps displayed.

Now for the bad part, the leads you get with this product are only about 3 feet in length and while that sounds like enough, trust me it is not. Even for the smallest of smokers or grills you need to purchase extra leads. The only ones I found were six feet and they will work for most smokers and grills.

And yest my old smoker thermometer was off by 34 - 50 degrees. Now to see if I can calibrate it

Cheers
Randy