Big Green Egg

[Tomorrow]

Twenty hours?? Good Lord, man, maybe a third of that time!!

I typically smoke a brisket (11-12 lbs) for 6-7 hours then about three hours resting in an ice chest. Comes out perfect every time.

 

[Gutwrench]

Twenty hours?? Good Lord, man, maybe a third of that time!!

I typically smoke a brisket (11-12 lbs) for 6-7 hours then about three hours resting in an ice chest. Comes out perfect every time.

Hi Tomorrow. The thumb rule at 225-250 F is 1-1.5 hours per pound. There's other factors beside temp affecting the cook such as thickness, marbling, if it's injected, weather, and if you do it naked or wrapped in paper or foil.

For me...6-7 hrs at 225-250 F will put most (if not all) well marbled, non-injected briskets in the 13 lb range squarely in the stall (150-160 F)...or just on the verge of exiting it. Putting it in a faux-cambro at that temp won't work for me as it will be tough as nails because the connective tissue won't have melted. The people who I've read and regard as experts on this suggest pulling it off around 198 - 208 F. Every brisket is different, so it's "done when it's done."

Barbecuing is a relationship between you and your grill, meat and the wood. If what you're doing works for your equipment and you're happy with your product then "it's perfect", right? Other people mileage will vary.

 

[Gutwrench]

Since I badly estimated the timing on the brisket I threw on some ribs. They just came off. I'll package most of the brisket and the ribs to give to a friend and his family. He broke his ankle and tibia a few weeks ago and still laid up at home. He's also my butcher so I try to take good care of him.

 

[Tomorrow]

Hi Tomorrow. The thumb rule at 225-250 F is 1-1.5 hours per pound. There's other factors beside temp affecting the cook such as thickness, marbling, if it's injected, weather, and if you do it naked or wrapped in paper or foil.

For me...6-7 hrs at 225-250 F will put most (if not all) well marbled, non-injected briskets in the 13 lb range squarely in the stall (150-160 F)...or just on the verge of exiting it. Putting it in a faux-cambro at that temp won't work for me as it will be tough as nails because the connective tissue won't have melted. The people who I've read and regard as experts on this suggest pulling it off around 198 - 208 F. Every brisket is different, so it's "done when it's done."

Barbecuing is a relationship between you and your grill, meat and the wood. If what you're doing works for your equipment and you're happy with your product then "it's perfect", right? Other people mileage will vary.

I don't know about any "thumb rule," but I know what works based off experience:

225-250° indirect heat, a combination of briquet charcoal and pecan wood
A whole brisket, trimmed to 1/4" of fat, with the fat side down (fat side up does not make "moist" brisket, it makes "greasy" brisket, in my experience)
6-7 hours indirect (using a side firebox) will bring the internal temperature to 190-195. I don't have it wrapped when it's in the smoker, I don't use a drip tray and I don't use a water pan (that just steams the meat). I pull it off and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.
2-3 hours in an empty ice chest. For me, this breaks down the connective tissue without overcooking the meat or drying it out.

I get that there are differences in woods, temperatures, humidity, etc. but cooking any bit of food, any kind, any size, for 20 hours seems to me to violate all laws of common sense. I worked as a cook while I was in college so maybe I have a bit of background that the average person doesn't have, but if a "thumb rule" tells you to cook any kind of food for 20 hours it's probably time to do a bit of a sanity check before you proceed. That being said, I'm genuinely sorry your project did not turn out as you hoped, both because I know that disappointment from experience and because I hate to see a good piece of meat ruined (probably too strong a word).

EDIT: The ribs look delicious, BTW.

 

[Gutwrench]

Thanks tomorrow. Actually both turned out excellent.

I injected and cooked a 13-14 lb naked brisket once that took all of 20 hours. I don't expect to inject again.

Most every smoke and barbecue site gives thumb rules with their tips. 13.5 lbs X 1.5 hours per pound = 20.5 hours. That's worse case I expected. I am surprised it finished when it did at 16.5.

Everyone's mileage varies since equipment, meat, and tastes vary.

When are you going to post some of yours, by the way?

Cheers

 

[Uofmtiger]

Thanks tomorrow. Actually both turned out excellent.

I injected and cooked a 13-14 lb naked brisket once that took all of 20 hours. Most every smoke and barbecue site gives thumb rules with their tips. 13.5 lbs X 1.5 hours per pound = 20.5 hours. Mine finished in 16.5.

Cheers

I have made one "packers" brisket and it also took over 20 hours.

 

[Gutwrench]

I have made one "packers" brisket and it also took over 20 hours.

The ribs take 6 hours. 3 naked, 2 wrapped in butcher paper, 30 minutes naked again, 20-30 minutes to set a very thin drizzling of well diluted barbecue sauce.

Do you or anyone have a comment on when to season brisket or ribs?

I typically always season meat the night before, but for this cook seasoned an hour before putting them on. The brisket had a very nice flavor to the bark. I feel a little confident with ribs now and I couldn't taste any difference with those I season the night before.

Any opinions or personal observations?

 

[Tomorrow]

[QUOTE="Gutwrench, post: 22797933, member: 526537"Do you or anyone have a comment on when to season brisket or ribs?[/QUOTE]

I like to do ribs overnight, because the rub I use is about 50% brown sugar and it gives the meat a little bit of a "cured" flavor if I give it a chance to melt its way into the meat (I rub it and wrap it in plastic wrap overnight). The rub I use for brisket is the same stuff but without the sugar, so I generally just rub it pretty much immediately before cooking it.

 

[Gutwrench]

I like to do ribs overnight, because the rub I use is about 50% brown sugar and it gives the meat a little bit of a "cured" flavor if I give it a chance to melt its way into the meat (I rub it and wrap it in plastic wrap overnight). The rub I use for brisket is the same stuff but without the sugar, so I generally just rub it pretty much immediately before cooking it.

Nice - with ribs I have been adding just salt and pepper the night before, then apply the rub a couple hours before putting them on. In a couple of experiments I couldn't detect a difference in flavor, bark, or meat texture by waiting an hour or so before the cook. My gut tells me adding the salt for a longer time probably makes sense, but I haven't noticed a difference yet.

What do you mean by a "cured flavor"?
What temp and wood do you use for ribs?
Oh, I'm also curious which wood do you use with your brisket?

 

[Tomorrow]

When are you going to post some of yours, by the way?

Cheers

Fair enough! And as always, comments and critiques are welcome!

Here are some baby backs I smoked one afternoon - four hours on heat, two hours wrapped. I don't like meat to "fall off the bone" - to me that's just overcooked.

A different afternoon - here's some brisket, trimmed, fat side down:

I'm at work and don't have a whole lot of pics handy, but here are some "finished product" shots I've gathered along the way:

If you've never had smoked bologna, you're missing out. Seriously.

[doublepost=1460643373][/doublepost]

Nice - with ribs I have been adding just salt and pepper the night before, then apply the rub a couple hours before putting them on. In a couple of experiments I couldn't detect a difference in flavor, bark, or meat texture by waiting an hour or so before the cook. My gut tells me adding the salt for a longer time probably makes sense, but I haven't noticed a difference yet.

What do you mean by a "cured flavor"?
What temp and wood do you use for ribs?
Oh, I'm also curious which wood do you use your brisket?

Yeah, I can't tell that most spices penetrate the meat much, except for salt and sugar. That's what I mean by a "cured" flavor (probably not the right term), when the sugar/salt penetrates the meat like you would experience in something like a ham or a sausage, so you can taste it deeper into the meat and not just on the bark.

I cook ribs and brisket at 225-250, although if I'm doing only ribs (or sausage, or something smaller than a brisket that cooks more quickly) I don't mind letting the temp drift a little higher. As for wood, I use pecan when I can get it (which is most of the time) and hickory or oak when I can't. Pecan tastes very similar to hickory but milder and almost sweeter. Oak packs a punch. Mesquite has an incredible flavor when grilling but it's too strong for my taste to use for smoking, it seems to overwhelm the meat. I use about 50% wood and 50% charcoal to start - the wood burns much hotter and much more quickly than the charcoal, so the more wood you use (chunks or logs; not so much a problem with chips) the more attention you have to pay to your temperature, since it seems to fluctuate more with a higher proportion of wood.

 

[Gutwrench]

Thanks for the pictures!

No critiques from me as I'm merely interested in what others like to do and find works for them. It gives me ideas to possibly try.

I've never tried Bologna. Honestly, I never thought of it. It does sound good.

I cured Canadian bacon once and it didn't turn out well at all. I want to try pastrami. I'm tempted to play with smoking some cheese, but not sure I'm comfortable with cold smoking.
[doublepost=1460647272][/doublepost]Hmmm. I'm interested in doing some sausage but don't know where to start. Are you grinding, curing and casing it yourself?

Do you ever buy it from the market and just heat it over smoke?

 

[Tomorrow]

Hmmm. I'm interested in doing some sausage but don't know where to start. Are you grinding, curing and casing it yourself?

Do you ever buy it from the market and just heat it over smoke?

No, that's just store-bought sausage, pretty much what you would see sold as "smoked sausage" or "kielbasa." An hour or so in the smoker is all it takes, since it's pre-cooked. The bologna gets a little longer, maybe 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

 

[Gutwrench]

Yeah, sometimes quick hits for food is all I'm looking for. Like today, it'll be wings, vegetables, and warmed store bought Italian sausage.

As a boy on the farm I helped my grandparents and parents make German meats. I basically did what I was told so I didn't retain anything other than the memory.

Between college and the service I worked in a packing house for five years. I skinned and deboned hams so I learned how to use and keep a boning knife -- at least for hams and picnics. That skill has helped in prepping other meats to cook.

 

[JamesMike]

To say barbecuing is a learning experience is an understatement. I learn from each episode.

 

[Gutwrench]

I'll put on a small pork butt today.
Where is Renzatic? I wonder if he finally broke and bought a grill or smoker?

Also thawing a 14.5 lb belly to cure.

 

[Renzatic]

Where is Renzatic? I wonder if he finally broke and bought a grill or smoker?

Right here! I bought a smoker. A fairly inexpensive, but surprisingly large model one of my dad's friends recommended me that he claimed was decent for beginners.

Today would've been my maiden voyage with it, but the heavy rain and lightning put a damper on that parade. I'll have to wait til next weekend to fire up this rack of beef ribs I picked up.

Though the interim, I'll be reading through this thread to pick up some tips.

 

[Gutwrench]

Congratulations! I'm glad to hear this. I hope you have good luck and enjoy it. Looking forward to you sharing what you're learning. Cheers buddy!

 

[Renzatic]

I'm excited, because I finally get to have beef ribs again after X amount of years. For some odd reason, they're the hardest thing in the world to find around here. All the BBQ places and restaurants around here serve pork exclusively.

...and they're dumb.

I'm going to be using this dry rub for flavoring. I've already got it mixed up and ready to go. All I have to do is thaw the ribs, wait for some good weather, and it's on.

 

[Gutwrench]

Thanks for the link. It looks good. I'll bookmark it.

I've learned so much from http://amazingribs.com.

I've made my own rub but recent tried these two and I just really really like them. I can't do better no matter how hard I tried.

Pork - Honey Hog Hot
Beef - Holy Cow

Both are from Meat Church. I recommend them if you want to try a commercial rub. I want to add the customer service I've experienced with Meat Church has been exceptional and you're dealing directly with Matt Pittman.

http://www.meatchurch.com

Edit: pork butt...still a ways to go.

 

[chown33]

...
Today would've been my maiden voyage with it, but the heavy rain and lightning put a damper on that parade. I'll have to wait til next weekend to fire up this rack of beef ribs I picked up.

Oh come on, man, you could be famous.

Fulgurite ribs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgurite

Yeah, it might hurt a little, but it'll be over in a flash.

 

[Renzatic]

Yeah, it might hurt a little, but it'll be over in a flash.

I have an old friend who's been indirectly struck by lightning three times throughout his life. He stutters a lot now.

Though one of the bonuses about living in an old house on top of a hill with tons of tall trees all around me in a place that's pretty famous for strong storms is that, yeah, it attracts lightning. I haven't seen any fulgurites around my yard, but one time I had three separate bolts of lightning strike this big old oak in my front yard all at once. You could actually feel the static build up inside the house right before they struck. The thunderclap? It was like being next to a cannon as it went off. It shook all the windows in their frames.

The coolest thing was what I saw when I went to inspect the damage the next day. You could see the scorchmarks where all three bolts entered the tree, traveled down the trunk, and churned up the soil in random zig-zaggy patterns radiating away from the tree.

...so no, I don't go out in the open when it storms. I do watch the lighting from my garage all the time, though.

 

[mscriv]

If you've never had smoked bologna, you're missing out. Seriously.

@Tomorrow, what caught my eye was your Fitz's root beer. My wife is from the St. Louis area where it's made and bottled. We love that stuff. Her family brings it to us when they visit or we pick it up when we happen to go there. I know you live in the DFW area like me, so how did you come by it?

 

[0388631]

Weather is too cool to smoke anything without annoying the neighbors. I've been doing some light smoking with whole TT and they've been fantastic. I spent most of last year smoking pork and got quite tired of it. Bring on the beef! I've done brisket a few times, but the prep takes too long. May need to find a butcher that pre-trims it so I don't spend so much time doing it myself.

Curious, has anyone here ever smoked/slow cooked beef ribs? I've had it in Texas once many years ago.

 

[Tomorrow]

@Tomorrow, what caught my eye was your Fitz's root beer. My wife is from the St. Louis area where it's made and bottled. We love that stuff. Her family brings it to us when they visit or we pick it up when we happen to go there. I know you live in the DFW area like me, so how did you come by it?

I pick it up at Central Market on Lovers and Greenville. They have a great selection of root beers.

 

[haxrnick]

What is going on here?!? Weather too cold? It's raining? What blasphemy! Get out there, men. Smoke all the things.