COVID-19 - lifestyle and activity thread (1 Viewer)

[DaveXA]

ok so, i have one of these (yes, an intoxicated purchase), 5 months now or so. i have no coordination and fall off of it everytime i try.

anyone else with one? for the price, i'd like to learn how to ride it one day. i'm just too spastic.

Onewheel Pint

The Onewheel Pint is the ultimate, fun-sized, electric skateboard, perfect for your every day adventures and journeys.

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Those things scare the sheet out of me. You couldn't pay me to ride one. Good luck!

 

[Beast]

Are you doing just flats or full packer briskets? You need to go to at least 195 or higher, regardless, I think.

Go for 203 - 205 in the thickest part (where the flat meets the point) if a full brisket. I typically do salt and pepper rub, wrap in butcher paper at 165 and let it go from there. Butcher paper will kill the bark some but helps keep it moist as well. I also like John Henry's East Texas Brisket Rub (gives an amazing smoke ring every time I've used it).

Watch Aaron Franklin's PBS special on brisket on YouTube if you haven't already. Some great tips there.

Quality of meat matters too. If you can get a prime brisket, the additional fat helps keep it from being too dry or tough.

Also, lots of people say fat cap up, but I have a friend that swears by fat cap down due to it protecting the meat from direct heat. I've always done up but will probably try down on my next one.

 

[Brennan77]

Always been a big bar-b-quer, but almost all pork with a few birds at times.

I am going to take this down time to learn how to do a brisket. Already completed one. It was actually better than I thought it would be, but still too tough for anyone's liking. pulled it at 190 degrees. will try 180 this time.

i am able to keep the temp from getting over 225 degrees, although it sometimes drops close to 200.
using a weber smokey mountain but may switch if this one does not turn out to my liking

You need to pull at 200-203 and let it rest there for a while. That's why it's tough. The magic doesn't happen until 198+. Check out Aaron Franklin's method on YouTube.

 

[JimEverett]

Are you doing just flats or full packer briskets? You need to go to at least 195 or higher, regardless, I think.

Go for 203 - 205 in the thickest part (where the flat meets the point) if a full brisket. I typically do salt and pepper rub, wrap in butcher paper at 165 and let it go from there. Butcher paper will kill the bark some but helps keep it moist as well. I also like John Henry's East Texas Brisket Rub (gives an amazing smoke ring every time I've used it).

Watch Aaron Franklin's PBS special on brisket on YouTube if you haven't already. Some great tips there.

Quality of meat matters too. If you can get a prime brisket, the additional fat helps keep it from being too dry or tough.

I will check out Franklin's special. I am doing the full brisket, get 'em from my uncle who has a cattle farm and gets me good deals from a butcher.

 

[JimEverett]

Alright - going to watch this special before I do this next one.

I thought I was letting it get too hot, but apparently its the opposite.

Will let yall know how it turns out.

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

Brisket can be tricky, and frustrating. Sometimes, if the meat hasn't been butchered properly, or you don't slice it properly, it won't matter how you cook it.

If you can find a copy of Aaron Franklin's "Meat-Smoking Manifesto" give it a read (what else do we have to do these days?). I generally despise all things Austin, but the guy knows his stuff.

 

[Beast]

Brisket can be tricky, and frustrating. Sometimes, if the meat hasn't been butchered properly, or you don't slice it properly, it won't matter how you cook it.

If you can find a copy of Aaron Franklin's "Meat-Smoking Manifesto" give it a read (what else do we have to do these days?). I generally despise all things Austin, but the guy knows his stuff.

Brisket is a finicky beast for sure.. You can do everything "right" or "by the book" and still have subpar results.

Be sure to cut across the grain in roughly #2 pencil-width slices.

 

[Juicy Fruit]

I had the sudden urge to watch the movie Outbreak on Netflix last night, been a long time since I have seen it.

 

[Brennan77]

I will check out Franklin's special. I am doing the full brisket, get 'em from my uncle who has a cattle farm and gets me good deals from a butcher.

The full brisket is the only way. His method is super simple and with a little love and time you'll have amazing brisket. There won't be a tough spot on the whole thing. And don't trim off too much fat. That stuff is delicious.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Are you doing just flats or full packer briskets? You need to go to at least 195 or higher, regardless, I think.

Go for 203 - 205 in the thickest part (where the flat meets the point) if a full brisket. I typically do salt and pepper rub, wrap in butcher paper at 165 and let it go from there. Butcher paper will kill the bark some but helps keep it moist as well. I also like John Henry's East Texas Brisket Rub (gives an amazing smoke ring every time I've used it).

Watch Aaron Franklin's PBS special on brisket on YouTube if you haven't already. Some great tips there.

Quality of meat matters too. If you can get a prime brisket, the additional fat helps keep it from being too dry or tough.

@JimEverett My man Beast is right on this. I get great briskets off of my WSM. Salt and pepper only, run it at 250ish, sometimes 275 if I need it pronto, doesn't seem to matter to the end result. I usually wrap in butcher paper once I get the color I want. Cook it to 198ish then start probing every 15 minutes or so. I'm not looking for any particular temp, just want it to probe like butter. All cows are different, some will be done at 198, and some will be done at 205 (thermometer placement can vary too). I'll spray it a couple times with some ACV, although I'm not sure how much that matters.

I use Costco prime every time. Have tried other ones and they still come off tasting good, but they're not the same end quality as the Costco ones. The only thing I'll disagree with Beast on is that if done right you won't need to slice it as thin as a #2 pencil, nor should you. If it doesn't pass the pull test at pinky finger width slices, you're not there yet.

Good news is even the worst brisket will be an awesome chopped beef sandwich. So it always works out in the end.

Now I want to smoke a brisket this weekend but there's no ****ing way I'm going to Costco. So thanks for that, guys.

 

[Beast]

@JimEverett My man Beast is right on this. I get great briskets off of my WSM. Salt and pepper only, run it at 250ish, sometimes 275 if I need it pronto, doesn't seem to matter to the end result. I usually wrap in butcher paper once I get the color I want. Cook it to 198ish then start probing every 15 minutes or so. I'm not looking for any particular temp, just want it to probe like butter. All cows are different, some will be done at 198, and some will be done at 205 (thermometer placement can vary too). I'll spray it a couple times with some ACV, although I'm not sure how much that matters.

I use Costco prime every time. Have tried other ones and they still come off tasting good, but they're not the same end quality as the Costco ones. The only thing I'll disagree with Beast on is that if done right you won't need to slice it as thin as a #2 pencil, nor should you. If it doesn't pass the pull test at pinky finger width slices, you're not there yet.

Good news is even the worst brisket will be an awesome chopped beef sandwich. So it always works out in the end.

Now I want to smoke a brisket this weekend but there's no ****ing way I'm going to Costco. So thanks for that, guys.

Thanks LC!

I'm not a stickler on the pencil width thickness, but it's a general rule I've seen around. I tend to do briskets for large gatherings and try to get as many slices as I can for that reason. But if I'm cutting for myself, I'm good with a thick slice too. Love chopping up the point once I've sliced it (usually very thick slices here).

I also like the bend test for it. Pick a slice up in the middle with a fork, and it should fold in half.

I want some brisket now too.

 

[buzd]

Thanks LC!

I'm not a stickler on the pencil width thickness, but it's a general rule I've seen around. I tend to do briskets for large gatherings and try to get as many slices as I can for that reason. But if I'm cutting for myself, I'm good with a thick slice too. Love chopping up the point once I've sliced it (usually very thick slices here).

I also like the bend test for it. Pick a slice up in the middle with a fork, and it should fold in half.

I want some brisket now too.

I'm late to this, but @Beast 's and @Loose Cannon 's advice is all good. I would also add - tough is undercooked - crumbly is over.

Like LC said, best way to finish is by feel - jiggly all over and the thickest part of the flat probing like butter. That's about 200 for most briskets, but will be less for a really high quality piece of meat. And no problem running over 225 - it just speeds the cook. HOWEVER, it also increases your carry over cooking, so your window to finish is a little smaller.

And related - let your brisket cool for 10-20 minutes on a rack after you pull it, and then wrap it in butcher paper (better) or foil and then a few towels, and put it in a cooler for not less than 2 hours (and up to 6, but 2-4 is best). That rest time makes a huge difference. Don't cooler it immediately after pulling it, as it will continue to cook.

 

[Brennan77]

I'm late to this, but @Beast 's and @Loose Cannon 's advice is all good. I would also add - tough is undercooked - crumbly is over.

Like LC said, best way to finish is by feel - jiggly all over and the thickest part of the flat probing like butter. That's about 200 for most briskets, but will be less for a really high quality piece of meat. And no problem running over 225 - it just speeds the cook. HOWEVER, it also increases your carry over cooking, so your window to finish is a little smaller.

And related - let your brisket cool for 10-20 minutes on a rack after you pull it, and then wrap it in butcher paper (better) or foil and then a few towels, and put it in a cooler for not less than 2 hours (and up to 6, but 2-4 is best). That rest time makes a huge difference. Don't cooler it immediately after pulling it, as it will continue to cook.

I include 2 to 6 hours in the cooler as part of my cook. It's important. Another thought is that i would not recommend probing your meat more than once. The juice does run. I leave a temp monitor in for the entire time. And i usually confirm the cook is done by the jiggle test.

 

[Beast]

All this brisket talk is going to have me running to the store!

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

Man I'm hungry now, and inspired. I haven't done a brisket in over a year, I think I'll have to try.

I found my notes from the last time I did it. I tried brining it first, and then piling up charcoal on one side of the kettle (a bunch unlit and then putting a bunch of lit charcoal on top of it) with pecan wood chunks on top, and pan filled with water on the other side of the coals, and putting the brisket on the grill over the cooler side of the grill fat side down for like 3 hours before flipping it and adding more charcoal and leaving it for another 3 hours at which point just started testing for 195 temperature.

First time I did it, it came out great, the second time was just kind of ok. Still edible, but disappointing after how good it was the first time.