Brisket is like sex..

brayhaven · Aug 11, 2014

Did my first brisket this week. I'm obviously way down the learning curve and made some mistakes. The MES 30 wasn'r working right (new controller on the way), my rub & technique needs tweaking, No "bark" and it came out a little tougher than I prefer.. But it was still very good!.. Having eaten a lot of brisket, I now believe it's like sex. A good one is wonderful,.... and a bad one is still pretty darn good :).

BTW: Finding some great uses for leftover brisket. Makes a great Chef's salad sliced thin with swiss cheese, romaine etc.. Also makes a greak hash with cubed Yukon gold potatoes, vadalia onions, browned up with a little garlic salt & Tamari soy sauce in olive oil, or you can add a touch of your rub for continuity..

Thanks for all the help & encouragement from the folks here!

Greg

padronman · Aug 11, 2014

No bark.......did you fill your water pan? If so you steamed that meat and didn't "really" smoke it. Don't fill the water pan with water put sand in it instead.

Tough? What internal temp did you pull it out at? Did you slice WITH the grain? Or against it?

Trial and error is a part of smoking.....glad you still had uses for the Brisket. Make Chili with it.......mmmmmmm

Scott

foamheart · Aug 11, 2014

I am sorry you weren't more happy, but look at it this way we all have to start somewhere and we all sooner or later bite the bukllet and are not happy with out results.

Might I suggest, if you have not already you should sign up for Jeff's 5-day deordorant pads.... wait wait wait..... his 5-day Ecourse, yeah yeah, thats it. Each day you'll get a new segment with great ideas as well the basics. We suggest it for everyone from seasoned competitor to the first timer. Its always good to view the basics.

Realize his bacics may not be how you have or know how to smoke currently, but all his basics are a great place to start.

Smoking is about learning how to make your equipment turn out what you want. Everyone here has different equipment and different ideas of what their perfection is, so its going to take a load of smokes for you to figure out how to best incorporate all those different ideas into your meat. Ain't it wonderful? "Yes, but Honey I need to try this new idea before I forget it" Pleeeease?

Cruise the boards, don't mix and match! Find something that sounds like you'd like it, with a good tutorial and Q-view and stick to their game plan. Also remember if you want their results you need to be using like smokers. But with your MES30 you'll have plenty to look at, I am sure.

I brisket is no small accomplishment, I think its what ever smoker hopes most to master.

Remember to enjoy the smoke, and Bon Chance!

brayhaven · Aug 11, 2014

PadronMan said:
No bark.......did you fill your water pan? If so you steamed that meat and didn't "really" smoke it. Don't fill the water pan with water put sand in it instead.

Tough? What internal temp did you pull it out at? Did you slice WITH the grain? Or against it?

Trial and error is a part of smoking.....glad you still had uses for the Brisket. Make Chili with it.......mmmmmmm

Scott

No water in pan. Pulled @200deg. Sliced across grain. Not tough, just not as tender a I'd like it. The smoker temp was off 20 deg. Mechanical therm finally figured it out. Kept kicking on & off due to flutter of the thermostat. But still great eating not unhappy with it. And that's how we learn :) thx greg

brayhaven · Aug 11, 2014

Foamheart said:
I am sorry you weren't more happy, but look at it this way we all have to start somewhere and we all sooner or later bite the bukllet and are not happy with out results.

Might I suggest, if you have not already you should sign up for Jeff's 5-day deordorant pads.... wait wait wait..... his 5-day Ecourse, yeah yeah, thats it. Each day you'll get a new segment with great ideas as well the basics. We suggest it for everyone from seasoned competitor to the first timer. Its always good to view the basics.

Realize his bacics may not be how you have or know how to smoke currently, but all his basics are a great place to start.

Smoking is about learning how to make your equipment turn out what you want. Everyone here has different equipment and different ideas of what their perfection is, so its going to take a load of smokes for you to figure out how to best incorporate all those different ideas into your meat. Ain't it wonderful? "Yes, but Honey I need to try this new idea before I forget it" Pleeeease?

Cruise the boards, don't mix and match! Find something that sounds like you'd like it, with a good tutorial and Q-view and stick to their game plan. Also remember if you want their results you need to be using like smokers. But with your MES30 you'll have plenty to look at, I am sure.

I brisket is no small accomplishment, I think its what ever smoker hopes most to master.

Remember to enjoy the smoke, and Bon Chance!

Thanks Foam. Great advice. I've found so much conflicting info. I just went with those steps most agreed on and played the rest by ear. Next one will be even better. As I said, not unhappy with it at all. But a little tougher to get perfect than the bbutts chicken etc I practiced on :)
Great resource here.
Greg

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Brisket is like sex..

brayhaven

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padronman

Master of the Pit

foamheart

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

brayhaven

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brayhaven

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