>12lb Brisket in Brinky Gourmet? Trim & Separation w/q-view

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forluvofsmoke

Smoking Guru
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 27, 2008
5,170
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Hi everyone...I'm back in the saddle again for another nice, smooth and slow ride today. I had this notion lastnight about the brisket my wife grabbed for me a few nights back. It seemed I needed a challenge to really get me on my feet again after a very long 12 day stretch of not burning any smoke wood...seems like an insane amount of time for me, but I survived, as I had pulled pork along for the trip out of state.

My wife loves burnt ends, and she can't pass up a price like this to get some, so that will be the order of the day...:

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Anyway, I wanted to see what it would be like to slap a medium sized (to me) packer into the the gourmet...without even thinking about it, I knew the flat cut wouldn't fit the 15" round grates, so I unpackaged the beast and immediately set out for a good trimming and point/flat separation. I also get a much nicer smoke without the fat cap and with the pieces separated...more exposed surface area of meat for the smoke to react with.

I did a quick check of the merchandise before grabbing a fresh knife and found a boo-boo cut on the end of the flat, from the processing plant:

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I hadn't removed the corn first before separating before, so I guess I was just tossing a different method into the mix today. Some say it's easier this way...I haven't really thought about it that way myself...it's just a task which we choose to do or not do, I guess. So, how you go about accomplishing that task is not really important, as long as you get the same end result, IHMO.

I started separation here, and placed everything back so I could get this shot...the corn is on the upper right:

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The point is on bottom @ 6 o'clock...and were off to the bliss of separation...hey, it's better than getting divorced....LOL!!!!!!!:

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The flat is now on bottom, point on the lower left:

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The flat cut is upper left, and the point lower right:

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It looks like a mess at the moment...that's where the trimming comes into play:

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And thats about all there is to it...to put it into perspective, if you flip the left side of the point over onto the flat (right side of the board) and pulled it over the flat towards the foreground, it would be as found before separation:

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OK, that did seem to fly apart with ease when compared to the methods I've used in the past. I liked to have my brisket @ about 20-25* when I started separation, other wise it was a quite a tedious undertaking. So, yea, removing the corn first is a nice change...no more frost bitten hands either!
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The point is trimmed on both sides...thin end on the upper left:

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The flat:

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This is the side which was attached to the point, as evidenced by the thin layer of remaining connective tissues on the exposed meat:

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For the novice brisket smoker, I trimmed 3lb - 13oz off the point and flat combined...this was bagged and frozen for grinding into sausage mixes.

So, with a relatively lean trim as done here, the percentage of trimmable fat to meat is calculated as follows:

First, we'll convert the scale measurement of the fat from lbs/oz to lbs/decimal; 13oz / 16oz = 0.8125lb + 3lbs = 3.8125lb.

12.35lbs (total weight) / 3.8125 (trimmed fat) = 0.3087 (percentage of fat)

Note also, when cooked, you will notice shrinkage which is a normal part of the process, and some interior fat will render out, especially from the point, which is heavily marbled with fat (that's why we use it for burnt ends).

Time for some Red Bell Pepper Rub...the point:

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And the flat, which as I mentioned earlier will not fit the gourmet grate size...problem? No problem at all...I have a knife!!!

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I cut about 1lb of the thin edge off and tuck it under itself on the grate to form a bulkier cut to aid in moisture retention and slow the cooking process down...brisket really benefits from low & slow cooking, so I want to protect that little fella. I also bulked up the larger flat cut as well, to help it fit the grate:

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I think we're ready for some hickory smoke just about...well, right now:

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I visited with a guy I frequently see at work yesterday and mentioned that I had a brisket waiting for me in the fridge at home. I told him I'd bring him some out when I go back to work on Thursday, and he said he's game for it. He hasn't had it before, so his reaction should be pretty interesting.

This little 1lbr should do the trick...he'll love it!

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I pulled the small flat cut @ 170* and it felt probe tender, so I think I'm in the mobey on that one.

I started with the point on the lower grate, which runs a bit cooler than the top and also, gets less smoke. Since I'll be cubing and double smoking the point for burnt ends, it will get plenty of smoke flavor anyway...we'll see shortly how the smoke reaction worked out when I cube it all up.

I rotated the point/flat grate positions after the first 6 hours. The flat getting a good dose of smoke, then going more to the steam end of things after it was in the upper 150* range. Oh, it climbed to 169* (EDIT: 159*), then slowly dropped out to 153* the last check I made.

The point, after rest a few minutes foiled and toweled...pulled it out @ 175*. I was busy here posting when my probe alarm sounded and I had the camera memory card still in the PC card slot...

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The gourmet has been suffering some temp swings, partly due to the changing wind conditions today, so my flat is still in after 9 hours...temp was 163* about 10 minutes ago, so the stall is over, after more than 3 hours...heh, this is a rather short plateau on a brisket for me (even trimmed/separated), so I'm not gonna complain. I'll pull it out to foil and towel wrap @ 180* and the rest (resting) will be history.

A few burnt ends and some sliced flat will follow, so, see ya soon!

Thanks for peekin'!

Eric
 
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Thanks raptor.

Hey all, I'm back for the finish...the flat was runnung way too late lastnight to have it for dinner (13-hr smoke, 10:00pm). I opted to chargrill a couple beef rib steaks and some burgers as a back-up...seasoned these with RBP as well, btw.

I foiled/wrapped/rested 2 hours, and then chilled the brisket flat @ 20* overnight. I sliced it up cold this morning for a foiled reheat while the burnt ends were getting round 2 of their smoke this after noon.

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Hmm...this looks so cool to see this color and depth of smoke ring in beef. I always get a darker and shallower smoke ring with beef, and deeper/lighter with pork:

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I cubed-up the point this morning for burnt ends...even the point has a light and deep smoke ring:

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More RBP rub...I covered this tightly with the foil and let it set in the fridge for about 6 hours until it was time for round 2 in the smoke:

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230-240* with a wet pan and more hickory smoke, in the Smoke Vault 24 on a jerky grate:

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I was doing a bunch of cleaning in my kitchen today and stumbled upon a 7lb - 5oz can of Bush's Beans in my large cabinet, so I tossed a couple cans of Rotel diced Chilis and Tomatoes into a large pan and popped 'em into the Vault to start heating up while I fryed-up 2lbs of un-cured/un-smoked sliced bacon (side pork). I seasoned this up with cbp, garlic and kosher salt while frying:

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A quick draining of grease before adding to the beans:

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All together now to finish heating and catch a bit of that hickory as well:

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Brisket flat on top in the foil, beans and burnt ends...

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I haven't done burnt ends with just a re-season before...ussually I toss them together for a light sauce coating instead. Man, ,the RBP is great for burnt ends...there's enough of it still remaining to give a false sense of spicy-hot flavoring, though this is not a hot rub. These babies are GOOD!!!!!!!!

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This is all I needed for dinner:

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The beans are a twist-off from Dutch's Wicked Beans recipe which is posted in the Wiki and side items forum. Love them beans!!!!!!

Great smokes to everyone!

Eric
 
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Now that's quite the tutorial you have there Eric. It looks fabulous and really yumO too. I have to do a brisket really soon the folks in New Jersey are calling for another one. I brought them one this past bungalow day and they went crazy. I don't think that they have ever seen or ate one either. You know them big city folks don't have a smoke house in the city. There is only one licensed smoke house and it's in the Bronx I think.
 
Wait a minute, I have to wipe the drool off of my keyboard.....Man, that looks great.  Thanks for the tutorial as well.  Brisket is on my list of "Must Do".  I love that you showed me how to separate the two parts of the brisket.  I can do this.....Thanks again
 
Thanks Eric, Great tutorial w/ Q-View. It looks really good. Makes me want to take one of those vacation days so I don't have to wait until the weekend to smoke myself one. Thanks for the post and Good smoking.
 
forluvofsmoke... would you mind sharing the details of your red bell pepper rub? Sounds great!

mballi3011... juar out of curiousity, what is bungalow day??
 
Way to go Eric!!!  
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  May I have some of that sent over to my table please? 
Thanks, Val...if only we had smoke deliveries through PM's, eh? LOL!!!!!!!!!

 
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Now that's quite the tutorial you have there Eric. It looks fabulous and really yumO too. I have to do a brisket really soon the folks in New Jersey are calling for another one. I brought them one this past bungalow day and they went crazy. I don't think that they have ever seen or ate one either. You know them big city folks don't have a smoke house in the city. There is only one licensed smoke house and it's in the Bronx I think.
Thanks Mark, yea I've run into quite a few people who have never had the pleasure of enjoying a good brisket, or anything smoked for that matter. Some just don't like it at all, but most can't get enough, just like me
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. I've almost got a couple of friends convinced to buying a smoker and stepping their cooking skill level up a couple notches.


 
Wait a minute, I have to wipe the drool off of my keyboard.....Man, that looks great.  Thanks for the tutorial as well.  Brisket is on my list of "Must Do".  I love that you showed me how to separate the two parts of the brisket.  I can do this.....Thanks again
Thanks Marty, and, you're welcome! I used to be intimidated by the almighty king of beef Bbq, but, after having a few dozen go up in smoke...my first one, I didn't know what I was doing and didn't even want to touch another...second one was a hit, and I've been hammering 'em out every chance I get now. As long as you know your smoker pretty well and have armer yourself with some info from the forums, you'll be ready to go.

Great smokes!
 
Thanks Eric, Great tutorial w/ Q-View. It looks really good. Makes me want to take one of those vacation days so I don't have to wait until the weekend to smoke myself one. Thanks for the post and Good smoking.
You're very welcome! I know what you mean about having to wait for a long smoke...I work a 4-on, 2-off schedule, so my waits aren't quite as long as they used to be.


 
Great post! Should answer alot of the brisket questions out there..
Thanks, yea theres always questions floating around, but it does help to have a few different looks and different methods to try out. i like to change how I prep or smoke now and then, just to see if I can pull it off. I'm a sucker for a good personal challenge...


 
forluvofsmoke... would you mind sharing the details of your red bell pepper rub? Sounds great!

mballi3011... juar out of curiousity, what is bungalow day??
Oops, my bad...there's been a lot of interest in this rub, and I forgot to give a link to the details...
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...heh, and all this after staying up all night prior to the smoke, just so I could toss some things around for a new build I'm starting. No wonder I forgot the details! HAH-HAH-HAH!!!!!

The RBP rub is in the Wiki under "R" . Here ya go, enjoy!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/red-bell-pepper-rub-naturally-sweet-and-mildy-spicy-no-sugar

Thanks again everyone! Been fun ridin' with ya through the thin blue smoke!

Eric
 
 
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