My name is Matthew and I've been an amature griller/smoker for a couple years now. Bought my first smoker kinda by accident.... I was gonna have a barbecue party but only had a little Weber kettle grill. I looked around WalMart and found a CharGrill off-set firebox smoker/grill combination, something that had the capacity to barbecue for the sized crowd I was expecting. In reading the instructions I discovered the posibility of smoking meat. Soon I was buying wood chips, wood chunks, opting for mesquite charwood instead of briquets, and buying books on smoking meat. (Just a brief note: My CharGrill is not the cheapy that WalMart now carries. I got the one with thick walls and solid construction. They don't make it anymore, only that thin-walled gas-can-looking thing that couldn't hold a chicken. There are others out there like from Barbecues Galore for about $300 but mine still has years of use left it in. Just repainted it because of all of the weathering it has endured from year-round grilling/barbecuing.)
I started smoking tri-tip roasts, pieces of chickens, and trying out some recipes in the books I bought. But I've always heard that BRISKET is the holy grail of barbecue (depending on where you're from, I suppose... no offense to you pork lovers).
My first brisket was a disaster but a humerous experience. I believe it would have been a possibly successful brisket if I hadn't purchased CORNED BEEF BRISKET! I was so mad at myself, but I can look back and laugh. It was so salty and barely edible. I have since smoked three successful briskets and the second-to-last was my crowning achievement. Alas, I have no pics of what I did, but the bottom portion was super tender and the top end I boiled down in the mop sauce to get rid of the excessive amount of fat. I then strained out the meat which resembled deep-fried pulled pork. The smokiness of the meat was only matched by its sweet texture and made the perfect bbq beef sandwiches. I refrigerated the resulting liquid and once it was cooled, pulled the fat layer from the top of the liquid and I was left with a nice sauce that I used to pour over the sandwiches and the sliced brisket.
Very tasty!
Anyway, I'm here trying to expand my horizons, learn new things, and try new techniques. Nice to know there's a place like this on the net.
Matthew
I started smoking tri-tip roasts, pieces of chickens, and trying out some recipes in the books I bought. But I've always heard that BRISKET is the holy grail of barbecue (depending on where you're from, I suppose... no offense to you pork lovers).
My first brisket was a disaster but a humerous experience. I believe it would have been a possibly successful brisket if I hadn't purchased CORNED BEEF BRISKET! I was so mad at myself, but I can look back and laugh. It was so salty and barely edible. I have since smoked three successful briskets and the second-to-last was my crowning achievement. Alas, I have no pics of what I did, but the bottom portion was super tender and the top end I boiled down in the mop sauce to get rid of the excessive amount of fat. I then strained out the meat which resembled deep-fried pulled pork. The smokiness of the meat was only matched by its sweet texture and made the perfect bbq beef sandwiches. I refrigerated the resulting liquid and once it was cooled, pulled the fat layer from the top of the liquid and I was left with a nice sauce that I used to pour over the sandwiches and the sliced brisket.
Very tasty!
Anyway, I'm here trying to expand my horizons, learn new things, and try new techniques. Nice to know there's a place like this on the net.
Matthew
