Thinking about Tastes
Have you ever sat down to eat at a new restaurant only to find yourself experiencing new sensations you have never experienced before? Specifically, flavors you've never tasted before? It's no secret I'm a bit of A Foodie. I think secretly we all are. Taste (and sometimes scent) are typically regarded toward the bottom of the sensation popularity totem pole. I'd say, if you are blessed enough to have it, sight and hearing are at the top with touch following behind at a close third. In general, the easier it is to take for granted, the further it falls down this rank. For the most part, beside during the pandemic, most people never worried about losing their sense of taste or smell. These are the sense that seem to just work in the background, might get you excited for a juicy hamburger here and there, and make healthy food unenjoyable relative to their highly processed counterparts. But every once in a while, these senses can really surprise you. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been surprised and enamored by a new flavor. That's actually what the blog post 'A Foodie' is all about so if you want to recount all the times I've had this experience with me, check it out! But enough talk about senses, let't talk about smoking meats.
Reflecting on the Beginning
Almost exactly a year ago to the day (09/16/2024) I bought myself a Masterbuilt Gravity Series 800 Digital WiFi Charcoal Grill, Griddle and Smoker for $129.21 from a hidden gem liquidation auction site called Liquidbidding.com. The $799.99 MSRP Gravity fed smoker is to this day one of my favorite purchases. I mean just take a look at its features list:
- 800 square inches of cooking space
- Includes a removable flat-top griddle
- Digital control panel
- Reaches 225°F in 8 minutes, 450°F in 10, and 700°F in 14!
- GravityFed vertical hopper allowing for up to 10 hours of use
- Wireless control using Masterbuilt app
- Reversible cast iron grates for high heat searing or low and slow smoking
- The list goes on...
People can make great tasting food with recycled oil drums. So with confidently one of the best commercial smokers on the market, if I can't make some damned good smoked meat I know it's my fault.
Making the Best Brisket
I've got a year of cooking with the Masterbuilt under my belt--a few Pork Butts, a few racks of Baby Back Ribs, some steaks and other sausages--but today (09/08/2024) marks the first attempt at smoking Beef Brisket. One of the most challenging and rewarding cooks by far, I was inspired to give it a shot after a delicious dinner at Bad Brads BBQ, I couldn't help but try to replicate the juicy, melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket that has a permanent residence in my mind, rent-free. But to get to their level, it's going to take some science. So I am dedicating the bottom of this blog post to my own personal 'Field Notes'. I'm talking dependent and independent variables, time tables, charts, graphs--numbers. We are looking for results, and the only way to know what works best is trial and error.
Recording my Beef Briskets
09/08/2024
Field Notes
Now I'm not starting from scratch here. Millions of Americans have cooked brisket before, and thankfully some of them have shared their methods and learnings so we have a good starting point. For my first cook, I will be following the advice of Hey Grill Hey on her Texas Style Smoked Beef Brisket. Here's what we've learned:
- 2 Methods: Low & Slow | Quick & Hot. I will be following the classic Low & Slow method
- Traditional Texas Style has very little seasoning--just salt and pepper
- I will be loosely following Hey Grill Hey's Best Brisket Rub Recipe: 2-part course salt, 2-part course ground black pepper, 1-part garlic powder, 1-part onion powder. I didn't have any smoked paprika or ground coriander on hand, so this is going to be a bit more traditionalist
- I used yellow table mustard for a binder and opted out of any sugars
- I bought a competition pre-trimmed brisket weighing in just under 10lbs from Cattleman's Meat Market for just under $100
- It will take anywhere from 10-15 hours to smoke (using 1-1.5 hrs/lb equation)
- The brisket will cook down to about 6-8lbs after it's complete
- It will feed anywhere between 6-16 people (0.5-1 lb/person)
- I placed the brisket on the smoker at 6:30AM at 225°F in anticipation for it to be completed cooking around 6PM with enough time to rest before the Lion's first football game of the 2024 season
- The brisket will need about 1-2 hours to rest before slicing and serving
- The grill sits at about 5°F below the set temperature, so at 30 min I increased the grill's temp to 230°F
- At T+4:30 the brisket appeared to reach it's stall temp of 165°F internal
- Wrapped the brisket in butcher's paper at T+4:30
- At T+7:00 internal still ~165F
- At ~T+8:30 the brisket has broken the stall and is slowly climbing at a rate of around 1°F/10min
- I was initially going to let the internal get to 205°F before pulling, but after chatting with Frank, Nitsches Meat Market's resident smoking expert, and some additional research, I will pull at an internal between 195-200°F
- Pulled brisket at T+11:47 and between 197-198°F internal
- More TBD