Social Saturday is BBQ Day V3 - How big is your meat?

[usmctanker242]

This is still my favourite thread ever on sherdog. Props to all the OGs giving advice. I am planning a father's day cook for my dad. Mom had surgery so we couldn't do it on father's day. I am hoping to do some tri tip. Anyone have some advice for me? All of the help from you guys in those thread has been truly invaluable. I have gone from complete newb to learning each and every cook (wish I had more time for more cooks). Truly appreciate you guys. BBQ and baking are my passions and I am improving. I have to order tri tips in from the butcher so any advice is gold IMO.

Ps. We the north.

@MASShole gave one way to cook a tri-tip, but I prefer to do it with a "low and slow" smoke followed by a hot sear over the coals. I trim off all the silver skin and external hard fat (if there is any), and then I rub it down with salt and pepper. You can use your favorite steak rub or seasoning but make sure the sugar content is low as it has the tendency to burn when you're searing it.

So I'll smoke it at 225°-250° until I reach an internal temp of about 125°. Then I'll sear both sides over the hot coals until it hits about 140°. Then loosely cover it in foil and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. When slicing the meat make sure to cut against the grain...tri-tip actually has half of the grain running one way, and the other half running almost perpendicular. So you'll need to slice each half separately...slicing against the grain cuts the long strands of meat with each slice and it makes for a much more tender chew.

Good video here showing how to slice a tri-tip if you've never done one before. Since tri-tip is really a steak cut you'll want to make sure you're getting at least a Choice tri-tip, but Prime is better, and Waygu is even better. On cuts like tri-tip that extra marbling you'll get from Prime will make a huge difference in the final product. That being said as long as you don't overcook a Choice it will still be very good.

Hope this helps and good luck on the cook!

 

[Da Speeit]

@RerouteToRemain

So far I'm loving this pellet smoker. The PID controller works VERY well and allows me to cook all night, while sleeping, and feel very comfortable that there won't be any issues. I put on a few briskets last night, with some beef short ribs, and chuck steaks, and let it all smoke at 250° overnight. Just woke up and everything is purring along perfectly. Amazing bark, great texture, and all I had to do was press a button.

I'm using Grilla Grills pecan pellets right now and they are giving off a great, yet light, smoke flavor. I did briskets yesterday and here's the end result : I did overcook it a bit because I forgot to let it vent before I wrapped it to hold for lunch service.

Only "issue" I have noticed is with the "Xtreme Smoke" setting. The normal operating temp range is 200-500, but you can go even lower and enter the Xtreme Smoke zone. This is where the grill cycles the fan on and off to smolder the pellets and gives a ton of smoke (not good smoke though...bad design in my opinion). In doing this smoldering the smoke produced isn't great and it also left a lot of soot. Good thing is that I don't need that setting to make the food taste good, so I just don't use it anymore. Traeger got annihilated online for their Timberline series doing the same thing, so I'm surprised that Rec-Tec is getting a pass.

Overall very happy so far...have about 50 hours of cook time into it so far and it's just kicking ass and I'm loving it.

why is it so dry

 

[usmctanker242]

why is it so dry

It wasn't dry, but I did overcook it a bit so it was a bit crumbly. All the juice was in the pan and I dip each slice into the juices before I serve it.

Also, food pics are hard! This was taken on the table inside my food trailer and without natural light a lot of moisture doesn't really come through in the pictures.

 

[Da Speeit]

It wasn't dry, but I did overcook it a bit so it was a bit crumbly. All the juice was in the pan and I dip each slice into the juices before I serve it.

Also, food pics are hard! This was taken on the table inside my food trailer and without natural light a lot of moisture doesn't really come through in the pictures.

You overcooked it quite substantially (Not trying to be a dick, just trouble-shooting)
How long did you let it rest for?

 

[usmctanker242]

You overcooked it quite substantially (Not trying to be a dick, just trouble-shooting)
How long did you let it rest for?

No, I didn't. It was juicy and good as hell...I know how to cook a brisket and I usually do a 2-4 hour hold, and then about an hour rest. When my customers hear I have brisket I have a line of 50+ people willing to wait for my brisket...I think I know what I'm doing.

Again, food pics inside without natural light really don't do the food much justice.

 

[Da Speeit]

No, I didn't. It was juicy and good as hell...I know how to cook a brisket and I usually do a 2-4 hour hold, and then about an hour rest. When my customers hear I have brisket I have a line of 50+ people willing to wait for my brisket...I think I know what I'm doing.

Again, food pics inside without natural light really don't do the food much justice.

lol okay man, there's obviously no room for improvement anywhere and you were born with every ounce of knowledge in the world.

 

[Da Speeit]

@MASShole gave one way to cook a tri-tip, but I prefer to do it with a "low and slow" smoke followed by a hot sear over the coals.
!

hmm That's a tough one, beacause the tri-tip isn't as porous as most other meats, and searing after the smoke can effect the water/myoglobin content of the cut. Have you tried the reverse?

 

[usmctanker242]

lol okay man, there's obviously no room for improvement anywhere and you were born with every ounce of knowledge in the world.

Yep, sounds about right. ; )

 

[Da Speeit]

Yep, sounds about right. ; )

I like your rig and i'd be curious to see what it would look like if you reduced the hold and the rest. When you have bottom strip that grey it's indicative of too long of a hold/rest.

But what do I know?

 

[usmctanker242]

I like your rig and i'd be curious to see what it would look like if you reduced the hold and the rest. When you have bottom strip that grey it's indicative of too long of a hold/rest.

But what do I know?

Not much, apparently. haha I don't remember you posting much in this thread, so whip out some pics of your cuisine.

I cook my food overnight and finish cooking at about 8am, so I hold it until I get onsite where I'm serving lunch, and then I'll let it rest while I'm setting up and getting ready for lunch service. I've tried doing other things but doing it this way has produced the best results and people LOVE my brisket. That pellet smoker I had (which is the brisket pic you're looking at) was a pain in the ass...temps were all over the place and just took me too long to realize what was going on. Now I'm cooking on my old "hog style smoker" which is a stickburner with propane assist, and I'm really loving the food that's coming off of it.

 

[Da Speeit]

Not much, apparently. haha I don't remember you posting much in this thread, so whip out some pics of your cuisine.

I cook my food overnight and finish cooking at about 8am, so I hold it until I get onsite where I'm serving lunch, and then I'll let it rest while I'm setting up and getting ready for lunch service. I've tried doing other things but doing it this way has produced the best results and people LOVE my brisket. That pellet smoker I had (which is the brisket pic you're looking at) was a pain in the ass...temps were all over the place and just took me too long to realize what was going on. Now I'm cooking on my old "hog style smoker" which is a stickburner with propane assist, and I'm really loving the food that's coming off of it.

I cook traditional and new age haute, only smoke for employees and staff meal, mostly with wood. Don't really take many pics, and the ones I take aren't really fit for this thread, which I browse time to time.

I never said your brisket was bad or people wouldn't love it, i mean, if FIFTY people like it, then damn it must be good, but I think playing around with the rest and the hold would benefit your product. It's got a nice bark to it and the top seam is a nice color, you just have some uneven greying on the bottom and I think you could take an already good product and make it better.

 

[MASShole]

It wasn't dry, but I did overcook it a bit so it was a bit crumbly. All the juice was in the pan and I dip each slice into the juices before I serve it.

Also, food pics are hard! This was taken on the table inside my food trailer and without natural light a lot of moisture doesn't really come through in the pictures.

I agree food pics are hard.

 

[MASShole]

Oh, I went to The Food and Wine Classic in Aspen last weekend for my 10th anniversary. It was pretty fucking incredible.

 

[AznTrojan]

just got a new pellet grill.. gotta probably season it and fire up some pork belly next week.. fucking giant wasp nest right underneath by deck needs to be cleared out

 

[Te Huna Matata]

GF has me on keto and wants pork belly and brisket this weekend. I'll post pics assuming I don't fuck up the brisket like I have a propensity to do. I've done 5 thus far and only 1 was what I would consider good.

Also, for anyone who has a sous vide, do some ribs. 155 for 24 then sear. The texture is unrivaled.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

just got a new pellet grill.. gotta probably season it and fire up some pork belly next week.. fucking giant wasp nest right underneath by deck needs to be cleared out

I'm trying to sell my old cheap smoker so I can justify getting a pellet grill, those things look awesome.

Also I've recently started buying more expensive brisket (as in a full brisket) and they are way easier to cook, seems to be more fat and they end up way juicier. I found I had to boat the cheaper brisket to ensure it would be moist, I'll keep buying the good brisket for BBQ and save the cheap shit for stews and pho.

 

[usmctanker242]

GF has me on keto and wants pork belly and brisket this weekend. I'll post pics assuming I don't fuck up the brisket like I have a propensity to do. I've done 5 thus far and only 1 was what I would consider good.

Also, for anyone who has a sous vide, do some ribs. 155 for 24 then sear. The texture is unrivaled.

Key point for brisket : probe it for doneness / tenderness and don't rely simply on a temperature. MOST of the briskets I cook finish between 203° and 208° internal temps. All other things aside brisket is really all about getting it to the correct tenderness before you pull it. Use a toothpick or temp probe and gently insert it into the thickest part of the FLAT...if it's hard to insert then the brisket has a ways to go. If it goes in with no resistance at all you've likely overcooked it, but that's OK because overcooked brisket is better than undercooked brisket. What you're looking for is almost no resistance at all...almost like you were probing a warm jar of peanut butter.

I taught my buddy how to check for tenderness and now he's killing it with his briskets. Good luck with the cook this weekend...pork belly and brisket is a great combination.

 

[usmctanker242]

Oh, I went to The Food and Wine Classic in Aspen last weekend for my 10th anniversary. It was pretty fucking incredible.

I always see this when I watch Top Chef. Any details you want to give?

 

[Te Huna Matata]

Key point for brisket : probe it for doneness / tenderness and don't rely simply on a temperature. MOST of the briskets I cook finish between 203° and 208° internal temps. All other things aside brisket is really all about getting it to the correct tenderness before you pull it. Use a toothpick or temp probe and gently insert it into the thickest part of the FLAT...if it's hard to insert then the brisket has a ways to go. If it goes in with no resistance at all you've likely overcooked it, but that's OK because overcooked brisket is better than undercooked brisket. What you're looking for is almost no resistance at all...almost like you were probing a warm jar of peanut butter.

I taught my buddy how to check for tenderness and now he's killing it with his briskets. Good luck with the cook this weekend...pork belly and brisket is a great combination.

I have a bunch of different temperature monitoring equipment. I'll have my normal bluetooth probe in which has helped tremendously. I generally start to check around 195 to see how it's looking and gauge off that. I'll probably wrap as well around the 4hr mark and add some beef stock for moisture.

 

[MASShole]

I always see this when I watch Top Chef. Any details you want to give?

Sure, what would you like to hear? Tickets are incredibly expensive, but you get 5 "grand tastings" to attend, 8 seminars of various things to choose from, and you get to meet all kinds of people.

I watched Martha Stewart speak, Jacque Pepin and his daughter Claudine put on a seminar (got a signed book), watched Geoffrey Zakarian do a simple short rib roast (got a signed book), Alex Guarnaschelli put on a seminar (got a signed book), Marcus Samuelson put on a seminar, Richard Blais did a seminar (got a signed book), Gail Simmons did a seminar, Huch Acheson did a seminar and more. They were all so open and friendly, so that was great. I got pics with a lot of them, and learned quite a bit along the way. No BBQ people.

All the wines were fantastic, as you can expect, being in Aspen and all with all that shitloads of money. On Fri we passed out at 745p in our hotel room, woke up at midnight, undressed, turned everything off and woke up again at 7a. It was a great time.

Oh and I got my wife to eat a THC chocolate on Thursday. yeah buddy!