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

[usmctanker242]

@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.

 

[usmctanker242]

A week from now, I'll be doing brisket for a Wrestlemania tailgate. Thing is, I'll be at the Hall of Fame ceremony in Brooklyn the night before and covering a convention the morning of. I use a BGE.

I'm thinking of smoking it on Saturday morning (Mixon method,) packing it and dropping it off at a friend's place for him to transpo on Sunday. Should I slice or pull and, either way, should I do on scene or the day before?

I know that brisket deserves better but it was special requested by the guy organizing the trip so brisket it is.

Brisket reheats OK, but if you're cooking hot and fast anyways, why not just do it Sunday morning? If you're going to do it on Saturday cook it, allow it to cool, and then put it in a large Ziploc (boil proof) bag. DO NOT SLICE it, keep it whole. Then, on Sunday morning, all you have to do is submerge the bag in boiling water for about an hour to bring the brisket back up to temp... between 145-165°. If you don't have the bags or a pot big enough you can put the brisket (with its juices) in a large aluminum pan and cover it with foil. Then put it in the oven at 300-325° (or your smoker) and heat it until you get to 145-165° internal temp.

The second you slice that meat it starts to oxidize, so the meat will start to discolor and the flavor will escape quickly. So if you can avoid slicing it until you serve it you'll have a much better product overall.

Hope I've explained this well enough and good luck. If I'm unclear or you have further questions feel free to tag me here or shoot me a PM.

 

[usmctanker242]

I'd do it the day before until fully done, slice, put in aluminum pan, give to friend to store overnight, reheat in microwave next day. I eat my leftovers like that all the time and they're always delicious.

Dear god man, what are you...some kind of fucking animal? Reheating brisket in the microwave is pure BBQ sacrilege. haha Next time you're heating up brisket try putting the au jus in a skillet over medium heat, and then throw your brisket slices in the skillet and warm them up that way. MUCH better overall and not that much more time consuming or difficult.

That being said to each their own.

 

[RerouteToRemain]

@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.

Congrats on business going well btw. Yeah the ease and convenience of pellet is basically unparalleled for at home use. It is lighter on smoke but like MASS said it gets you to 95% of the way there with 10% of the effort. I've found that using one of those pellet tubes for about 90-120 minutes to be the perfect if I want a bolder smoke flavor.

Also

 

[RerouteToRemain]

Dear god man, what are you...some kind of fucking animal? Reheating brisket in the microwave is pure BBQ sacrilege.

Haha while I know this to be true, sliced brisket, with some sauce and microwaved with one of these

over it comes out great for me. Enough so that it's not worth extra effort to reheat in a pan or foil pan in oven.

 

[sleepwalk]

Brisket reheats OK, but if you're cooking hot and fast anyways, why not just do it Sunday morning? If you're going to do it on Saturday cook it, allow it to cool, and then put it in a large Ziploc (boil proof) bag. DO NOT SLICE it, keep it whole. Then, on Sunday morning, all you have to do is submerge the bag in boiling water for about an hour to bring the brisket back up to temp... between 145-165°. If you don't have the bags or a pot big enough you can put the brisket (with its juices) in a large aluminum pan and cover it with foil. Then put it in the oven at 300-325° (or your smoker) and heat it until you get to 145-165° internal temp.

The second you slice that meat it starts to oxidize, so the meat will start to discolor and the flavor will escape quickly. So if you can avoid slicing it until you serve it you'll have a much better product overall.

Hope I've explained this well enough and good luck. If I'm unclear or you have further questions feel free to tag me here or shoot me a PM.

Thank you, good sir. We're going to have tables with water pans and Sterno and all that.
I'm going to be at a convention doing interviews that AM. Even if I gave my pals the meat and instructions and they transported the BGE, it would be a tight squeeze, time-wise. Wrestlemania is about a 10-hour event anymore (including prelim matches.) Just wish that we'd gotten better seats.

 

[MASShole]

Dear god man, what are you...some kind of fucking animal? Reheating brisket in the microwave is pure BBQ sacrilege. haha Next time you're heating up brisket try putting the au jus in a skillet over medium heat, and then throw your brisket slices in the skillet and warm them up that way. MUCH better overall and not that much more time consuming or difficult.

That being said to each their own.

I'm a man with a family who leads a busy life. 1 min in the microwave and my brisket is still tender.

Also, I wouldn't do boiling water. I'd do a sous vide at 165 for several hours to get back to temp.

 

[MASShole]

Haha while I know this to be true, sliced brisket, with some sauce and microwaved with one of these

over it comes out great for me. Enough so that it's not worth extra effort to reheat in a pan or foil pan in oven.

ha! I have the exact same microwave cover. Works great.

 

[usmctanker242]

I'm a man with a family who leads a busy life. 1 min in the microwave and my brisket is still tender.

Also, I wouldn't do boiling water. I'd do a sous vide at 165 for several hours to get back to temp.

Boiling water is really just sous vide at 211-212°. I've done it many times and it works out well, but sous vide at 165° (if you have the necessary equipment) is a great option as well.

 

[usmctanker242]

So Harry Soo (Competition BBQ champion / Master Judge) and T-Roy Cooks (Backyard YouTube personality) descended upon Aaron Franklin's BBQ and chowed down on some grub. Looks like maybe Franklin's was having an "off" day? I was surprised at some of the slightly disparaging comments as people always kiss Franklinl's ass. haha



Either way the food does look really good.

 

[Rob Battisti]

So Harry Soo (Competition BBQ champion / Master Judge) and T-Roy Cooks (Backyard YouTube personality) descended upon Aaron Franklin's BBQ and chowed down on some grub. Looks like maybe Franklin's was having an "off" day? I was surprised at some of the slightly disparaging comments as people always kiss Franklinl's ass. haha



Either way the food does look really good.

Mad I missed it! I have been there maybe 3 times in the last 6 months, and honestly, it’s slowly moving down my list of best of Austin.

Brisket is still number 1 EVER, but even out of the last 3 times there was some variance of how good it was. That’s to be expected is any BBQ though.

 

[usmctanker242]

Mad I missed it! I have been there maybe 3 times in the last 6 months, and honestly, it’s slowly moving down my list of best of Austin.

Brisket is still number 1 EVER, but even out of the last 3 times there was some variance of how good it was. That’s to be expected is any BBQ though.

Cool man....I've never made it but talking to a ton of Texan's out here (lots of Marines are from Texas) I keep on hearing that Lockhart and Black's are the best briskets in Texas. Quite a few people have said that Franklin's isn't even in their Top 10... also hear a lot of people mention Louie Mueller BBQ as better than Franklin's.

Right now everybody tells me my BBQ is the best in town, so that's a good place to start. haha Oddly enough I'm starting to get a reputation as a "Rib Truck." It wasn't my intention to become a rib truck but people are going crazy for my St. Louis spare ribs...brisket is a close second as people kind of push and shove in line when I tell them I'm close to running out. haha On payday week out here I'm doing 24 racks of ribs each day and running out in just over an hour...not too shabby.

 

[HAWTakayama]

Apparently Dave Grohl is a bbq nerd and has his own cooking team. respect. Would be funny to see him enter competitions and get shit on.

 

[Te Huna Matata]

He has his own line of either sauces or rubs. I remember hearing about that on Sirius.

 

[usmctanker242]

How is the pellet smoker working for you?

Update on my pellet cooker : That thing can well and truly go fuck itself. After 3 cooks where the cooker decided to just run at 350° for no reason (when set to 250°) I've had enough of it and am sending it back for a refund. Props to Rec-Tec Grills for their customer service, but after 2-3 weeks of over the phone troubleshooting they still couldn't get the thing working properly. So I'm back to running my old stickburner and I can't really complain....kind of how I should be doing it anyway.

 

[MisGuidedAngel]

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.

 

[Deleted member 220895]

My colon is gasping for air after lightly breezing over this thread.

Anyone get butchers box? Been wanting to up my meat intake with this whole impending doom of the world looming over our heads. No need to prolong my life anymore.

 

[Fzubek]

So last weekend I finally did it.. made GOOD ribs on my cheap offset smoker. Took several times but damn! It was satisfying to hear my girl tell me how good they were!
Cherry smoked baby back ribs..

 

[MASShole]

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.

Tritip is cooked fairly quickly over hot coals, flipped once for the other side to sear, moved to the cooler side to cook a bit more, then rested for 15 mins. Slice against the grain, but be aware the grain direction can change. It's a fairly easy cut of meat, usually served in sandwiches. Personally I wouldn't smoke it, but you can grill it or even sous vide then sear if you want.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016919-grilled-or-oven-roasted-santa-maria-tri-tip

 

[MASShole]

I'm putting on a food and beer pairing meal at Vail Craft Beer Classic this weekend. One of the plates is short ribs, and I did a 1 hour smoke for flavor, then a 72 hour sous vide at 132. Should be unbelievable.

I'll post pics if I remember.