Exodus Strength

Pastrami Day today.

Smoked the brisket yesterday for about 6 hours until it was well into the stall. Took it off, refrigerated overnight and then steamed it for 2 hours before lunch. Put it back under the broiler to crisp up the bark, but it was kind of a lost cause given that I didn't get much bark in the first place. A little sad about that, but the meat was delicious. Served it reuben style with some rye, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and home made russian dressing:
https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum ... ing-recipe

@omaniphil That looks incredible, perfect level of doneness.

I shoulda photo my brisket and pulled pork last weekend. Even brought it to NC with my home made mango bbq sauce. Even the southerners were into it!

Established a baseline for pulled pork on the kettle... couple of small things to change next time but damned if this wasn't one of the better (maybe best) pork butts I've done...

Doing my first brisket today. Here we are 2 hours in.

Wrapped in foil—that’s all I have—at 3.5 hours. Here we are just before wrap.

It’s 6.5 hours in. The stall didn’t last too long, and the internal temp increased steadily to 195, but then it’s stalled again. Been there for at least 30 minutes with grate temp steady at 250 to 275.

My wife must’ve worked some magic since it was at 201 after I put the kids down for a nap. Just pulled it off at 205 after 7.25 hours cooktime. Wrapped in more foil and towels and put in cooler to rest. Will post another pic after cutting into it.

Here’s before carving. Looks okay; not much bark.

alek wrote: ↑Sun Sep 20, 2020 6:31 am Doing my first brisket today

Is that a pellet smoker?

Hanley wrote: ↑Sun Sep 20, 2020 12:28 pm

alek wrote: ↑Sun Sep 20, 2020 6:31 am Doing my first brisket today

Is that a pellet smoker?

Nah. Ok Joe Highlands.

I couldn’t seem to get the last photo to load properly. Here’s the inside. Decent smoke ring.

It tasted okay, but it was dry and not tender. Okay for a first brisket I guess, but lots of room for improvement. I think getting a prime brisket would help a lot.

Eta: The point was much better. I’m not a brisket guy—I prefer bbq pork over beef—so it may not have been as bad as I thought.

alek wrote: ↑Sun Sep 20, 2020 4:33 pmNah. Ok Joe Highlands.

Whoa. Commitment.

Hanley wrote: ↑Mon Sep 21, 2020 11:05 am

alek wrote: ↑Sun Sep 20, 2020 4:33 pmNah. Ok Joe Highlands.

Whoa. Commitment.

It's actually been a lot of fun learning how to barbecue this year.

I got this smoker several years ago as a father's day gift; used it once; and then let it sit in my shed until this year. It's certainly not the best, but I paid ~$200 for it. A "good" one is gonna cost what, ~$1000+? I like Cooking with Ry's YouTube channel, and he's using a donated Lone Star that retails for $3k. That's gonna be a no from me, dawg. There are a few negatives about the Highland--the smokestack isn't at grate level, the steel isn't real thick--but for the price, it's a really good value. I've done a couple mods on it totaling about $15. I got some of the foodsafe caulk to seal the firebox joint, and I bought some Goodwill cookie sheets to make a baffle/tuning plate combo.

I've got a good system as far as maintaining different temps go, and I think I've got bbq chicken and pork spare ribs down. Butt is pretty easy, too, I think. My wife likes brisket so that's why I'm trying to learn that now.

I also take the meaning of barbecue literally as in using the wood found in your area. The wood I use is water oak, and they were cut down in my neighborhood this spring about 300 yards from my backyard.

alek wrote: ↑Mon Sep 21, 2020 1:28 pmI also take the meaning of barbecue literally as in using the wood found in your area

Oh, sad feels. There's literally no hardwood supply at 5000' in the Rockies.

I definitely want to get a stick burner. Logistics just seem so...demanding...though.

Anybody used one of these Pit Barrel cookers before? Aside from obvious convenience concerns vs. electric pellet types, any serious downsides? Seems to have a smaller footprint and more useable as a generic Weber-style grill as well.

https://pitbarrelcooker.com/

Hanley wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 11:21 am

alek wrote: ↑Mon Sep 21, 2020 1:28 pmI also take the meaning of barbecue literally as in using the wood found in your area

Oh, sad feels. There's literally no hardwood supply at 5000' in the Rockies.

I definitely want to get a stick burner. Logistics just seem so...demanding...though.

Delivering various hardwoods for bbq purposes is a pretty big business I think. You can get whatever from wherever you want, but you’re gonna pay.

Stick burners can be demanding, but it’s fun sitting around the bbq playing with fire all day while drinking a few beers. It helps when the weather is mild enough for the kids to be able to be outside for hours at a time. This past weekend the highs were in the mid-70’s—bliss.

OrderInChaos wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:17 pm Anybody used one of these Pit Barrel cookers before? Aside from obvious convenience concerns vs. electric pellet types, any serious downsides? Seems to have a smaller footprint and more useable as a generic Weber-style grill as well.

https://pitbarrelcooker.com/

Friend has one and my neighbor down the road built one, they seem to work pretty well but I don't think I've seen either grill on it or anything.

OrderInChaos wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:17 pm Anybody used one of these Pit Barrel cookers before? Aside from obvious convenience concerns vs. electric pellet types, any serious downsides? Seems to have a smaller footprint and more useable as a generic Weber-style grill as well.

https://pitbarrelcooker.com/

My buddy's dad has one and they love it. Seems to be a great way to get into smoking. I'd wanted a smoker for a while and the two most common recommendations I got for starting out were the pit barrel and the weber smokey mountain. I got a Weber Smokey Mountain for Father's day this year and it's been great. The impression I got was the pit barrel was a little more set it and forget it without as much temperature control and the weber had more control but required a bit more fiddling.

mouse wrote: ↑Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:18 pm

OrderInChaos wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:17 pm Anybody used one of these Pit Barrel cookers before? Aside from obvious convenience concerns vs. electric pellet types, any serious downsides? Seems to have a smaller footprint and more useable as a generic Weber-style grill as well.

https://pitbarrelcooker.com/

Friend has one and my neighbor down the road built one, they seem to work pretty well but I don't think I've seen either grill on it or anything.

ryanc wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 8:23 am

OrderInChaos wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:17 pm Anybody used one of these Pit Barrel cookers before? Aside from obvious convenience concerns vs. electric pellet types, any serious downsides? Seems to have a smaller footprint and more useable as a generic Weber-style grill as well.

https://pitbarrelcooker.com/

My buddy's dad has one and they love it. Seems to be a great way to get into smoking. I'd wanted a smoker for a while and the two most common recommendations I got for starting out were the pit barrel and the weber smokey mountain. I got a Weber Smokey Mountain for Father's day this year and it's been great. The impression I got was the pit barrel was a little more set it and forget it without as much temperature control and the weber had more control but required a bit more fiddling.

Y'all rock, thanks!

Based on Ryan's comments, Pit Barrel seems more up my alley. Going to be honest... I'll probably sous vide a whole lot of stuff and do some minimal smoking to rid it of the "boiled meat" vibes often accompanying that device. May wait till next spring unless it's a mild winter, but it'll be sick to have some carcinogen meats again without having to go to our damned local BBQ (unapologetically named, "Lost Texan").

(I miss Carolina BBQ)

@OrderInChaos this is my dudes IG if you want to hit him up and ask anything. He's an ex-vegan who has really gone all in on the carnivore life haha

https://instagram.com/largecarnivore?ig ... drmkwl3uu7

Today’s chicken. 3 hours 15 minutes. Temps at 300+.

mouse wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 5:39 pm OrderInChaos this is my dudes IG if you want to hit him up and ask anything. He's an ex-vegan who has really gone all in on the carnivore life haha

https://instagram.com/largecarnivore?ig ... drmkwl3uu7

Crap, may need to eventually make one of those, thanks man.

alek wrote: ↑Sat Sep 26, 2020 3:38 pm Today’s chicken. 3 hours 15 minutes. Temps at 300+.

^Legit food pron, brah. Do you not spatchcock since the smoker is more likely to get even results regardless in white/dark meat vice oven/traditional methods?

OrderInChaos wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:46 pm ^Legit food pron, brah. Do you not spatchcock since the smoker is more likely to get even results regardless in white/dark meat vice oven/traditional methods?

I do; I take the spines out—you can barely see a piece of one on the right—but I may not be breaking the breast bone as much as others do. I mostly just break the wishbone and push down on the breast, and it comes out relatively flat that way. Maybe I’ll take the cleaver to the underside of the breastbone next time.

ETA: Here’s what they look like just before going on.