The bbq photo & recipe thread
Discussion
HD Adam said:
You're both making some basic errors here.
Brisket cooks "low & slow". Not 300f, it's 225f,
You don't need a water tray. The internal fat (if it's cooked properly) makes it moist.
If your water tray went dry, all the s
t on the bottom will burn & that's where your bitter taste comes from.
Ok, season your Brisket. No need to get fancy. Salt & pepper is good enough.
Get your BBQ to 225f, add the wood chunks of your choice (I like Apple, but Hickory, Mesquite, Cherry, Pecan is fine.
Put the brisket in, indirect heat & smoke it for 3-4 hours.
Then, here's the shocker, take it off the BBQ & put it in the oven set at 225f, directly on a rack with a drip pan underneath.
At this point. the brisket has absorbed as much smoke as you need.
It now doesn't know or care where the heat source comes from.
You can now bugger off & do what you want,
Leave it alone. Don't spritz it, don't baste it, just let it cook.
When it reaches 195f, take it out & give it a poke. It should be springy.
If it's not, back in the oven till 205f.
Basically, it's done when it's done. Might be 9 hours, might be 14.
Every piece of Brisket is different. You have to hit 195f minimum.
Wrap it in foil or pink butcher paper to hold.
Foil, an old towel & into a cooler. Warm the cooler with hot water first.
Ah hour is fine.
Cut the point from the flay & slice both across the grain.
Enjoy
Doing this today - to the letter.Brisket cooks "low & slow". Not 300f, it's 225f,
You don't need a water tray. The internal fat (if it's cooked properly) makes it moist.
If your water tray went dry, all the s
t on the bottom will burn & that's where your bitter taste comes from.Ok, season your Brisket. No need to get fancy. Salt & pepper is good enough.
Get your BBQ to 225f, add the wood chunks of your choice (I like Apple, but Hickory, Mesquite, Cherry, Pecan is fine.
Put the brisket in, indirect heat & smoke it for 3-4 hours.
Then, here's the shocker, take it off the BBQ & put it in the oven set at 225f, directly on a rack with a drip pan underneath.
At this point. the brisket has absorbed as much smoke as you need.
It now doesn't know or care where the heat source comes from.
You can now bugger off & do what you want,
Leave it alone. Don't spritz it, don't baste it, just let it cook.
When it reaches 195f, take it out & give it a poke. It should be springy.
If it's not, back in the oven till 205f.
Basically, it's done when it's done. Might be 9 hours, might be 14.
Every piece of Brisket is different. You have to hit 195f minimum.
Wrap it in foil or pink butcher paper to hold.
Foil, an old towel & into a cooler. Warm the cooler with hot water first.
Ah hour is fine.
Cut the point from the flay & slice both across the grain.
Enjoy
Wish me luck.
Couple of points on Adam's brisket post...
The water bath is nothing to do with moistness. It's thermal mass for temperature stability. Sand, big lump of metal, bricks - but 'something'. I've yet to see any decent smoker not lean heavily on thermal mass for long charcoal cooks.
Every brisket is different - but also types of brisket are wildly different. The 'just leave it, the fat will sort it' approach works with grain fed USDA, or wagyu brisket - but with my local grass fed beef, by the time it got to temp it'd be leather. There's simply nowhere near the same levels of intramuscular fat. So it gets wrapped.
In fact, for most brisket cooks I do now, where I'm not doing a full brisket (and I'm using UK beef) - I use Marcus Bawden's smoke and braise method (on the countrywoodsmoke website and Facebook page). Indeed, that's what I did yesterday with ox cheek...
The water bath is nothing to do with moistness. It's thermal mass for temperature stability. Sand, big lump of metal, bricks - but 'something'. I've yet to see any decent smoker not lean heavily on thermal mass for long charcoal cooks.
Every brisket is different - but also types of brisket are wildly different. The 'just leave it, the fat will sort it' approach works with grain fed USDA, or wagyu brisket - but with my local grass fed beef, by the time it got to temp it'd be leather. There's simply nowhere near the same levels of intramuscular fat. So it gets wrapped.
In fact, for most brisket cooks I do now, where I'm not doing a full brisket (and I'm using UK beef) - I use Marcus Bawden's smoke and braise method (on the countrywoodsmoke website and Facebook page). Indeed, that's what I did yesterday with ox cheek...
The above is spot on. I came to grief trying American methods on UK brisket. Smoke and braise is way better.
Also, has anyone supplemented thermal mass in a Weber kettle with bricks?
My main problem on the Weber is temp management. Frankly the air vents make sod all difference - the amount of charcoal is the key. And the barbecues snake method seems to not always work as the coals don't always light in line properly so the barbecue goes cold...
Several problems here for long cooks. I am almost about to give up and just buy a pellet smoker.
Also, has anyone supplemented thermal mass in a Weber kettle with bricks?
My main problem on the Weber is temp management. Frankly the air vents make sod all difference - the amount of charcoal is the key. And the barbecues snake method seems to not always work as the coals don't always light in line properly so the barbecue goes cold...
Several problems here for long cooks. I am almost about to give up and just buy a pellet smoker.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Monday 12th April 08:34
Harry Flashman said:
The above is spot on. I came to grief trying American methods on UK brisket. Smoke and braise is way better.
Also, has anyone supplemented thermal mass in a Weber kettle with bricks?
My main problem on the Weber is temp management. Frankly the air vents make sod all difference - the amount of charcoal is the key. And the barbecues snake method seems to not always work as the coals don't always light in line properly so the barbecue goes cold...
Several problems here for long cooks. I am almost about to give up and just buy a pellet smoker.
Your issues with temp management surprise me tbh. The weber should seal well enough that the vents do all the work - they certainly do on mine. What I will say, is that the bottom adjustment is actually in a tiny range at the 'closed' end of the movement. Anything above that is essentially wide open.Also, has anyone supplemented thermal mass in a Weber kettle with bricks?
My main problem on the Weber is temp management. Frankly the air vents make sod all difference - the amount of charcoal is the key. And the barbecues snake method seems to not always work as the coals don't always light in line properly so the barbecue goes cold...
Several problems here for long cooks. I am almost about to give up and just buy a pellet smoker.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Monday 12th April 08:34
Here's my pro q yesterday (I do the same in the weber grill, but off to one side) - no snakes, minions, anything - just a load of coal thrown in with some (in this case crappy) wood chips/chunks. Half a lit chimney on top - then temp is controlled solely by restricting the oxygen flow to control how much can be burning at one time.
I've used bricks, foil covered sand (that works well), a smashed pizza stone... Anything that has good thermal mass will work (including water!).
LeadFarmer said:
I'm surprised water works as a thermal mass, doesn't it just evaporate?
In order to do so, it absorbs a huge amount of energy - and heats up, so it'll radiate if there's a small reduction in heat coming from the coals. I used 6l yesterday over 9 hours, two fills of 3l.That evaporation is also helpful in preventing overtemp, as it takes that excess energy, converts water to steam at 100C which then escapes the smoker completely.
mattyn1 said:
Doing this today - to the letter.
Wish me luck.
Well that can only be described as a success.Wish me luck.
Tried to follow - we added more to the raw meat as a rub - some BBQ seasoning, garlic granules and some Good With everything Herby Sea Salt.
The smoker started quite difficult to control temp - meat went in at what I thought stable at 225F, but 30 mins later and after I added the wood blocks it went up to 350F at one point. Tried to control by breaking up the coals and altering the vent. Seemed to work but the temp was consistently 250 - 260F from then on.
At the four hour point, removed and into the oven at 110C.
Checked the temp after 2hrs in the oven - barely went above 55C. After another 90+ mins, temp was just below 70C, but looked sensational so we gambled and removed from the oven - wrapped in foil and rested for a further 75 minutes.
Thinly carved and served with home made BBQ sauce in stand and stuff boats, with a pasta salad. Definitely not chewy, had bags of flavour, was more dense than fall apart. Was the best brisket I have ever done.
For those wanting to try something different (and bloody incredible) - James Lowe butchers (jlbutchers.co.uk) have Scottish ex-dairy packer briskets at the moment for £100.
Utter bargain, and ex-dairy is something else - think the difference in the depths and complexities of flavour between mutton and lamb. Also, matured and great intramuscular fat content, so pretty much as forgiving as a US grain fed cut.
No connection, other than a very happy prior customer (happy to recommend a couple of other online 'BBQ aware' butchers I've used to if there's interest?).
Utter bargain, and ex-dairy is something else - think the difference in the depths and complexities of flavour between mutton and lamb. Also, matured and great intramuscular fat content, so pretty much as forgiving as a US grain fed cut.
No connection, other than a very happy prior customer (happy to recommend a couple of other online 'BBQ aware' butchers I've used to if there's interest?).
Topside joint, so tasty!
Just a simple pepper, salt and Worcester Sauce marinade.
Kettle barbecue used, with charcoal, so indirect heat. Caught the juices in a couple of tins and used that to make the gravy.
Mid-way
A little bit of pink, not chewy - although it was a local butcher joint as opposed to supermarket.
Some leftovers, which reminds me, lunchtime beckons!
Just a simple pepper, salt and Worcester Sauce marinade.
Kettle barbecue used, with charcoal, so indirect heat. Caught the juices in a couple of tins and used that to make the gravy.
Mid-way
A little bit of pink, not chewy - although it was a local butcher joint as opposed to supermarket.
Some leftovers, which reminds me, lunchtime beckons!
I usually go with a "Ketjap" marinade.
Thai marinade:-
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ground Ginger
1 teaspoon five spices
1 tablespoon clear honey
1/2 teaspoon White pepper (I just use black)
Coat chicken or pork overnight if possible but minimum 2 hours
and probably put some chilli flakes on it, depending...
Thai marinade:-
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ground Ginger
1 teaspoon five spices
1 tablespoon clear honey
1/2 teaspoon White pepper (I just use black)
Coat chicken or pork overnight if possible but minimum 2 hours
and probably put some chilli flakes on it, depending...
giblet said:
Need some marinade/rub ideas for chicken, usually go for a diy tandoori one or a peruvian one but looking for a change
We love the A&O Exo dust Jerk rub, pretty damn hot, but we tend to whole breast fillets on the charcoal, and couple with coconut rice and lime juice.....Sway said:
Lidl 'baby' Kamado on sale on the 22nd...
Now, this is a diddly little thing - under 12" diameter grill. However, nice little tabletop steak cooker!
There's also some easy adaptations to permit small indirect cooks using about three bits of lump wood.
Perfect for one of my favourites, a small slow cooked, apple smoked boneless pork shoulde, and for my rosemary smoked reverse sear on steaks. Always seems like a waste using the 57cm Weber for these and means that it is out of action for doing uther stuff at the same time... Now, this is a diddly little thing - under 12" diameter grill. However, nice little tabletop steak cooker!
There's also some easy adaptations to permit small indirect cooks using about three bits of lump wood.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Friday 16th April 07:17
If anyone is looking to smoke this week, Morrisons have shoulder at £2 per KG. I bought 10kg worth, some to eat over the next few days and some to freeze. Incredible value.
I'd recommend it to someone just starting out in the world of BBQ, its a cheap cut so no concerns about messing it up.
My top tip is to smoke for 5 hours or so and then stick it in the oven in foil to avoid the stall and so not to waste charcoal and worrying about maintaining temperature. Yes it is cheating but works!
I'd recommend it to someone just starting out in the world of BBQ, its a cheap cut so no concerns about messing it up.
My top tip is to smoke for 5 hours or so and then stick it in the oven in foil to avoid the stall and so not to waste charcoal and worrying about maintaining temperature. Yes it is cheating but works!
Type R Tom said:
If anyone is looking to smoke this week, Morrisons have shoulder at £2 per KG. I bought 10kg worth, some to eat over the next few days and some to freeze. Incredible value.
I'd recommend it to someone just starting out in the world of BBQ, its a cheap cut so no concerns about messing it up.
My top tip is to smoke for 5 hours or so and then stick it in the oven in foil to avoid the stall and so not to waste charcoal and worrying about maintaining temperature. Yes it is cheating but works!
I often finish in the oven. I'd recommend it to someone just starting out in the world of BBQ, its a cheap cut so no concerns about messing it up.
My top tip is to smoke for 5 hours or so and then stick it in the oven in foil to avoid the stall and so not to waste charcoal and worrying about maintaining temperature. Yes it is cheating but works!
Barbecue for smoke and flavour, oven for precision cook without hassle.
It's just cooking with different methods, not cheating!
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