10hr Beef Brisket on the Smoker!

[greensheepuk]

Hi all!

I figured it was about time I ventured out of the build section of the forum after finishing Mk.1 of my oil drum oven/BBQ/smoker and couldn't have done it in much finer fashion than a 2kg rolled brisket with Memphis style seasoning and a 10hr smoke with apple wood and mesquite smoke!

I've done some long smokes before but always seem to forget to document the process to share with the forum so hopefully this will be the first of many 'recipes' that follow from start to finish.

I'll be applying a dry rub to the brisket 2-3hrs before the cooking begins, with such a long cooking process I don't think there's much point in applying the rub any sooner, especially considering it contains a good amount of salt which would no doubt begin to dry out the meat if it were left on too long. The rub is based on a mimic recipe from Rendezvous BBQ in Memphis and is a typical Memphis style dry rub (used on their dry-ribs!) with some slight Greek influence but I've found that it also works great with slow cooked beef in the smoker.

Pics and more info to come on Saturday!

JK.

[dieseljockey]

Look forward to the pics as we've looked at buying a smoker, but want to sort out the oven first.
Some friends in France have one and when we visit Chris will always stick meat or fish in ready for the evening meal...I must say it's mouthwatering.

If yours is a DIY smoker and you have the build on the forum I'll have to find it out.

Brian

[rivergirl]

I love the long smoked meat and the left overs ( if there are any ) make for stunning corned beef for pies, chillies etc....... Mind you the last long smoke was a leg of lamb and I did not like this as much.
Brian are you looking at a DIY cold or hot smoker??? I made a cold smoker from an old cupboard but treated myself to a barrel type hot smoker from ebay last year.

[cannyfradock]

JK

Also looking forward to seeing some pics of your slow cooked smoked brisket.

I do love this cut of meat from whichever animal it comes from.....brisket/beef....breast of lamb/lamb.....belly pork/pig.

Terry

[minesamojito]

Sounds great mate, but why use a rolled brisket, if it were me i'd cut the string and expose as much of the surface to that lovely smoke and get a good bark going? plus you get the bonus of the burnt ends
Look forward to seeing the pics.
Cheers
Marcus

[greensheepuk]

Well unfortunately the gathering I was cooking the beef for had to be called off so the whole thing's on hold!

The beef's in the freezer and the dry rub is in the cupboard so I'll update once it's back on!

JK

[greensheepuk]

Well it's now back on, in a fashion, lol.

Got the idea this morning to sell some hot beef sandwiches at work tomorrow for comic relief and seeing as though the brisket I bought for this thread is thoroughly frozen I went out and picked up a 3kg brisket.

No BBQ seasonings here though, I'm going for the ultimate hot beef sandwich with of course plenty of gravy and some onions. After rubbing the beef over with soy sauce and worcester sauce, I applied a rub of pepper, oregano, rosemary, fennel seeds, sugar and a little salt. Then left in the fridge for 5 hrs prior to cooking.

After an hour at room temperature to warm up, it was into the BBQ oven for some indirect cooking on charcoal (too cold to use the smoker), with a lump of hickory thrown on every so often for light smoke and tin of half water half beer close to the coals to add some moisture to the air.

It's been in for an hour at 140-150C and will probably get another two hours with occasional basting from the beer/water before it comes inside for a slow cook in the oven overnight with stock and veg. More to come.





P.s. Marcus, I haven't cooked too many briskets before but In the past I've struggled with them drying out in the smoker if I unroll a 'supermarket' rolled brisket. I think as I learn more I'll be looking to unroll them and of course use larger unrolled joints when the occasion calls for it. I do love that bark! lol.

[rivergirl]

looks the ticket !! hope that you sell loads tomorrow

[greensheepuk]

So, 3 hours in the BBQ oven averaging 150C with regular smoke from hickory and hourly turning/mopping with the beer mix.

Whilst that was happening I softened some carrot/celery/onion in a pan with olive oil, butter, oregano and salt/pepper. Squeezed the beef in there and spooned the veg back over. Then added the rest of the beer and some beef stock until it was roughly half way up the beef.

Obviously there's a good amount of cooking left here so I've inserted my trusty wireless BBQ temperature probe thingy and I'm going to cover the beef and put in the oven at about 240F (apologies for mixing units!) until the internal temperature hits 180F. At this point, the alarm on the wireless receiver 'should' wake me up so I can drop the oven temp to 160F and leave until the morning. Then It can cool until just before lunchtime when I'll slice it and return to the stock (which I may or may not thicken/reduce, haven't decided yet). Then with the addition of some speedily pickled onions, sauteed onions and a variety of mustards, its sandwich time!





JK

[cannyfradock]

JK

Looks absolutely bloody marvelous!!......hope you post some "after" pics.

Terry

[umhloti]

Lovely . very precise cooking temp and monitoring . Thats dedication and perfection for you .

[greensheepuk]

Doh! Totally forgot to take any pics after those above!

That failing aside, the rest was a great success! In summary:
- Confirming what I'd thought for a while, slowly cooking to 180/190F internal will not produce a tender brisket which goes against the most common recommendations on the net. As far as I'm concerned you need to take a brisket to about 200F over a good few hours in 300-350F oven, then drop the oven to 250F where the the brisket should raise and then hover around 210F for an hour or two. Its at this point that you either remove and rest/serve or drop the oven down to a holding temp of about 160F until ready to serve. No doubt all this will change the next time I cook brisket but it'll suffice for now.
- I let the brisket cool completely then sliced into the cooking stock which was let down with beef stock and thickened for sandwiches with some cornflour to reheat. I had to be very careful at this point as the beef was very tender, probably too tender in fact.

Anyhow, great beef, great sandwiches, full and satisfied friends and circa £35 profit for comic relief!

JK

[rivergirl]

Congrats!! Nothing beats a hot beef sarnie!!

[greensheepuk]

Definitely! It certainly got a lot of people together discussing food and giving to comic relief so all's good!