Any Time is Grillin Time

[Unforgiven]

So, 99% of the work is done, and we go to the part where 98% of the waiting happens. Here is the brisket and unwrapped.

Spoiler

Instructions are to trim the fat to witin 1/4". Here it is after trimming.

Spoiler

So, I put it in the tote and added the pickling spices that are now at room temperature.

Spoiler

Then I covered it with tap (well) water.

Spoiler

Now, I wait several days. I probably won't post because all I do now is turn the meat from time to time.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

wow @Unforgiven all of the above sounds so good! i may stop by! i am saving the steps .

 

[Unforgiven]

wow @Unforgiven all of the above sounds so good! i may stop by! i am saving the steps .

It sounds daunting, but it is really easy. I'm not sure if the steps are the same for doing one that isn't going in the smoker.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

It sounds daunting, but it is really easy. I'm not sure if the steps are the same for doing one that isn't going in the smoker.

mmmm mm! Ive snapshotted the brine ingredients. I will give it a try. after a week of marinating i bet the meat is tender too!

 

[Unforgiven]

mmmm mm! Ive snapshotted the brine ingredients. I will give it a try. after a week of marinating i bet the meat is tender too!

Look at the link in the post with the ingredients. The entire recipe is there. No secret.
https://www.traegergrills.com/recipes/beef/corned-beef

 

[Rico ANDROID]

Look at the link in the post with the ingredients. The entire recipe is there. No secret.
https://www.traegergrills.com/recipes/beef/corned-beef

Neat! reading the article now.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

Hows the prep? Ive had corned beef beforeband love it . is the secret the longer you brine it!

 

[Unforgiven]

Hows the prep? Ive had corned beef beforeband love it . is the secret the longer you brine it!

Now it is wait time. I'll turn the brisket tomorrow.

The brining (sp??, is that actually a word) infuses flavor and tenderizes what is an otherwise tough cut of meat. Smoking also beaks down the tough meat, as does boiling it for long hours with cabbage and potatoes.

While I grill and smoke a lot of good cuts of meat, the true art of barbeque (ribs, pulled pork, corned beef, beef brisket) is taking bad cuts of meat and not only making the palatable, but delicious and desirable. The downside is that these bad cuts of meat aren't sold dirt cheap anymore like they used to be.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

Now it is wait time. I'll turn the brisket tomorrow.

The brining (sp??, is that actually a word) infuses flavor and tenderizes what is an otherwise tough cut of meat. Smoking also beaks down the tough meat, as does boiling it for long hours with cabbage and potatoes.

While I grill and smoke a lot of good cuts of meat, the true art of barbeque (ribs, pulled pork, corned beef, beef brisket) is taking bad cuts of meat and not only making the palatable, but delicious and desirable. The downside is that these bad cuts of meat aren't sold dirt cheap anymore like they used to be.

Mmmm-mm that sounds so good. i like all preparation methods youve mentioned above except boiling, lol. Even before i put meat cuts in soup i like browning it to get some added flavor. What you're doing right now i can hardly wait to brine a couple of briskets ahead of time for a weekend bbq.

you are right, what were inexpensive low cuts arent so cheap anymore. i remember my mom buying "hamhocks" dirt cheap and they put the best flavor in beans or other veggies.

 

[Unforgiven]

So corned beef brisket update. I haven't posted because all that's happened is turning the brisket every couple days. #Exciting

Tomorrow's the big day, but I have to start at 5AM, so today I prepared the dry rub. Ingredients include brown sugar, kosher salt, onion powder, garlic, and ground and toasted fennel.

Recipe is unclear on whether to grind, then toast, or vice verca, so I go in order. Grind, then toast. I grind until I can start to smell the seasoning, and then toast it until a start seeing some brown, hear faint pops like popcorn, and get a real anice aroma.

After that, mix up all the ingredients, cover it with cellophane, and wait for the morning. Just one thing I don't have to do tomorrow.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

ooooh i love fennel in my homemade italian sauces and i add it to my chicken soups made in the crock pot. ive never crushed and brown roasted them!v i bet the flavors are bursting good! i will try that! The pics and updates are great! are you using fresh fennel? ive always gotten the mcormicks. this has me rethinking what i will do next time.

I will be online fo catch the smoking process and pic updates. Mmmm-mm!

 

[Unforgiven]

ooooh i love fennel in my homemade italian sauces and i add it to my chicken soups made in the crock pot. ive never crushed and brown roasted them!v i bet the flavors are bursting good! i will try that! The pics and updates are great! are you using fresh fennel? ive always gotten the mcormicks. this has me rethinking what i will do next time.

I will be online fo catch the smoking process and pic updates. Mmmm-mm!

The grocery store here sells bags of spices, so that's what I use.

Well, here it is. It doesn't look any different in this picture from when I put it in, but it smells great.

Rinsed it off, dispose of the picking brine (hint: if you are dumping it down the drain, dump it through a seive so you aren't digging the spices out of your clogged drain in freezing cold salt water like an idiot ).

Here you can see what the brining has done. All rinsed off.

Cover it with fresh water and let it soak for three hours. I have to replace the water every hour though.

 

[Unforgiven]

So, getting near the end. Out of the fresh water baths to meat looks great.

Get the rub on

and onto the smoke until the internal temp is 160

BTW, if my wife is reading this, I need a bigger grill.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

The meat looks almost ready to eat even after the last water bath! What does each water soaking do? And lol, if we see a huge grill next that means the Mrs. read your post. Smoking looks great.

 

[Unforgiven]

What does each water soaking do?

Not sure other than the water was clearer each time. My best guess is to get rid of the pickling spices on the surface.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

I usually wash meat too and get rid of floated pieces too. i can see maybe doing so to rid the extra spices and loose pieces. Man that beef looks good

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I see the brisket but it looks like tough meat?

 

[Unforgiven]

I see the brisket but it looks like tough meat?

That's why I brined it for 10 days and it's been on the smoker for 5 1/2 hours. When it's done it will melt in your mouth.

So, temp reached 160 and it looked and smelled delicious. Double wrapped it in aluminum foil and put it back in the smoker. It will sit there until the internal temperature reaches 205 (slowly creeping the temp up here is how the tough meat is broken down to be tender dpb).

Anyhow, no pictures this time because it was a bit of a hustle so not to lose much temp in the meat while wrapping it.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I guess I need more than a Hibachi than.

 

[Unforgiven]

I guess I need more than a Hibachi than.

Only forsmoking, although I bet with some creativity you could to low and slow on a hibachi. Trick would be to offset the heat on one side and keep it low (very few charcoal brickets) and constantly adding. Then use a smoker box directly above the heat and what you are cooking getting indirect heat.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I actually understood that.

Who sells Hibachis for the 3rd? Time.

 

[Unforgiven]

I actually understood that.

Who sells Hibachis for the 3rd? Time.

Do you have an Ace hardware around. I never really looked into one, but this looks pretty damn good for the price ($38)

http://www.acehardware.com/product/...4BMj1reTwRCp9NA9dxMRTJoxNetVc_pBoCg3cQAvD_BwE

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Yes I do!

 

[Rico ANDROID]

I see the brisket but it looks like tough meat?

What? lol that is a morsel just ready to melt in the mouth. i cant wait to try this brine process to break down all toughness ,replacing it with bursting flavor! mmmmm-mmm!

 

[olbriar]

Hibachi cooking is actually a lot of fun. I carried one in the truck of my car when in my teens. Never know when I might want to put some grill marks on something. Very impressive tool.. Especially in the park with a date. Fun times and good cooking.

I hope your smoke turned out as good as it looks Unforgiven. WoW!

I had issues with my smoker today. I was in a hurry to grill some burgers last week and failed to get it to fire up. With no time, I brought my patties in and put the fry on them. Today I addressed the problem.
First I gave the smoker a good cleaning. It wasn't lousy but it was plenty ready for some attention. Then I turned it on and fired it up.
The Green Mountain goes through a start up sequence that ends with the smoker at 150°. It started it's ritual but leveled of at 88° just as it had last week. The temp just hovered there. I started looking about at the fans and such to see if I could detect an obvious problem but couldn't. I grabbed myself a brew.. yes it's Saint Patty's day.. and sat there watching the temp going no where and pondering who I might contact for a repair. Suddenly there was a small explosion from the cooker. It was much like a backfire from a two stroke. Wife came out to see what was up.. neighbor came to the fence to check things out.
Beats me what happened but the cooker immediately ran up to it's 150° mark and leveled off. I let it run there for fifteen minutes then increase the temp to 250° and it responded as it should. I then shut it down which is also a scheduled sequence of the GM smoker. I then fired it back up and it worked as it should. I'm without a clue. I'm happy that it's working but concerned for I don't know what was wrong or why I had the backfire and how that seems to have fixed things.