I just got a tiny offset smoker. Almost impossible to manage temperatures. Stayed up most of the night, made a million mistakes. Cooked too hot, a bit too smoky sometimes. Took it off too early thinking it was going to keep cooking during the hot hold until lunch. Had to reheat it to get it going again. Turned out AMAZING. The only real mistake was trying to sear the fat cap to get it to tighten back up a bit. The fat dripped onto the fire and made it smoky in a bad way. I took it off right away, no major damage except some of the fat stuck to the grill lol! Plus I almost dropped it trying to pull off this maneuver!
Everyone was raving about it and I’ve learned a lot for next time!
It’s pretty insane how much better homemade brisket is than really any restaurant. Even if you fuck it up, it still turns out good.
Eh, only a few people I’ve known have ever been able to match an on point barbecue place like Terry Black’s in Lockhart or Franklin’s in Austin. Most of the people that know what they’re doing end up matching a middle of the line place like Chisholm Trail in Lockhart. But if someone really doesn’t know what they’re doing, it’ll come out as bad as something from Rudy’s or worse. Unfortunately barbecue restaurants charge out the ass now. $35 per pound is highway robbery. But making it at home requires the right equipment and enough friends to take shifts babying it at 2 in the morning. On the other hand, a lot of restaurants end up getting bad as the years go on as well. Places like The Salt Lick, Smitty’s Market, Kreuz Market, Cooper’s, and City Market all turned to crap ages ago.
Honestly, I just think brisket is overrated. I’ve been to Austin a few times and went around to the “local spots” as my friend puts it, and it’s good, but nowhere near as good as the best ribs or pulled pork IMO. It’s just all grease. Anywhere else that kind of texture would be done in very small portions, or considered too slimy and rich. A few bites are great but a half pound of the stuff is just an unpleasant gut bomb.
It’s applaud you. We should all be able to explore our character flaws and developmental gaps in a safe space. Personally, I have trouble getting a really good finger-snap.
yeah i’m all about the dino bones. one rib and you’re done.
I love me a good smoked Texas brisket, but god damn, acquiring and then babysitting a smoker for an entire night, all to land at “really quite decent” is my definition of diminishing returns.
If I ever accidentally acquire a raw brisket, I’ll turn in my Texas card (no great loss these days) and put that fucker in the oven with some foil and liquid smoke. Meantime, I’ll stop by the HEB sometimes, or a better place when we have out of town guests.
liquid smoke???
You’re not entirely wrong, but that’s specifically why I’m not diving down this particular rabbit hole. I’m sure I could make something safe and edible, proper smoker or all the cheats, but I ain’t looking for a calling here, just a meal, so that much raw beef potential would be wasted on me.
Yeah I put way too much effort into my meals when it’s my nights to cook dinner, but like it’s also one of my favorite hobbies.
i won’t stand for this Smitty’s and Kreuz’s slander. i have a comfy chair and i would like to sit.
Kreuz still at least has pretty good jalapeno sausage, and at a cheaper price than some of the other places. It’s still worth going to for that.
Brisket on the whole has kinda flagged as the popularity increased. Cooper’s out in Llano is great for ribs, chicken, and goodness me the pork chops…
But yeah, doing brisket on your own is great. A pellet smoker will make it good, a proper stick burner will make it great. But it’s all about the preparation. Good prep will make a mediocre cut so much better.
That’s how I knew when to stop going to my former favorite bbq place. I think they’re still in business but they never recovered from pandemic. The first red flag was when the brisket was no longer good. But then they stopped making their own sausage and the beans tasted fresh out of the can. I still went several times, hoping it was temporary, but no.
I’m living proof that that isn’t true. I’ve done two so far. Had to throw the first one out. Completely inedible. Second one I still undercooked.
But I did find out the probe on my smoker is pretty far off at high temps. So, hoping my next one is better since I got a new thermometer.
Also means I need to check that the sensor for the smoker isn’t as messed up.
Great job doing the calibration first! Now you can try for real!
i can’t remember if our calibration runs were SLC ribs or pork butt, but i have smoked a hell of a lot of pork on my WSM
It’s even more insane how much they want to charge you for it.