Brisketexan
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I've been meaning to do this for a while. The following is a photo journal of a brisket, including carving. I had a 10 pounder in the fridge and needed to cook it, so I did so this weekend. I smoked it on Sunday starting at about 2:30. Oak fire, about 200-225 average temp. Smoked it till 10:30 (8 hours), then foil wrapped and put it in the oven at 220. Now, because I had started so late, it stayed in the oven overnight till I turned it off first thing in the morning. That was a bit too long -- I usually have a good amount of liquid left in the foil, and this time, most of it had cooked off. It was still tender as could be, but the flat could have been a bit more moist. Lesson learned on timing, I guess.
I warmed it in the oven for an hour or so before eating Monday night. So, the photos. Here's the finished brisket, after resting out of the oven for about 20-30 minutes.
Yes, my briskets pretty much always look that black when finished. The next photo shows the positioning of the knife to separate the flat from the point.
Note how the blade is on the horizontal. I then cut to my left, sloping downwards, to separate the flat (on the right) from the point (on the left). You can see the separated pieces in the next photo. I flipped the point over to show what the cut looks like (it's on the left), and I began slicing the flat (against the grain, of course -- you can see how the grain actually runs at close to a 45 degree angle to the line of the flat itself).
Some more slices from the flat:
This next shot shows some slices from the point. Some folks just chop the point up and use it for chop'd beef sammiches. Those are fine, I guess, but honestly, the slices from the point are my favorite part. I slice mine. You can see how I separated the point into two pieces (the "taller" piece is up top, the flatter piece is on the bottom), and then cut against the grain of the point. You can also see that I trimmed a bunch of the fat off. My kids were watching me do it last night, and asked how I could tell where the fat was, and I told my daughter to press her finger to the brisket -- it sounds so obvious, but the soft part is fat, the firm part is meat. Feel it, and then trim it.
Some closeups of the slices from the point:
Of course, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Both of my moochers took slices off the cutting board, AND wolfed down what I put on their plates (served with black beans with a dollop of cilantro ranch sour cream on top, and a few tortilla chips).
I didn't take any photos during the cooking process, but honestly, there's not much to photograph. Cover it with rub (I cover both sides, and make sure to get some on the ends and edges, too). Put it in smoker. Leave it the hell alone. Pull it off when it's smoked, wrap, and finish.
This is my first time trying to chronicle this sort of thing with photos. I'll try it again some time, when I have a better handle on lighting, etc. Maybe for Memorial Day. I'm thinking of having friends over for brisket and etouffee (have a bag full of leftover crawfish tails from our crawfish boil last weekend). Might be some tasty photos there.
I warmed it in the oven for an hour or so before eating Monday night. So, the photos. Here's the finished brisket, after resting out of the oven for about 20-30 minutes.
Yes, my briskets pretty much always look that black when finished. The next photo shows the positioning of the knife to separate the flat from the point.
Note how the blade is on the horizontal. I then cut to my left, sloping downwards, to separate the flat (on the right) from the point (on the left). You can see the separated pieces in the next photo. I flipped the point over to show what the cut looks like (it's on the left), and I began slicing the flat (against the grain, of course -- you can see how the grain actually runs at close to a 45 degree angle to the line of the flat itself).
Some more slices from the flat:
This next shot shows some slices from the point. Some folks just chop the point up and use it for chop'd beef sammiches. Those are fine, I guess, but honestly, the slices from the point are my favorite part. I slice mine. You can see how I separated the point into two pieces (the "taller" piece is up top, the flatter piece is on the bottom), and then cut against the grain of the point. You can also see that I trimmed a bunch of the fat off. My kids were watching me do it last night, and asked how I could tell where the fat was, and I told my daughter to press her finger to the brisket -- it sounds so obvious, but the soft part is fat, the firm part is meat. Feel it, and then trim it.
Some closeups of the slices from the point:
Of course, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Both of my moochers took slices off the cutting board, AND wolfed down what I put on their plates (served with black beans with a dollop of cilantro ranch sour cream on top, and a few tortilla chips).
I didn't take any photos during the cooking process, but honestly, there's not much to photograph. Cover it with rub (I cover both sides, and make sure to get some on the ends and edges, too). Put it in smoker. Leave it the hell alone. Pull it off when it's smoked, wrap, and finish.
This is my first time trying to chronicle this sort of thing with photos. I'll try it again some time, when I have a better handle on lighting, etc. Maybe for Memorial Day. I'm thinking of having friends over for brisket and etouffee (have a bag full of leftover crawfish tails from our crawfish boil last weekend). Might be some tasty photos there.
