Barbecue Tricks

BBQ Tips and Tricks

brisket

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Smoke Ring Hack for BBQ

Brisket Smoke Ring

A smoke ring is often thought to be a sign of barbecue perfection. It’s a coveted low and slow cooking phenomenon that looks like a luscious pink edge that boarders the outside border of the meat. It’s vital to competition pulled pork and especially beef brisket. Pit Masters use it as a sign of true craftsmanship but you can achieve this mark of cooking success too.

The smoke ring by itself will not enhance the flavor of your meat. It is not smoke flavor soaking into the meat. It is, in fact, a mark made by a chemical reaction. When nitric acid is absorbed back into the surface of the meat it changes the color of the flesh. Nitrogen dioxide comes from the natural wood smoke and combines with the wet surface of the meat to create this reaction.

Some people say cooking with green or water soaked wood will enhance the color of the ring. Others insist you must put the meat on the grill or smoker while it is still cold and fresh from the refrigerator to get a better ring. One competition team actually fakes the smoke ring by painting the edge of the meat strategically with sauce!

One of the most common ways to “hack” a barbecue smoke ring is by using a curing solution like Morton’s Tender Quick. The package reads, “Tender Quick is a blend of the finest quality salt, sugar and meat curing ingredients. It is perfectly blended for fast cure action and improved flavor and color of the meats.” The secret is that it contains the sodium nitrate/nitrite that you can use to make your smoke ring with no smoke at all. It’s the kind of stuff that makes cured ham pink.

Add some Tender Quick to a rub or dissolve it in a brine and you will see an immediate difference in your meat’s smoke ring. Many competitive cookers will also use products referred to as “pink salt,” Prague Powder or Fab (a meat enhancer).

A spoonful of Tender Quick mixed into your rub before coating the meat should do the trick. For an extreme smoke ring some cooks rub the meat with Tender Quick and then let the meat set for an hour before rinsing and cooking. Use caution with the amount of Tender Quick you use on you meat. You don’t want to end up with corned beef or cured ham.

There are many ways to manufacture a smoke ring on your barbecue but remember using a chemical nitrate like Tender Quick will not add any smoke flavor and that is the true hallmark of great barbecue. Visit Barbecue Tricks to discover more tips to enhance your outdoor cooking.

GrateTV

Bamboo Cutting Board and Anaheim Chiles on This Episode of GrateTV

 

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Do you sauce your brisket for competition?  Jack shares his ideas for the ultimate brisket turn in plus a GRATE TV viewer submitted Grate Plate and a look at bamboo chopping boards.  Secret ingredient is a dried whole anaheim chile.

This weeks gadget has Bill and Jack “Bamboozled” while the secret ingredient takes us to California where its guaranteed not to be “chilly”. Get ready to hug your momma because its another HOT episode of GrateTV. FIRE IT UP!
Catch All episodes of the podcast HERE and submit a food photo – GRATE PLATE – to get on a show HERE.

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Mojo, Brisket, and Gloves – GrateTV

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From http://Gratetv.com Jack Waiboer and Bill West pick through some BBQ ;insulated gloves, reveal a secret ingredient.
Sippin some Hopdevil and talkin’ BBQ we answer a BBQ email and look at a GratePlate pix.    This week we cover brisket, Pitmaster Class and Mojo Criollo.  Hosted by Bill West and Jack Waiboer.

Featured

BBQ or Grillin?

Grill

BBQ or Grill

By Tim Sousa

Grilling and Barbecuing, two of the most popular cooking methods in the U.S., especially in warmer weather. There are some who know the difference between grilling and barbecuing, and some who don’t. Do you?

To put it simply, Grilling is fast cooking over high heat, while barbecuing involves a slower cooking method, over a lower heat.

Grilling is generally done over a gas flame, or hot coals. Tender cuts of meat are best for this cooking method. The quick cooking and the high heat seal in the juices, creating a juicy piece of meat, but leave the meat on too long, and it will dry out, as with any dry cooking method. Barbecue sauces can be used, but since the heat is so high, it should be added right at the end of the cooking time, especially for sweeter barbecue sauces, so that the sugar in the sauce doesn’t burn. Vegetables and fruits can also be grilled, as they don’t need a long cooking time. Peaches and pineapple are particularly good for grilling, the natural sugars in the fruit carmelize over the high heat. When you grill food, you need to pay attention to it, so it doesn’t get overcooked. You need to stay by the grill the whole time.

Barbecuing is typically done over charcoal or wood, although gas can be used. I’ve seen kalhua pig being cooked slowly on a gas grill, but usually, barbecuers will use either charcoal or wood. The meats usually used in barbecuing are tougher cuts of meat, such as the beef brisket, or pork ribs. These meats benefit from the long, slow cooking process, becoming so tender that they will just fall off the bone. Since the cooking process is slower, and the heat not as high as grilling, barbecue sauce can be brushed onto the meat throughought the cooking process, forming a delicious glaze on the outside of the meat. Apple juice is sometimes sprayed onto the meat to keep it moist and flavorful. Damp wood chips added to the fire add a delicious smoky flavor to the meat.

Some meats, like chicken, will benefit from either cooking method. It’s great either grilled quickly with a glaze or barbecue sauce applied towards the end of the cooking time, or slowly barbecued, absorbing the flavors of the smoke.

Tim Sousa is the webmaster of Classy Cooking, an online library of great recipes, cooking tips and more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Sousa
http://EzineArticles.com/?Grilling-Vs.-Barbecue&id=60882

GrateTV

Slicing Brisket and Rotisserie Gadget – GRATETV

Just wrapped another episode of BBQ’s favorite Podcast. The smokin’ episode is titled: Rollin’ with Rotisserie, Slicing Brisket and a Tearfull Secret Ingredient. Click through to the video or head over to iTunes and subscribe to the feed.

From http://GrateTV.com Viewers ask about carving beef brisket and hosts Jack Waiboer and Bill West unveil another secret ingredient. This is episode 9 of GrateTV with hosts Jack Waiboer and Bill West.

Featured

Beef Brisket Step By Step

BBQ Beef Brisket worth the all day cook.

BBQ Beef Brisket worth the all day cook.

It was a wet Christmas Day but nothing would get in the way of an appointment I had with a 6.5 lbs. beef brisket set to feed family visiting for the holiday.

The key to brisket – I determined – is simply time.    Cook’s Illustrated (a favorite reference) writes about how to trick the process and only truly “smoke” the beef on a grill or smoker for a mere two hours and then finish off the brisket (wrapped in foil) for an additional number of hours at 300 degrees.   They say two hours is all you need to provide the smoke infusion.

We love a good BBQ trick or two but this day we kept to tradition. Low and slow over charcoal (we mixed hardwood lump and Kingsford Hickory 70/30) and used water soaked Jack Daniels Whiskey Barrel Oak Chips for smoke. (However Mesquite is a brisket favorite and a better choice).

The process began the night before the cooking by preparing a simple rub and rubbing down the brisket.   Feel free to trim down the fat cap.  There’s no need for more that about a quarter of an inch of a layer of fat.   But you do want some.     We opted to rub the seasoning on/in the fat too.   Then in the refrigerator ’til morning.

The Brisket Rub ( to cover 7 to 9 lbs. Brisket)

1 Packet Taco seasoning (1.25oz – Publix Generic brand)
2 tbl. Garlic Pepper mix (Tone’s)
5 tbl. Brown Sugar
5 tbl. Paprika
5 tbl. Tony Catchere’s Creole Seasoning

Brisket has a “flat” side and a “point.”    The flat looks similar to a flank steak with a long grain.  The point is on top of the flat with a later of fat in between.   The grain runs in a different direction on the point (something to remember when slicing).  We used what would be considered a small  6.5 lbs brisket that was mainly “flat.”     Typical of what you would find in a major supermarket but not mega cookout sized (you can find the biggies -8 pounds and bigger – at Sam’s, Walmart’s, or a butcher).

Time is the big issue.  We put our 6.5 pounder on a Brinkman Smoker at 9:00 am Fat side up.

You don’t want to open the lid of the smoker more than you have to at this point.  Adding chips in the small side door is fine.   Some say every time you now lift the lid you’ll have to add 15 minutes to your cook time.   We added wet wood chips to the coals through the side door every 40 minutes or so until 11:30am.

At 11:30 we raised the smoker off the bottom and added some additional charcoal (1 chimney already hot / white ash) and wood chips, plus added water to the drip pan.

Smoker Temperature should stay between 225 and 275.   The Brinkman smoker has a reading of “Ideal” and I tried to stay at that level until about 1:50pm.  Then CAREFULLY wrap the brisket in foil.    Seal it as much as you can to retain drippings and return to the smoker for two to four hours until the brisket reached an internal temperature of about 207 degrees.  The thermometer will slide right in with very little resistance.   207 degrees sounds crazy to some that find a rare steak (130 degrees) the most tender… but there’s different chemistry happening.    The tissues in the tough brisket (collagen) only begin to melt at around 180 degrees.  You’ll just want to watch that the meat doesn’t dry out (keep it wrapped) and that the smoker isn’t too hot.

We pulled our brisket off at about 4:30pm with a reading of 206 and let it rest in a  cooler wrapped in paper bags (new trash compactor bags work well) until a half hour before time to serve.  The internal temperature will still rise when resting.   Give yourself plenty of time in the planning – we used all eight and a half hours (including an hour to let the meat rest before cutting).

Remember to carve against the grain into pencil thick ( quarter inch) slices if possible.  Our results were so tender we had to cut a bit thicker.    Electric slicers come in handy here.

Total cook time – about nine hours.   Process starts the night before.  Our experiment was with 6.5 pond brisket.

Serves about 12 to 16 (WITH 6.5 LBS.)

Recipes

Sweet Southern Brisket

That name may be a bit confusing… beef Brisket has always been a Texas thing. Mesquite, slow slow smoked, a tradition down there.

Here’s a Barbecue Tricks version of the brisket that tastes great with HICKORY smoke and a bit of sweet heat to give it a southern twist.

We used a Brinkmann Gourmet Electric smoker that keeps the smoker a low 225 degrees and also used a combination of chunk and chipped hickory for smoke.

Brisket is an all day affair… so using a true smoker (with a good drip pan) will really save you some peace of mind. Electric smokers are offensive to purists (no charcoal?!) but if you keep it smoking with pre-soaked wood chips (in a foil pouch) you can’t tell the difference.

Start the night/day before by separating the FLAT portion of the brisket from the tip. Trim away most of the excess fat (down to about 1/4 of an inch covering the flat). This will cut the cooking time way down and give you more smokey surface area. Continue by rinsing clean and rubbing a 5 to 10 pound brisket with a simple RUB. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until morning. It should “cure” 4-12 hours for best results.

Give yourself extra time for the smoker and restrain yourself from lifting the dome lid more than you absolutely have to. Lifting the dome lid will add at least a half hour to the entire process every time you release the already low heat. Hopefully the smoker has a side door to replenish chips and drip pan liquid.

Remove your meat, unwrap and allow to slowly come to room temperature (about an hour). Start your smoker and give it 40 minutes to heat up.

Place the meat – fat side up – over the drip pan to avoid messy drips.

After smoking 5 or 6 hours we enlisted our Barbecue Trick: sprinkle the brisket liberally with brown sugar and paprika. Place it upside down (fat side down) on aluminum foil and coat the other side. Check the internal temperature. Wrap tightly with foil and put back on the smoker.

The entire smoking process will vary but our Flat cut was finished (internal thermometer to 190 degrees ) in about eleven hours (opening the lid only once). The Point cut took an additional 2 hours to get to internal 190 degrees (the lid was often opened for testing).

One you remove from the smoker you STILL will want to wait another 40 minutes to allow the meat to rest and retain coveted juices. Remember YOU NEED TO ALLOW A LOT OF TIME for this entire process. Back time from meal time and make sure to include an hour for “heating up the smoker” and getting the chill off the meat. Plus another hour for the final “rest”.

It’s an all day affair. Our tested brisket started as a 10.5 lbs piece of meat but when the flay was separated it was two approximately 5 lbs. pieces. Flat took eleven hours on the smoker. The point was thicker and a bit bigger and took thirteen.

It’s also important to note that -IF YOU CAN WAIT- some say it’s best to refrigerate and re-heat the next day for the best results (good luck with that waiting!)