Sick!

Call me a newb - but just got this into action ...



I am not sure what I am doing, but it has turned this



into ...

That looks great.

I had a request for some pulled pork so I'll be smoking up a shoulder later this week.

Looks good, but pulled pork is difficult to screw up. It's fatty and not going to "overcook" easily. Brisket and ribs on the other hand are tricky.

Ribs you say ...









Like I said, I am a newb. This was my first attempt at smoking ribs ... didn't look like Johnny Trigg's ribs, but tasted pretty darn good.

Those look as good as anything Trigg puts out. BTW you'd be aghast at what Johnny puts on his ribs.

Not sure of his spice rub, but doesn't he put squeeze butter, brown sugar and/or honey, more of his spice rub, and Tiger Sauce on them when he wraps?

Do tell.

I've watched a few shows that Trigg was on and read a little about his technique. One unusual thing I saw him do was squirt liquid margarine on his ribs before he foils them. I've actually adopted a variation of that on my ribs (baby backs). I rub them and smoke them for 2 hours. Then I rub butter on them kind of like you would with corn on the cob. Just keep the stick of butter in the paper wrapper with the end of the stick exposed. I then sprinkle some more rub on the ribs and foil them for an hour. After that I throw them on the grill for about 5 minutes.

All that and more. Johnny isn't shy when it comes to putting stuff on his ribs.

Here's a few pics from the past couple of weekends:

Butts just out of the cooker


Sliced Brisket


Cutting ribs

Johnny Trigg crushed at the last comp I did. I'd like to know just what he put on those ribs.

Edit: and chicken and brisket and pork.

I need to try brisket again on my smoker...my problem is that the only cut of brisket I find at costco is just the flat..I tried it on my smoker and cooked it low and slow forever and it was still pretty dry.

anyone have any success with smoking just the costco flat or do I need to go to walmart and get the whole packer brisket???

New cooker, went with the Primo oval. Built table for it.



Loving it, a couple things I've done so far - a butt, and ABT's obv.

lol, food looks great but that table you built is awesome...well played

Smoke at 300-325 degrees then foil at 165 internal. Won't take very long after that, probably under two hours. keep your eye on it.

KCBS? IBCA? What's your team name?

KCBS Team is called whistle pig. Don't compete very much at all and our regular comp in Colorado went to vend only this year. I guess maybe crush was a little strong but he took a first place chicken that year with a 177 point entry.

jack - I have been smoking brisket more at 250...so maybe that's my problem? You think more like 300-325 and just spritz it along the way a little bit?

will the costco flat be okay just make sure I get one with a good fat cap on the side that I can put on top or do you think I should add extra beef fat to make sure it doesn't dry out?

I think it will be fine with whatever fat is on there but I also think that foiling is crucial for this method. You need the extra high heat within that packet where there is no evaporation, to render the connective tissue quickly without overcooking or simply drying out the lean meat.

Leaving it unwrapped and spritzing defeats this purpose as it will pull lots of heat energy from the meat to evaporate the surface moisture you keep spraying on.

I always go with a packer trimmed brisket. I know those guys on tv trim damn near every piece of fat off of theirs before smoking, but I think that is so they get a consistent smoke ring, but whatever.

Get a 10-12 pounder. This will cook in 7-8 hours, roughly 45 mins per pound. If you get bigger ones, it won't cook as consistently throughout and will take much longer. When picking out a brisket, make sure the fat side completely covers the brisket on that side.

You also want to bend the brisket. It should easily bend/flex. If it does, it means that it is mostly meat other than the cap of fat. If it doesn't, it means there is a lot of fat in the middle and it never cooks properly. Fat congeals at refrigerated temps. Fat/marbling is great for steaks, but not so much for briskets.

Easy method for cooking:

Liberally salt and pepper the fat side. Then use your favorite rub on the meat side or sometimes, I just use pepper. Use a little olive oil to get it to stick.

Place on smoker fat side down. I know some say to put the fat side up so when the fat renders it goes down into the meat. The problem is all the heat from your smoker comes from the bottom, so it never really gets the fat hot enough to render and just dries out the meat. So fat side down.

Smoke for ~4 hours at 220 degrees with the large end of the brisket towards the firebox. The wood choice is up to you. I like mesquite or fruit woods, but I never use oak. I think oak gives it a burnt taste instead of a smoke flavor.

After smoking, wrap the brisket in heavy duty aluminum foil with the fat side UP. You will want to add about 2 cups of liquid here. I like pineapple juice the best, but have used apple juice, Dr. Pepper or a nice dark beer or IPA. Just depends on what hint of flavor you are going for.

I then finish cook in the oven. No reason to keep burning my good smoking wood when all you need here is heat. Cook ~2 hrs in the oven, fat side UP, at 225 degrees. Then kick the oven up to 350 degrees for 1 more hour. This really gets the fat to melt into the meat.

Remove from the oven and let it rest in the foil. Just like a steak, if you cut it immediately, all the juice in the meat will run out. This could take 30-45 minutes. Once you can touch the meat with your bare hands without burning them, it is time to slice.

Trim off the fat cap and the slice against the grain and serve.

Hope this gets you started. Sorry for TL;DR.

Was that you in Dillon in 2011?

Yeah, and in 2010. 2011 was not my best showing. Between the vending and the 4loko some comp details got pushed aside. Plus we took a DQ on pork.

cowboy, thanks for the details...what's the overall temp you look for to slice brisket? 190?

Adding liquid, especially fruit juice, to a brisket isn't BBQ. Salt, pepper, smoke, and meat is all you need. Maybe a spritz of diluted worchestire sauce right before you wrap it, if you decide to wrap. You aren't getting much smoke flavor on the back end of the cook, so I don't think wrapping is bad. If you live in Texas you should definitely use post oak. The access to the wood is part of the reason why Texas brisket is so much better than other parts of the country.

This is the method Dan Harrington pioneered, right?

In before no poker content in OOT