Cast iron. Turf and I are pros on them. Put them on the grill over the gas, and you can flat iron anything. Plus it regulates the temperatures much better than a flame.
Charcoal is a carcinogen.
Charcoal is highly recommended.
Ribeye steaks are highly recommended, too. Here is my secret recipe for Ribeye steak.
1 cup of Soy Sauce
1 cup of Red Wine Vinegar
1 or 1/2 cup of finely chopped Green Onions
Fresh Ground Pepper
*Combine them well in the large bowl.
*Insert this Marinade into plastic ziploc bag or marinade tupperware.
*Make a bunch of holes into steaks with fork and insert steaks into either plastic zipock bag or tupperware. Put it your ref.
*Marinate Ribeye steaks for 2 days.
*Toss steaks on Charcoal BBQ and cook it slowly. Enjoy it!
You are talking about the internal temp of the brisket itself. I always take mine to 190-195, and then put it in a cooler for at least 2 hours. Usually I lightly foil the Brisket somewhere after 6-8 hours. At this point it's got all the smoke it's going to get into the meat, and the foil helps to keep it moist.
Letting it sit in the cooler afterwards is an extended rest that really improves the overall product imo.
If you don't cook it until at least 190, it will not finish breaking down the connective tissue and it will be tough.
If you monitor the Brisket's internal temperature while cooking, it will relatively quickly heat up to around 160 during the first few hours in a 200-220 degree smoker. And then it will "plateau" around 165-170 for several hours as the connective tissue is broken down. Finally, it will break out of the plateau once it gets above 180. But if you take it off at 170 it will not even be close to being done.
Well... .you know. ... I spent a grand on the Big Green Egg thing, so my food doesn't ever get dried out.
I don't ever mop or anything, but like I said I do foil it somewhere between 6-8 hours usually. I don't ever have trouble with it being dried out.
Brisket is bad about drying out pretty quickly after you slice it, but that's just the nature of the beast. I always just try to not slice it until the last minute. No matter how juicy it is, if you slice it and let it sit around for 20-30 minutes it will be dried out.
You could probably pull it off at 185, but I certainly wouldn't take it out at 170. That's just not going to have had enough time to break down all the tough connective tissue.
Also, to answer your question on size of brisket. I use a full 10-12 lb brisket.
I usually smoke the whole thing for somewhere around 12-15 hours based on size (around 1.25 hours per pound) at around 220 degrees. At that point, I cut the point apart from the flat, and leave the point on for another 4-5 hours to make some "burnt ends". Meanwhile, I let the flat sit wrapped in the cooler for a couple hours, and usually serve it sliced. When the point/burnt ends are finished, I usually pull it for pulled beef.
I think 185 Is going to be my sweet spot. The only brisket Ive ever had was my own, so I dont really know what to compare it to. I do know it is now my favorite hunk of meat.
I will have to try foiling it. Great post, and do you go to a local butcher to find the 10-12 lb'rs? Costco and Publix here dont carry them that large. Im lucky to find a 7.5 lb slab.
I might need to call around, I think the size contributes to the juicyness...
Also, im still perfecting temp control, Ive had a couple large swings in my temp the last 2 times ive cooked. I think I have those things figured though.
Thanks MO for the wicked Sig.
The 7.5 lb is probably just "the flat" portion of the brisket.
I don't have trouble finding them here, but certainly if you called a butcher they'd be able to get you one. I do think that doing the whole brisket helps it in terms of keeping it moist, but also lengthens the time of the cook, and increases the degree of difficulty because you have to keep a constant temp for a lot longer.
With your equipment, the smaller flat portion is probably best. And certainly it won't take 12 hours to cook it either.
Being in Florida, it might not be a popular cut for them to put out at the local grocery stores, so you might have to have a butcher get you one. But again, with your equipment, it's probably more trouble than it's worth. A full brisket is probably the most difficult thing to get right for anyone. Lots of trial and error.
Temperature control is key. The brisket needs to stay at that "plateau" temperature long enough for the tough connective tissues to be broken down. If you get your fire too hot and break it out of that plateau too soon, the result will usually be tough and dry.
Doing the smaller portion, the brisket won't stay in the plateau for that long, but I don't have much experience at all in doing just the "flat", so I can't tell you how long.
Edit: And I agree. .. .good brisket is about the best food ever on Earth.
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