Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

deal! just need to plan my trip up there. May is pretty open so far. just one weekend I have on call. will get with you and @bvbull200 on that

 

Sounds great

 

I go with what takes the least amount of work So that’s keeping it whole lol.

 

very valid reasoning!

K.I.S.S. method

 

For comps, you aren't allowed to fully separate the two, but you can do a really aggressive trim that, for all intents and purposes, leaves you with two separate pieces - they are just connected by a small bit to still technically be whole.

I've done that, then turned the two pieces 90 degrees from each other so that they were pretty much separate. Cook time really doesn't change and the results for the "good" parts of the flat don't really change, either. A little extra bark and flavor for the newly exposed bit of the flat. The part of the flat that tends to get narrow and a little thin dries out a bit. I like that part when I can cut a slice that is part flat, part point. You kind of lose that when separating. I'd consider trimming aggressively (comp style), but leave it mostly in its original form while doing most of the cook, then separating near the end so you can really dial in each bit of the brisket for what you're going for. It's a fair bit of work for minimal results (in my opinion), but if you have the time to squeeze out every bit of result, it might be worth sticking it in your repertoire.

 

Good point about the comp bits. I'm already an aggressive trimmer...(ask @Bigdaddy4760 ... I make him nervous ) but not comp level. I need to start messing with that though to get some skillz!

 

I would say you are right at comp level now.

 

I haven't shaped them yet... just trim the fat

 

KCBS, you can trim the slices to fit the box after the cook. IBCA, you have to trim the width of the brisket to size before the cook, so when you cut your slices, they have to already fit in the box. I still shape them ahead of time for KCBS so that the slice has bark/a smoke ring all the way around it

If the grain runs across the length of the flat as opposed to along that direction, you end up with some funky shaped briskets .

 

yeah I've started researching comp trims and shaping with the right grain to get the money slices. Figure I can smoke up the scraps for chilis and nachos

 

Here is one I did pretty aggressively. You can tell the flat is squared up (nearly) perpendicular to the grain to get as many right-sized slices as I can. This one had a grain running the "good" direction.

 

My wholes turn out way better than just one or both separated. I haven't questioned why, I just do wholes now

 

2 for work 1 for me. Those bastards get prime too!

10.64 and 10.76 lbs.

Then a 7.25 lber for me. Love the little sub 8 lb ones. Couldn't pass it up.

 

Butcher shop just sent out there e-flyer. Brisket at $8/lb. Order Placed.

 

Is That gold wagyu?!

I might be able to ship to you cheaper....

Oh... Canada. Maybe not.

 

You must really like your co-workers. lol

 

No, but the quality is top shelf. I've never had to take anything out back to soften it up from that shop.

 

Really wonder what it would cost to ship to me. Might be worth it when you all get those silly low prices.

 

I like my reputation more . But 3.39/lb

Excellent! How much you get?

I can get some quotes for sure for ya. I froze one and sent it to VA to my cousin. Think it was $20-$25 for a 15 lb plus some other small items.

 

Guess who just scored a FREE kettle on the way home from work? That’s right, me! It was just sitting at the edge of the road, I pulled up and dude was power washing his boat...gave me a thumbs up and I threw it in the back of the truck



This kinda stuff never happens so I’m probably more excited than I should be haha. Looks like a standard 22, so it’ll join my other “higher end” 22