Search This Blog

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Brisket on Ole Blue

Well, I have been wanting to try a meld of some brisket techniques to see if we can improve our brisket for the judges.  After yesterdays cook, I think we have something...

First, I injected with a mix of Colony Sauce (a local prime rib marinade) and canola oil.  Then, I rubbed with some of our All Purpose Blend, placed in a pan, and let sit in the frig overnight.  Here is the brisket after overnight happy time:


I then fired Ole Blue up to 325 and scraped the racks down.  Then, the brisket went on the middle rack, fat side up, hickory and peach in the ash pan...





1 hour, 325, then,  flipped to fat side down and lowered the pit temp to 250.  As you can see, I had some nice bark formation...




At 250 F, I then cooked to 165 F internal.  Then, into a pan with 1 cup Yeungling lager, 1 cup beef broth, and 1 tbsp of AP rub.  Covered with foil, back into Ole Blue at 250 F...




Once it was 195 F internal, I started probing with my thermometer for tenderness.  This brisket was like butter at 200 F.  When done, I opened the foil and released the steam to promote bark formation, resealed, then I put into a cooler with towels to rest.  This brisket had about 3 hours of rest time...


Look at all that nice Au Jus...

Separated the point from the flat and cubed for Burnt Ends...


Trimmed up the sides and sliced the flat thin...


Nice bark, tender, but not too tender.  Great flavor, especially with some Au Jus...


Back to the Burnt Ends...  Tossed the cubes with more rub and a thin coat of sauce.  Placed in a pan and back on Ole Blue for 30 minutes...


Sweet, spicy, caramelized goodness.  I love Burnt Ends.  I think they are the best part of the brisket.

So, to review:

1.  Inject and rub.
2.  Sit overnight.
3.  1 hour, 325 F, fat side up.
4.  Flip fat side down, lower temp to 250, cook till 165 F.
5.  Put in pan with beer/beef broth/rub.  Cook to 195 F and start checking for doneness.
6.  Rest for at least 2 hours in cooler.
7.  Slice and stand back.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Pig Candy with Vanilla Hot Fudge Sundae

Pig Candy?  On ice cream?  Why not!  What is Pig Candy?  Let me show you...  ;)

First, you take bacon and place it in a plastic bag with brown sugar and the rub of your choice.  Then, you toss it around and massage the bacon until it becomes a big sticky mess.  Usually, it is about 1/2 cup or sugar to 1 tbsp of rub.  This time, I used some of my homemade bacon and for the rub, I used Dizzy Pig Pineapple Head rub as I thought it would go well with the vanilla ice cream...


On to the smoker at 250 F...


30-40 minutes later you have Pig Candy...


It is basically crispy, candied bacon.  It works as a good appetizer to keep the natives happy until dinner is ready.  This stuff was chopped and used as a topping on ice cream...


A little bit a caramel, a little bit of fudge, a little bit of piggy sprinkles...  It was great.  The pineapple taste from the rub was perfect.  I won't do this often, but I will be doing it again for sure.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Beef Ribs and Crispy Crowns with Cheese and Onion on the Baby

Last weekend, I found some beef ribs in the freezer and decided to smoke them on the Baby...


First, I pulled the membrane off of the back and seasoned with my brisket rub...


I placed them on the middle rack at about 325 F with some oak in the ash pan.  At the same time, I sprayed a cast iron skillet with cooking spray, then layered with Crispy Crowns and sliced sweet onion and a few grinds of salt and pepper and placed the skillet on a hot grill...


After 30 minutes, I put some Four Cheese Mexican blend on top of the Crispy Crowns and let the cheese melt.  About 15 more minutes.  After the cheese was all melted, I pulled off the ribs and potatoes, 45 minutes total cooking time...



The potatoes were nice and crispy with caramelized onion.  The cheese just sucks up that grilled flavor.  A very nice complement to the ribs.  The ribs were tender and juicy with a nice smoke flavor.  See that nice smoke ring... ;)


They were so good, I ate without sauce...


Enjoy.  Have a safe and happy 4th!

Thanks for stopping...

Bill

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sam's Club National BBQ Tour: Canton, OH

I had the distinct honor of being a guest cook for North Coast BBQ Smokers this past weekend at the Canton, OH Sam's Club KCBS event...


We had an outstanding time cooking, even though it was blazing hot and being on an asphalt parking lot did not help.

Jack, the team captain, is a seasoned Memphis in May cook, winning numerous awards.

Here are the results from the weekend out of 27 teams:

Overall 16th
Chicken 10th (Three Dogs BBQ recipe)
Ribs 24th.  We did not sauce which may have been a problem.  It seems that KCBS like a bit of sauce. Jack is a Memphis Man and dry ribs are the way to go down there...
Pork 17th.  Again, no sauce.
Brisket 17th.  Kurt, our brisket man, did a great job.  I am definately going to try some of his techniques in my next practice sessions...

The most important thing is that we had fun cooking and hanging out.  With a bit more practice, we will do better in the future for sure.

Here is a slideshow with all of our pictures:


Thanks for stopping by...

Bill