Dukes…It’s good stuff!
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Let me give you the entire process, start to finish.
First, after trimming the brisket I skipped the injection this time and just covered liberally (albeit approx 2/3 normal) with my standard brisket rub consisting of 1/2 coarse black papper, 1/4 kosher salt and 1/4 Lowry’s seasoned salt. Then covered with the Hardcore Carnivore Black till it looked like this -
https://i.imgur.com/4IRZFWo.jpg
I stuck that in my oven (not turned on) and let rest for 5 hours.
First 4 hours of the cook I smoked on my pellet grill at 190F. Then cranked the temp up to 235F.
At 160F it had a great bark, so wrapped in butcher paper with a probe to monitor temp.
At 190F I started checking for probe tenderness. At 195F the probe was sliding through the meat in the flat like melted butter, so I pulled it at that time and sat on my countertop where I had some cling wrap ready to wrap it, butcher paper and all. After 30 mins rest I wrapped it at tightly as possible and as air tight at I could with the cling wrap, then placed in a cooler where it rested another 7 hours. At that time the internal temp was still 145F. Lots of heat retention on that big ol slab of beef.
The rest is just slice and dice. I did the burnt ends this time as well. However, the point didn’t render as well as the flat, so I braised the cut up pieces in an aluminum half pan, covered tightly with foil and with some beef broth for about 2 hours at 250F. Then I drained off that liquid, used a meat injector and pulled liquid from the bottom as the fat had risen to the top. I mixed some of that with some homemade bbq sauce and basted the burnt ends, then drizzled some honey infused with Datil peppers over the top. Cooked those, uncovered, at 250F in the smoker for about 30 minutes. Voila.
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Well shit, thanks for that !!!
I appreciate you taking the time @SthrnMixer.
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It may not have the ultra dark charcoal that @SthrnMixer’s Hard Core has, but I’m getting close TO the Brisket Rub. Testing on riblets …
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After some consideration, I think the charcoal rub will be relegated to steaks only. If you look at my photos you’ll see something missing. No smoke ring. That charcoal has to be the culprit. it still had some smoke flavor, but nowhere near as prominent as previous cooks. That said, I did something different with my leftover flat. About to post that on the cooking thread.
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Ahh, you think the charcoal blocked it ?? Interesting …
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I do, 100%. It could be I used too much, but I kind of doubt it. No, I think activated charcoal was doing what it does…absorbing. Only instead of absorbing unpleasant odors or particles, it was absorbing all the smoke. As I said, the smoke flavor was there - it was all in the bark though. No smoke ring and the meat itself was not smoky. Kinda defeats the purpose of keeping a smoker rolling for 15+ hours.
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I know I did on those recent ribs @SthrnMixer. Seems like I can go as heavy as I want with simple crushed salt and pepper, but once I get into rubs, too heavy = not soo much smoke.
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I’ve dealt with that too…but never zero smoke penetration. Not once. Best I can tell, this rub is a force field. When Captain Kirk ordered his crew to raise the shields, he must have had this stuff in mind.
What’s so funny, with as many briskets as I’ve cooked, my excitement over the bark was off the hook and I didn’t notice the lack of smoke for a day or two. Oh I encourage anyone who wants to find out if I’m full of crap or not to give it a try. Now the experimental side of me will definitely use this rub again. I’m thinking perhaps a chuck roast if I can find them cheap. I want to try and find the happy place with this where it has enough to help with that amazing bark but not so much that it kills smoke absorption. So I picture a light coat on one side and a heavier on the other…just to get a feel for it. Even if that flops, I know without a doubt this would do amazing things for a steak.
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Once again I took info from a variety of sources to come up with a final recipe. I don’t know…I guess I just can’t straight up copy anyone!
Smoked Beef Taquitos
The Beef
- Smoke a seasoned chuck roast (2-1/2 lbs is ideal) with oak or hickory for 3 hours. Max internal temp 180F, but 150F is ideal. Season ahead with kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper, garlic powder and chipotle powder. FYI, if you want to be “the best you can be” then use beef rib meat.
- Braise - in a dutch oven, add beef (cut into 3" cubes) with 2 cups of beef broth, 2 sliced red bell pepper, 1/2 onion cut up in quarters, and 1 tbs ea Mexican Oregano, ground cumin, and garlic powder. Mix to incorporate all seasonings. Cook in the oven at 350F for 3 hours or until fork tender and easy to shred.
- Shred/chop to a consistency that is easily spooned.
- Add beef to pre-softened corn tortillas.
- Sprinkle with cheese - preferably medium cheddar or some Mexican blend.
- Roll into toquitos (small burritos).
- Cook in veg or corn oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat. First seam side down. Turn when golden brown.
Once cooked, the plating can be in any form you desire. Want something fancy? Try lining them up and covering with guac, sour cream, shredded cheese and salsa. Want finger friendly? Leave as is and have sour cream and salsa on the side. It’s up to you how to present these, but rest assured they will go FAST and will create lots of smiles.
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@SessionDrummer that makes me want to get outside and cook! Wife has kept me busy for the past couple of weekends. Check the “Smile” thread to see what I got assigned last week.
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Well, well, well, I was wondering why the smoke levels from pellet smoking were not up to the level of stick built smoking. It appears as if many pellet MFG’s are cheaping out with cheap “base” wood, and adding “wood oil” as well as lubricants. Patents too …
Pellets comprising mixtures of wood have been manufactured to provide wood flavor during cooking. Generally, wood that imparts flavor, known as flavor wood, and a wood that does not impart flavor, known as base wood, have been combined to produce pellets that impart wood flavor into food. Mixtures of base and flavor woods have been used because if a wood pellet was made entirely from a flavor wood, then food cooked with that pellet may taste too strong to appeal to most persons.
Accordingly, manufacturers can harvest flavor wood and base wood to blend together in ratios that produce pellets with a desired flavor level. Because flavor wood and base wood are often found in substantially different locations, the flavor wood is typically shipped to a central location for pellet manufacturing. Shipping flavor wood in solid form over substantial distances can result in significant expense. In addition, one must apply onerous initial quality control measures when using solid flavor wood, such as inspection for pests and wood rot. Further, it is often costly to accurately mix flavor wood and base wood to the desired ratio in solid form. Thus, using solid flavor wood to manufacture flavored wood pellets results in numerous disadvantages.
A flavored wood pellet that contained less or completely lacked solid flavor wood and a process for producing such pellets would reduce or eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages to the benefit of both manufactures and consumers.
I love my Traeger, BUT, I think I’m about done with their patented “wood oil” and lubricated pellets.
The Solution. Better Pellets !!!
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Interesting. I’ve been using the Traeger Gormet Blend when I can find it at Costco and it really does a great job. However, since getting the kamado I rarely use the pellet grill. I’ve not found a pellet yet that can hold a candle to a nice wood chunk on charcoal, in the kamado or drum smoker for that matter.
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Sorry to keep bumping with the same meal LOL. Ever since I found out that Traeger had patents for “flavored pellets”, I started looking around, and it looked like Lumber Jack was highly ranked, and used the ACTUAL wood they said they did, with NO fillers, base wood, wood oil, lubricants, etc. I wonder if @sthenmixer has tried these yet. Let’s see what’s what …
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