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now that this turkey smoking hassle is over with and back to the basics- park butt and brisket. I can successfully smoke the latter while half-asleep drunk on my Arse. Christmas Eve smoke.

Luckily El Niño is supposedly going to be the most El Niño El Niño ever this year, meaning lots of meat smoking weather through the winter.

what's everyone doing for christmas? thinking about doing a beef loin, though I haven't researched it yet. Kind of leaning towards some sort of beef (not brisket) chunk. Doesn't necessarily have to be smoked...

Either way, gonna do some salmon for an hour or so with cream cheese and crackers and some sort of seafood. Probably scallops, but not on the smoker.

AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:what's everyone doing for christmas? thinking about doing a beef loin, though I haven't researched it yet. Kind of leaning towards some sort of beef (not brisket) chunk. Doesn't necessarily have to be smoked...

Either way, gonna do some salmon for an hour or so with cream cheese and crackers and some sort of seafood. Probably scallops, but not on the smoker.

Any cut that's good for braising should be good for smoking. I've had really good luck with chuck roasts, which have the added benefit of being cheaper than most. I use a rub of ground coffee, black pepper, salt, cardamon, garlic, and oil (enough to make the dry ingredients into a paste), and it comes out great.

I'm going with brisket-smoked.

I'm using my cheap-o brinkman tube smoker. There are two racks. And I will have half of it on one rack, the other half below.

Which leads to a question:
Does cutting and smoking two pieces of meat - equal thickness take less smoking/cooking time, than one big piece - all on one rack?

Freed Roger wrote:I'm going with brisket-smoked.

I'm using my cheap-o brinkman tube smoker. There are two racks. And I will have half of it on one rack, the other half below.

Which leads to a question:
Does cutting and smoking two pieces of meat - equal thickness take less smoking/cooking time, than one big piece - all on one rack?

It might increase air/heat circulation, so possibly. If you're going to do two pieces anyway, see if you can get the butcher to give you the flat cut and point cut from the same brisket, and do the fattier point cut on the top rack so it can baste the leaner flat.

redbirdjazzz wrote:

Freed Roger wrote:I'm going with brisket-smoked.

I'm using my cheap-o brinkman tube smoker. There are two racks. And I will have half of it on one rack, the other half below.

Which leads to a question:
Does cutting and smoking two pieces of meat - equal thickness take less smoking/cooking time, than one big piece - all on one rack?

It might increase air/heat circulation, so possibly. If you're going to do two pieces anyway, see if you can get the butcher to give you the flat cut and point cut from the same brisket, and do the fattier point cut on the top rack so it can baste the leaner flat.

I think that is the plan. Also, it is being marinated by the butcher. I trust the guy.

I will stay away from Mesquite - go with Hickory or apple. thoughts there?

I do plan to foil it up at some time. (or butcher paper) to not oversmoke.

I don't know the answer, freed. But, if you separate the flat and the point, I think it's inherently thinner.

Since I think I'll be at my sisters house in Lockhart, TX, which is the the smoked brisket capital of the world, I'm going to do something different and braise one in garlic and butter. I've done it this way once before after a friend of mine told me that was how Winslow's Home does theirs, and it came out great.

You basically just put the whole thing in a roasting pan with a bunch of sticks of butter, fresh garlic cloves and herbs, tent it and let it go for like 10 hours at 225. When it's done, heat up up a skillet and brown it in chunks and use the garlic meat butter that's left over as a sauce. It's insane.

haltz wrote:Since I think I'll be at my sisters house in Lockhart, TX, which is the the smoked brisket capital of the world, I'm going to do something different and braise one in garlic and butter. I've done it this way once before after a friend of mine told me that was how Winslow's Home does theirs, and it came out great.

You basically just put the whole thing in a roasting pan with a bunch of sticks of butter, fresh garlic cloves and herbs, tent it and let it go for like 10 hours at 225. When it's done, heat up up a skillet and brown it in chunks and use the garlic meat butter that's left over as a sauce. It's insane.

So it's brisket confit? Awesome!