Back in the Game

[Finney]

You can certainly have two. It all depends... that's what makes it fun. \/ ](*,) :happyd:

 

[SteerCrazy]

At about 160 I tend to foil the brisket and that seems to help it get to 190....is this still suggested???

 

[allisonandrews]

We foil around 160 degrees, but we normally have the lid open a bit as we get the foil on and then we pour on a beer which cools down the outside for awhile. This may be the cause of our first plateau at 160 degrees.

We foil for the texture of the meat and to protect it from excess smoke. It probably helps it cook a bit faster as well, but I have never experimented with this.

 

[SteerCrazy]

We foil around 160 degrees, but we normally have the lid open a bit as we get the foil on and then we pour on a beer which cools down the outside for awhile. This may be the cause of our first plateau at 160 degrees.

We foil for the texture of the meat and to protect it from excess smoke. It probably helps it cook a bit faster as well, but I have never experimented with this.

Workin on a WSM I don't have to worry about smoke because it's burned off in the first 3-4 hours. Foiling for texture I would agree but I find that after I foil at 160* that can help jump the temp to 190* within the next hour or two, but again, I'm using a WSM. As for the beer, I would prefer to drink it myself

 

[allisonandrews]

We use "old" beer to cook with. We are infamous for having a ton of old beer around the house. We'll leave it in the travel trailer or in a cooler or something and forget about it. My husband thinks it gets a funny taste after being hot then cold then hot again, so we keep a box labeled "DO NOT DRINK" and stick all those beers in there and use them in cooking.

 

[wittdog]

At about 160 I tend to foil the brisket and that seems to help it get to 190....is this still suggested???

At 160* the tough connective tissues start to break down I think they are called collagen. If you foil you will speed up this process. Which in some peoples opinion can make for a tougher brisket. I have had good luck doing it both ways with foil and without. IMHO foiling kind of destroys the bark. It’s another one of those things that are up to personal preference…and will be debated from now to eternity, like the fat cap, mustard slather and so on and so forth……

 

[SteerCrazy]

At about 160 I tend to foil the brisket and that seems to help it get to 190....is this still suggested???

At 160* the tough connective tissues start to break down I think they are called collagen. If you foil you will speed up this process. Which in some peoples opinion can make for a tougher brisket. I have had good luck doing it both ways with foil and without. IMHO foiling kind of destroys the bark. It’s another one of those things that are up to personal preference…and will be debated from now to eternity, like the fat cap, mustard slather and so on and so forth……

I would agree about the bark getting soft but for some reason when I cook briskets I do not get a nice crispy bark like to do with butts....As for the beer, yes I would agree hot beer then cold then hot again would make it taste funny but you just can't throw it out!

 

[wittdog]

[quote="Man's Best Friend BBQ":ihu599oh]At about 160 I tend to foil the brisket and that seems to help it get to 190....is this still suggested???

At 160* the tough connective tissues start to break down I think they are called collagen. If you foil you will speed up this process. Which in some peoples opinion can make for a tougher brisket. I have had good luck doing it both ways with foil and without. IMHO foiling kind of destroys the bark. It’s another one of those things that are up to personal preference…and will be debated from now to eternity, like the fat cap, mustard slather and so on and so forth……

I would agree about the bark getting soft but for some reason when I cook briskets I do not get a nice crispy bark like to do with butts....As for the beer, yes I would agree hot beer then cold then hot again would make it taste funny but you just can't throw it out![/quote:ihu599oh]
Yes on the beer thing. Although I usually never have left overs especially when John Pen is around.
As far as the bark it might have something to do with the lack of sugar in a "beef rub"?

 

[Guest]

At about 160 I tend to foil the brisket and that seems to help it get to 190....is this still suggested???

At 160* the tough connective tissues start to break down I think they are called collagen. If you foil you will speed up this process. Which in some peoples opinion can make for a tougher brisket. I have had good luck doing it both ways with foil and without. IMHO foiling kind of destroys the bark. It’s another one of those things that are up to personal preference…and will be debated from now to eternity, like the fat cap, mustard slather and so on and so forth……

Yep! Do what you like and what works best for you!

 

[allisonandrews]

Yes on the beer thing. Although I usually never have left overs especially when John Pen is around.

We tend to overload our coolers - would rather have too much than run out. If we would just remember to stick them back in the fridge... but that is normally too much for us to handle at that drunken stage and the next day we are normally hungover. Well, at least I am. I don't know what hubby's excuse is.

 

[SteerCrazy]

[/quote]
Yes on the beer thing. Although I usually never have left overs especially when John Pen is around.
As far as the bark it might have something to do with the lack of sugar in a "beef rub"?[/quote]

Well, I plan on doing 2 briskets this weekend and will use the texas brisket blend.....we'll see how it turns out.

 

[wittdog]

Yes on the beer thing. Although I usually never have left overs especially when John Pen is around.

We tend to overload our coolers - would rather have too much than run out. If we would just remember to stick them back in the fridge... but that is normally too much for us to handle at that drunken stage and the next day we are normally hungover. Well, at least I am. I don't know what hubby's excuse is.

Big pit,new to you boat, lab, and overloaded coolers full of beer are you willing to adopt me........ [-o< I tend to overload our cooler as well, when I'm on vac the first thing I do is get a new bag of ice and some more beer for the cooler each day (well usually my wife does that).

 

[SteerCrazy]

Yes on the beer thing. Although I usually never have left overs especially when John Pen is around.

We tend to overload our coolers - would rather have too much than run out. If we would just remember to stick them back in the fridge... but that is normally too much for us to handle at that drunken stage and the next day we are normally hungover. Well, at least I am. I don't know what hubby's excuse is.

Wish my wife was into Q'n and beer drinkin, at least I wont have to worry about her drinkin it all :grin: .....oh well, 17 more years and my son will be 21.

 

[wittdog]

Cliff how is the Brisket coming ? What type of fire management are you using and how well is it working for you……If you started the fire around 6 and it’s 1:15 now you should be dumping that ash tray pretty soon.

 

[allisonandrews]

I actually do try to adopt strangers. Especially at the bar. It seems like no one can ever come camping with us, so I start chatting up the people hubby plays pool with. Actually it is all his fault that I get so chatty. I never ask for shots, but he normally gets me a shot or two of jager after I've probably already had too much beer. Jager puts me in a good mood and I start broadcasting our calendar and location to complete strangers. Luckily, I tend to choose strangers just as drunk as I am, so nothing ever comes of it!

 

[Guest]

I actually do try to adopt strangers. Especially at the bar. It seems like no one can ever come camping with us, so I start chatting up the people hubby plays pool with. Actually it is all his fault that I get so chatty. I never ask for shots, but he normally gets me a shot or two of jager after I've probably already had too much beer. Jager puts me in a good mood and I start broadcasting our calendar and location to complete strangers. Luckily, I tend to choose strangers just as drunk as I am, so nothing ever comes of it!

LMAO!! Jager rocks!!

 

[LarryWolfe]

oh boy, here we go with the foil vs. no foil debate. can't we talke about something simple like middle east peace?

***DISCLAIMER***

The statement below is an opinion. If you do it differently it doesn't mean you do it wrong or that the author does it right. Like sex, it doesn't matter how you are doing it as long as you are doing it.

i like my briskets to take their time getting up to temp and therefore do not foil. in my mind the breakdown of fat and contective tissue is not an instantaneous thing. the longer a brisket is in the zone above 160 the more fat and connective tissue is going to get broken down resulting in a more juicy and tender brisket.

my opinion is that briskets should be cooked until they're done and not the temprature on a thermometer. cooking to temp assumes all briskets are the same when in fact briskets most briskets i've cooked have been done in the high 180's and have heard of briskets taking as long as 205*.

I've resorted to just leaving my briskets in the cryovac while cooking. When the plastic melts, the meat is done! 8-[

 

[wittdog]

I actually do try to adopt strangers. Especially at the bar. It seems like no one can ever come camping with us, so I start chatting up the people hubby plays pool with. Actually it is all his fault that I get so chatty. I never ask for shots, but he normally gets me a shot or two of jager after I've probably already had too much beer. Jager puts me in a good mood and I start broadcasting our calendar and location to complete strangers. Luckily, I tend to choose strangers just as drunk as I am, so nothing ever comes of it!

:lmao:
and my wife was saying just the other day how nice you sounded and how it's too bad you live that far away.

 

[wittdog]

oh boy, here we go with the foil vs. no foil debate. can't we talke about something simple like middle east peace?

***DISCLAIMER***

The statement below is an opinion. If you do it differently it doesn't mean you do it wrong or that the author does it right. Like sex, it doesn't matter how you are doing it as long as you are doing it.

i like my briskets to take their time getting up to temp and therefore do not foil. in my mind the breakdown of fat and contective tissue is not an instantaneous thing. the longer a brisket is in the zone above 160 the more fat and connective tissue is going to get broken down resulting in a more juicy and tender brisket.

my opinion is that briskets should be cooked until they're done and not the temprature on a thermometer. cooking to temp assumes all briskets are the same when in fact briskets most briskets i've cooked have been done in the high 180's and have heard of briskets taking as long as 205*.

I agree with you Brian you can't just go by temp thats where experience or an empty belly kick in.

 

[allisonandrews]

LMAO!! Jager rocks!!

My husband claims to hate it, but I see him sipping on my shots of it. I think he really buys them for himself, just doesn't want to admit it. I keep a bottle of it in the freezer at all times - I love even just adding a bit to coke or Dr. P for flavor.