Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[Green Monstah]

I cooked for 110 people yesterday. Huge success and way less stressful than last time.

Give us the lineup. Pulled pork?

[ERCougar]

I cooked for 110 people yesterday. Huge success and way less stressful than last time.

That's pretty cool. I don't envy being in any kind of position of having to pull that off, but the fact that you can, and that it beats the crap out of any potluck, is pretty cool.

[Joe Public]

I was reading on this topic this morning. Apparently a lot of the competition cooks trim all the surface fat from the point end of the brisket to maximize surface area for bark. They still leave 1/4-1/2" of the fat cap on the flat.

Here's an example of how a competition cook might have such a brisket trimmed and cooking on a WSM:

image.jpg

[Drunk Tank]

Is the flat folded over? Makes it a little hard to tell what you are looking at.

[Green Monstah]

Mine wasn't quite that drastic. I removed more of the hard fat layer between the point and flat than normal. As the fat renders, the flat "slides" down the point, exposing more of the point for bark development. The fat cap on the bottomside was really thin, which is probably where I ran into trouble. Sometimes the cryovac makes it hard to determine the quality of the brisket.

[Joe Public]

Is the flat folded over? Makes it a little hard to tell what you are looking at.

Trimmed, IIRC.

EDIT: I found this shot as well. The flat is trimmed with those two end pieces coming off. I think that's pretty common for competition cooks, so they aren't cutting off rub, smoke ring, etc. to get slices to fit in the turn-in box. The piece that's sticking up came off of the point. This shot shows the brisket trimmed comp style and then somewhat reassembled to how a home cook would typically prep it.

This is not the same brisket that is shown on the smoker in my previous post, but the concept is the same.

image.jpg

[Jeff Lebowski]

Give us the lineup. Pulled pork?

Pulled pork. Six butts, each in a half-size steamer pan. Started the cook about midnight on Saturday night. Foiled at 4 am. They were done by mid-morning and I turned the temp down on the smoker and just kept them there. Pull them around 2:30-3:00 pm and put the pulled meat in my Cambro. Also did 2.5 batches of DT's baked beans. Smoked them with apple wood for two hours. Served with Shirley's rolls (a local bakery - outstanding) and tossed green salad. Quantities were perfect. Everyone raved.

That's pretty cool. I don't envy being in any kind of position of having to pull that off, but the fact that you can, and that it beats the crap out of any potluck, is pretty cool.

You know what is amazing? Total cost for the meal was around $2.50 per person. That doesn't count things like fuel, rub, disposable pans, etc. but that is a remarkably cheap, yet outstanding meal. Pulled pork is perfect for this kind of think. Easy to do and it goes a long ways.

[mtnbiker]

Pulled pork. Six butts, each in a half-size steamer pan.

You know what is amazing? Total cost for the meal was around $2.50 per person.

If I may ask, what was the price/lb of the pork, and where did you get it? Costco prices have doubled since last year.

[mtnbiker]

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That's a huge point and a thick flat. All the briskets I've seen lately taper quickly to a really thin flat. Where did you get that one?

[Jeff Lebowski]

If I may ask, what was the price/lb of the pork, and where did you get it? Costco prices have doubled since last year.

Costco. ~$2/lb.

[mtnbiker]

Costco. ~$2/lb.

What??? Man, I need to go check again, because the last time I got pork butt, a month or so ago, it was a lot higher than that. You're talking about the 2 butts packaged together, right? (even if that does sound a bit funny...)

[Joe Public]

That's a huge point and a thick flat. All the briskets I've seen lately taper quickly to a really thin flat. Where did you get that one?

I didn't purchase that one. I think it came from Sam's, though.

[dabrockster]

Dude turns a filing cabinet into a 4 layer smoker..

[Jeff Lebowski]

We had a discussion the other day about how long one can rest pork butts. I argued that you can go a long time without adverse effects. Really interesting article on NPR on the topic:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/06/08/411778404/pitmasters-embrace-new-barbecue-truth-rested-meat-is-sublime

Not only does resting not hurt your big cuts of meat (butt, brisket, etc.), but the consensus is growing that it is essential for producing high-quality results.

Barbecue restaurants increasingly now turn to warming units by companies such as Alto-Shaam and Cambro. The pitmaster can take the meat off the pit hours before service, keep it in a warmer at 140 degrees Fahrenheit (the minimum recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and required by city health codes) without fear of drying out. Indeed, the meat improves.

"My observation is that this rested barbecue, which could be two to four hours or more held this way, is the best ever produced," says Jeff Savell, professor of meat science at Texas A&M University, who organizes intensive barbecue camps throughout the year.

BTW, I bought a cambro a few months ago. LOVE it.

Celebrated Austin pitman Aaron Franklin — he of the recent James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest, PBS show and cookbook — says holding is crucial. "Resting a brisket for a long time is really important," he told an audience in January at Camp Brisket, one of the A&M barbecue courses. He said he keeps his in a custom-designed warmer at 140 degrees F for two to three hours after coming off the pit.

Wayne Mueller, the third-generation pitmaster at the legendary Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, Texas, says he improved an already fabled brisket a few years ago when he changed the holding method his family had employed for decades. For years, once a beef brisket was sliced, the pitman used to put it on a pit and it would be held around 150-160 degrees F.

But about five years ago, he made changes based on what he noticed when he catered. He pulled the meats off just before they were fully cooked, at about 98 percent, which he says is more a matter of feel than of temperature. He then wrapped the meat in plastic wrap, which acted as an insulator, and set it in a Cambro warmer for an even heat that did not further cook the meat but let it gently rest. Mueller has since changed from the plastic wrap to unwaxed butcher paper because it breathes better and it's cheaper.

"What I was finding was that briskets coming out four hours later were fabulous," he says. "Better than what we were serving in the restaurant."

^I have kind of noticed this same thing. I don't care if the brisket isn't quite fork-tender yet when I pull it off the smoker as long as I hit the target temp because it is going to be tender after my 4-hr hold.

I am going to trying holding at lower temps. I usually hold at 170-180.

[PaloAltoCougar]

That's very interesting info, JL. I'm sure I've underestimated the need for resting my work product, mainly due to impatience and because I don't want the meat to get too cold. But we did a tri-tip Sunday and circumstances (i.e., Mrs. PAC being too slow in prepping her side of the meal, and this was Fast Sunday so I was starving ) resulted in a longer than usual rest. Even discounting for my hunger, the 'tip turned out better than ever and seemed much juicier than usual.

In view of the article, I'm going to cook things well in advance of dining time and let things sit for awhile. Question about the article, though: As long as you keep the temp at, say, 140, does the meat continue to cook? I love the look of medium-rare to medium, and don't want an extended stay in a warming device to ruin that.