smoking New to smoking 2

Burnt ends indeed.
 
I ain't seen 'em much on any of the THP bbq threads up in here.
 
Same goes for rib tips.
 
Postem' up pronto!
 
So the brisket is a mix of salt and pepper, ribs done 2 ways, we'll see how it all looks in quite a few hours, 7 Racks of ribs looks like a hell of a lot of food
 
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JoynersHotPeppers said:
BURNT ENDS!
 
 
texas blues said:
Burnt ends indeed.
 
I ain't seen 'em much on any of the THP bbq threads up in here.
 
Same goes for rib tips.
 
Postem' up pronto!
 
 
So Burnt Ends, are they just the Point part of the brisket diced up into bite sized cubes of Deliciousness
 
Couple of quick pics to sum up the day, the sun didnt last, got dark quickly, ran out of time to get some nice photos cos there were 20+ hungry people.
 
Brisket turned out pretty good, disappeared straight away, chook was good, and about 4 racks out of 7 were great, but 3 of em the meat stuck to the bone a bit, not as good as the first run of ribs
 
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Ok was reading through some of the BBQ threads and chatting with Scovie, and realised that i need to learn some things and clarify a few things about RIBS.
 
I didnt post this picture of the ribs from the last BBQ, but here is what one of the butchers i can get ribs from, that actually have some meat on them.
 
So what do i have????? Pork ribs, that they call 'American RIbs'
 
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Spare ribs - if you  cut along the bone line thru the cartilage bones on a semi arc you woulld have St. Louis style cut
 
Getting dark, started to slice a tiny bit early, let it rest but this brisket was so damn soft, going to have to let em rest longer next time. Just not enough hours in the day
 
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Managed the heat of the pit so much better this time, slowly get the hang of it. I think the most mistakes are made when it comes to serving it up, either cutting to early, wrong way etc.
 
 
 
 
 
What's people's opinions on resting time, once brisket is cooked?

Got one more in the fridge left to cook before I need to buy some more
 
Pic #3, those long strands of meat mean you are cutting with the grain. Only cut against.

Also, something is off I can't tell what it is. You may need a better knife for one. Slices should look clean like deli slices. They should also look juicy. These look a little ragged and dry.

Resting brisket can be done in an insulated cooler (like an Igloo) wrapped in foil for 2-4 hours. I realize this adds to the whole process, but BBQ joints do this too, they pull it off the smoker and rest in low temp ovens or warmers (140 and up). They never slice off the smoker.

Try resting for 2-4 hours wrapped in foil in an insulated cooler. Before serving you can warm in a 200 degree oven but this may not be needed.

The bark is too black. Mahogany is the target. Are you mopping? Are there too may sugars? Was the heat too high causing the char and dryness?

Too many people think bark is a layer of char. It's not. With PP I go a little darker/thicker since you pull it, you want some thick pieces of bark on the ends, but brisket is a slicer, and the bark should be a nice mahogany with good flavor. Keep it mopped and don't let the sugars burn. They should caramelize into a bark like texture. The bark can be dark but it has to be kept mopped or it is dry brittle char, not bark.

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Ok, it was a strange brisket, funnily enough out of the 4 i have done so far, this looked the worst, fell apart, got cut wrong as i got frustrated, Yet it was the juicest and tastiest one so far????......
 
The photos really do it no justice at all, luckily we are looking at an upgrade camera real soon
 
So answers to the above:
 
Correct! cut with the grain as, against was just falling apart. Definitely need another knife
 
Will try the resting method next time too see how it goes
 
Bark was quite black, but appears a whole lot darker than it was, stupid iphone. No mopping on this one, it was sort of a leave and worked around the house all day kind of thing. No sugars at all, just salt and pepper. Will be making a weekend of it for the next one, just needed more time in the day haha
 
Cool.
 
The bark can still burn without sugars, especially with no mopping at all and 12 hours on a smoker. Now I know why it looks like char more than bark. With mopping, you keep the bark moist so it never burns. You can mop or spray, but gotta keep it moist. Has nothing to do with the meat being moist, just creating the good bark. Sweet goes better with pork than beef, but I'd still use a little sugar in your rub. The sugar will melt and create the bark effect. It's what creates those pieces you can pull off, that's why they call it bark. It's like peeling off tree bark. It will never do that without the bonding agent of the sugar. Like I said, that's more important with pork, but a little in your brisket rub will help with that.
 
You can go no sugar too, but keep it moist!

PS. Since it fell apart like that, you cooked it too long. That's how brisket works.

I posted this in another topic:
 
The Hot Pepper said:
You need an internal thermometer because you can't guess at this. The meat will cook and then there is a period when the connective tissue/fat is being converted to gelatin/juices. The temperature will not rise for a very long time. This is called the plateau period. You have to watch carefully because once everything is converted the temperature will start to rise quickly and you can easily overcook it (holds more true for pork butt), so wait for your desired temp, pull it, and let it rest. Yes, 2 hours is the minimum for brisket. Some wrap in foil, others say it ruins the bark and it is still cooking. I find this true, the best method is in an Igloo type cooler. It is a large cut and the resting allows the juices to redistribute, just like in a steak, but think of the size difference here and you'll understand the time difference.

Keep in mind it can plateau anywhere from 180 to 205. There is no real target temperature for doneness, pitmasters have the fork twist method, the shake method, etc., but you'll only know how to judge by those methods after many tries. For newbies, poke the brisket with a skewer or the probe of the thermometer, and when the meat is tender it will slide in and out with no resistance. This will usually happen at 180-90 but some pitmasters cook longer for tenderness. Believe it or not you can cook it up to 205 and it will be more tender, but it will start to fall apart, which is okay for sandwiches, but really you should shoot for the 180-190 window, especially for nice slices, assuming it has plateaued.
 
Looking at yours I'm not sure what happened. If it tasted good, that's cool, you can only learn from cooking it!
 
Hope all that helps!
 
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