xcanuck

I gave smoking the brisket a try this weekend. Here's sorta how it went. Fri - 6pm. Pick up brisket from SS WF. I asked for a first cut brisket with the fat left on it. I knew this would be smaller than a full brisket and it turned out to be just under 5 lbs (as opposed to 10 lbs for the whole thing). The brisket gets deposited in the fridge. Fri - 8pm. My wife (a chem eng by education) and I discuss heat transfer. Specifically, if it takes 10-12 hours to smoke a full sized brisket, how long will it take to smoke a 5 lb brisket?? Can I extrapolate in a linear fashion? Unfortunately, this conversation took place at the bar at Ray's The Classics and in the midst of several of Nick's most excellent martinis. I am suitably hammered and no amount of pork chop is going to bring back sobriety (or my university physics knowledge). We decide to just put the damn thing on at midnight and pray the alarm on the probe thermometer wakes me up. Fri - 10pm. We stagger home. Am far too inebriated to bother making a fancy brisket rub, so I pull out a baggie containing my homemad rib rub. Pig, beef - what's the difference? They both taste damn fine after being smoked so the rub I smother on my baby backs SHOULD taste just as good on the brisket. It all goes back in the fridge (whereupon I spy some ice cold beer. It comes out). Fri - midnight. The smoker gets lit up according to the Minion method. I make my first (and possibly only serious) mistake of the evening. Instead of putting only 20 lit briquettes on the cold charcoal, I end up pouring and lighting about 35 briquettes. What did you expect? I had one hand pouring the coals in, and one hand holding the beer. I didn't have a third hand for a flashlight. Priorities... Sat - 12:30am. Smoker reaches 250F and the brisket goes on. Vents at about 30% open. Crack open another beer. Sat - 1:00am. Smoker stable at 250F. I pass on watching Tivo'd Premier League footie in favour of reruns of The Man Show. Sat - 1:30am. Smoker stable at 250F. Sat - 2:00am. Smoker takes off to 350F. I open the side door for a peek - looks like all the unlit coals have caught fire. I spend the next 30 minutes frantically spritzing the coals. Vents are now fully closed. Sat - 2:30am. Coals are back down to 250F. I flip and turn the brisket. Sat - 3:30am. Coals are still stable at 250F. I've run out of cold beer. Time for a snooze. Sat - 5:30am. Thermometer alarm goes off. The brisket has reached 195F. I wrap it up to rest and decide to do the same myself. Sat - 9am. I cut into the brisket. I've got a beautiful 1/4" smoke ring but a little too much fat still left on top. I should have trimmed a wee bit off. The meat isn't exactly fork-tender but still very tasty. The pork rub I put on it seems to have flavoured it quite nicely. I'm guessing that I should have let it go to maybe 210F. Also, the half hour it spent around 350F may have toughened it up. And I think we can keep the estimate of 1 to 1.5 hrs per pound, regardless of the brisket's size. Overall, not bad for a first time. I don't think it would get me a PhD at BBQ U but a reasonable first attempt. Plenty of motivation to give it another shot in the next few weeks.

As an experiment, I smoked some brisket this weekend (more on that in the Grilling 101 Bullet Smoker thread later). Given that it was just the wife and I eating it, there's a hell of alot of brisket kicking around the fridge. I already made a brisket "hash" yesterday for breakfast and am going to make a beef and barley soup using the brisket later this week. Any other (more creative) ideas for leftover smoked brisket??

I really like the Alton Brown trick of making the grilled cheese in a cast iron skillet with another (hot) skillet on top to act almost like a panini press. I also like a little heat mixed with my grated cheese. And if it's just me, sometimes a little ground cumin.

I personally love to entertain. Dinner parties are always my favorites and I'll spend several days "test driving" new preparations so that I can spoil my guests. But I draw the line at formality - partly because our formal dining room just ain't so formal (we still have yet to unpack the good china we got at our wedding seven years ago!). I love it when I can do my thing in the kitchen and everyone is gathered around the breakfast bar area sipping wine and chatting. So I guess I'd say my preference is for small groups - six to eight is fine - where people are going to get along and chat up a storm. People should be comfortable enough that by the end of the night, massive orgies are taking place on the air hockey table in the basement. OK, OK....not THAT comfortable. One phenomena that I experiece - and maybe others too - is that after doing all that cooking, the last thing I want to do is eat. I'm more than happy to plate each course, look after my guests, pour wine, etc. But I have no interest in actually sitting down and eating with them. Is that weird or what? Anyone else get in the same mood?

I go to BBQs Galore. You can buy from their brick and mortar locations throughout MD and VA, or you can order online at www.bbqgalore.com. They have a wide variety of fruit and nut woods, both in chunk and chips. Of course, that won't be as cost effective as porcupine's offer of peach and apple wood. I'd be very interested in getting some of that wood, too, if you don't mind. Starting to get nervous about this brisket on Saturday. Compounding my lack of experience with this cut of meat is the fact that I have a hockey game that night - season championship game nonetheless. So I'll be gone during the last few critical hours of the smoking process. May the ghosts of Maurice Richard and Julia Child jointly smile down upon me.

I decided to stop by Ray's last night after hitting the gym. I was solo last night (wifey had gotten soaked in the rain and didn't feel like coming out to play) so I sat at the bar. Lo and behold, they now have a new menu for the bar only. It appears to be a subset of what is on the regular menu. I remember speaking to Michael a few weeks ago and he said that they didn't expect the bar to fill up with so many people eating (or something to that effect - I apologize if I'm paraphrasing incorrectly). So maybe the bar menu is a way to deal with this. You have the full set of appetizers and soups, but the entrees were limited to beef dishes plus the crab royale and two special selections (last night they were the pork chops and rockfish). One new little addition is that they serve up a mean chicken liver spread for just $2. I tried this last night and it was creamy, rich, and sweet (appeared to be topped with a thick layer of chopped caramelized onions). It comes with several slices of bread. $2?? Are you kidding me? I could order two of those, top it off with a beer and walk away quite happy. That will make it even harder to walk past RTCs every night without stopping in "for a quick one".

So if I keep the fat layer on top, does that mean I can pass on the mop? Or is that still recommended? I can't imagine it would hurt. Bilrus - you mentioned mesquite chips. You prefer the chips vs chunks? I've always used chunks in the smoker on the assumption that the chips would burn away to nothing in about half an hour.

We live close by - would you be interested in adding a noob to the gathering? I'd love to compare this to Oriental East (our usual for dim sum).

Thanks to everyone offering fashion advice. I dressed to impress the bevy of lovely ladies in the lounge area but I think having my wife on my arm scared them off. Or maybe it was just me. We ordered a bottle of the house shiraz and shared the salmon gravalax/belly appetizer, the risotto with smoked bacon and tomatoes, and the truffled frites. All were very tasty, though the "bacon" was more like large (huge) hunks of ham. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of crispy bacon. The flavour of the bacon/ham didn't really work it's way into the risotto. Service was very nice and cordial. We'll be back to take on the steak frites.

Any word on acceptable dress for the bar/lounge at Firefly? We're going to head over there later tonight for a cocktail and some of the truffled frites

I nicked that idea from the same place. It works out well to display the temperature. I've use two Polders - one to measure ambient temp and one to measure meat temp. But the problem for me is keeping enough coals going for a long period of time, while not getting the smoker too hot. I've tried the Minion Method but haven't been able to keep the coals going. As a result, I keep firing up my chimney starter with a small amount of coals and transferring the hot coals to the smoker with tongs. Not the best way to do things as I've gotten a few burn marks on my deck to show for it. I'd really appreciate hints and tips from others that have had success with the Weber Bullet (or other charcoal smokers). I'm doing a brisket this weekend and that will require about 10-12 hrs of smoking. Also, if you've done brisket before, any recommendations on what kind of wood chunks flavour the meat best? How about mops?

I've got a Weber Bullet Smoker. I got it earlier this year based on reviews I read online which made it seem pretty much foolproof. I've done chicken, ribs, and fish in it so far with varying degrees of success. My biggest challenge has been regulating the temperature accurately. Seems like more of an art rather than a science. Having said that, I still love it and am trying to learn how to better use it. But at this point, I can't say that I'd recommend it.

I'm willing to put this to the test at the upcoming picnic - I was planning on bringing a small charcoal grill (with chimney) to warm up my chili anyhow. We can give the strip/filet a shot on the chimney starter. And then we can try a little of the skirt steak direct on the coals. A few rounds at the next HH could be the victors' spoils?

*sigh* Cold, insipid steak and tomato salad from the work cafeteria washed down with Diet Lipton's Green Tea. I hate all of you that work downtown and can have REAL food for lunch.

Doh! That's what I get for posting when I should be working. I stand corrected - skirt steak. As for it being heresy...I dunno. I've done it often with great success. I get that tasty char flavour I crave and it stays incredibly juicy. I've done it the 'normal' way, too, and it's still tasty but not as appealing to me. Why the aversion to this method?? Just curious...

Ah, so no guts, no glory. I was worried about the flareups and let the coals burn down too much. So next time I'll fill 'er up and see what happens. Thanks for the clarification A secondary point - I've often used Alton Brown's trick with strip steak where you place the meat directly on red hot coals. I wonder if this would be taking things too far in the matter of a thicker steak? I think I'll try that the next time my wife is out of town (that way, she's not forced to eat burned shoe leather in event of a failure).

DanCole42 - I was so intrigued by this idea that I got myself a 1.5" thick porterhouse and gave this a shot last night. But first, some key differences. I placed the chimney starter on the thicker grate that the coals usually go on and then placed a similar thick grate (from my Weber Bullet Smoker) on top of the chimney starter. So there was a little less airflow below but not detrimental to the experiment IMO. I brought the steak to room temp, liberally seasoned it, and sprayed it with a coat of olive oil. I didn't render any fat from the porterhouse, nor did I trim it. While there wasn't alot of excess fat, there was maybe 1/4" strip of fat along the strip side. And herein lies what I consider to be the problem. I used natural hardwood charcoal and filled the chimney up 2/3 of the way. Then I waited for the flames to stop shooting out the top of the chimney (by this time, the coals had settled/burned down to 1/2 way up the chimney. I could barely hold my hand over the top for even a second, so I'm guessing I had a good 600F+ of heat). Well, did I ever have flareups! I was worried but I had faith in you and persevered. I flipped it after two minutes. While not charred, the sear marks were deep and pronounced. However, there was also a fair amount of soot (??) from where the cooler flames had directly licked the steak. By the time the I had flipped it, the amount of fat falling onto the coals had lessened and I got more of an even colour on the second side - almost a deep mahogany brown, along with my beautiful sear marks. But still nothing approximating a char. So the question is - how do you prevent the flareups? I'm not convinced that the "soot" that you get from cooler flames licking the meat is desireable in any way (as opposed to the beautiful carmelization of a good sear or char). Am I being too paranoid about the flareups? Should I say 'damn the torpedos', fill the chimney up to the top, and let the flames have their way??? Smokled brisket is the next experiment. I'm off to search the archives for words of wisdom

I've enjoyed steak and fries at Les Halles, but would recommend that you stick with the NY Strip or steak au poivre (as opposed to the hanger steak which was oily and overdone the last couple of times I tried it there). So Corduroy is THE place for steak frites, eh? I was gonna go to Restaurant Kolumbia for a pre-show snack/cocktail but maybe I'll venture to Corduroy. I've never been there - are jeans acceptable in the bar area?

The SS WF has sugar pumpkins on the shelves right now, though I haven't tried any recently. They've worked beautifully in the past. I grew some of my own pumpkins this summer and I also grew yellow squash right next to them. I just cooked my first one yesterday and it also tasted like squash. The original theory we floated was that the squash and pumpkins had cross-polinated resulting in a light flesh, not so sweet pumpkin (it actually cooked up somewhat opaque, like squash). Give the farmer's market a try this weekend. I'm sure their product is far superior to anything on the shelves.

How lame can I be? Replying to my own post.... http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Raichlen-Best...4/dp/B0007ZGUL6 http://www.mainstreetfuels.com/weber/weber...folderw/cga.htm (see 7th item) They aren't perfect but will do the job for you. Other posts on the Weber forum indicate that, at one time, Weber did make cast iron grates for 22.5" kettles. But alas, no more.

I wonder if such a thing exists...Please post details here if you know of anyplace that sells them for kettle grills. I posted a question but it seems to have gotten lost in the ether. Do you grill the steak ONLY over the chimney starter? Or do you char them for a few minutes and then finish over indirect heat to get them to proper internal temp (which, for me, is between 120-125F). I usually use a full chimney of natural hardwood, bank them on one side, grill 90 secs/side, move to indirect and finish for 2-3 minutes more. Works nicely for a thick strip steak. I get a nice sear, but I don't get a completely black char.

Mmmm...stock... I just put in an order with one the vendors at the SS farmer's market. She's promised me a couple of leg's worth of beef bones for making stock/demi-glace and roasting marrow! I've made Vietnamese-style pho stock once before and am looking forward to making gallons of the stuff. Perfect on a blustery day. Getting the smoker going this fall is going to be nice, too. So much more enjoyable tending to a smoker all day when it's not in 95F heat. I'm hoping to do a brisket this Saturday. What else?....Pie (once i get over my fear of making crust)...squash/pumpkin soup...

Hrmmm...I can see myself trying to round up a few of the boardies for pre-Caps games HHs?

Is that the same thing as chili made with cubed meat (as opposed to ground)?? That's what I'm bringing - chili made with chunks of pork. lamb and beef. But I have to admit that I really do like beans in my chili. By the way - I just picked about a dozen habeneros from my garden. I tried just the TINNIEST WEE LITTLE nibble....and was in serious pain for about half an hour. Can't wait to put a couple of those babies in the pot!

First and foremost, I had a GREAT time meeting so many people from DR.com. I only got to meet about half the crowd before I had to leave (I had dinner reservations at RTC) but everyone I met was really nice! And woulda thought that I'm meet other hockey-obsessed foodies?? That made my night. Looking forward to meeting more at the DR.com picnic! I have to admit that full disclosure is warranted. This wasn't my idea. One of the more senior members of the board made all the arrangements and I was the "stooge" (as DonRocks put it!) who fronted the whole thing. The guilty party can step forward if he/she wishes to or just bask in the glory of the event in anonymity. I had to leave before the charcuterie board made it's way out - I was SO jonesing for some of that Boudin Rouge. Luckily the restaurant is close to where my wife has her Thurs night class so I can see myself waiting for her at the bar and chowing down. The menu looked great! Again, it was so nice to meet some of the gang and hope to see more at the picnic. And thanks to He/She Who Shall Remain Nameless for putting the event together.