Thread: The BBQ Thread
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Old 09-15-2020   #5
asshanson
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Re: The BBQ Thread

I recently read Franklin's meat smoking manifesto. Excellent book, highly recommend if you ever plan to buy a smoker, it really gets into the science of how to make good smoked bbq. I had been using online recipes for pork butt, the rubs were full of sugar and other stuff. Results were ok but usually ended up with crusty bark. I did my first brisket tonight and it turned out amazing. Black bark that was still soft, it almost looks burned from the outside, but nearly 100% of the inner fat was melted away, even the fat cap completely turned into bark, which still boggles my mind. Here are the basics he goes over:

1. Temp: 260-275. Slow enough to cook over several hours, but not too slow that the outside dries up before it passes the stall
2. Rub: Coarsely ground salt and pepper. For beef 50/50, for pork and poultry 33% salt and 67% pepper. Lightly sprinkled over entire surface, not covering it. Let stand for 1 hour at room temp after applying rub before putting in smoker in order for rub to draw out some moisture from below the surface. (I might add paprika for future pork butts, but the sugary rubs I will wait until after smoking and mix into the meat with a little apple vinegar for flavoring).
3. Water pan - always use and make sure it doesn't go empty. Water vapor helps keep the air humid which serves multiple purposes. First it keeps the outside of the meat wet which allows the smoke to stick to it, creating that bark. I didn't even open the smoker for 3.5 hours today and the outside was still wet. At that time I spritzed with water anyway since I had it open to check the water pan level (apparently doesn't matter if you use water/vinegar/etc, main purpose is to add moisture and wont affect flavor really). Second, it slows down the evaporating/cooling process of the stall because it's hard to evaporate water into a humid environment, which keeps the meat more moist in the end.
4. For brisket, I took it out of the smoker when the bark looked nice and dark, which happened to be at 173*, and wrapped in butcher paper instead of foil, which allows it to breathe better. There was enough fat still inside the meat to keep it plenty moist. He stresses that it's not about specific temps, but rather each piece will cook different, and wrap it when you think the bark looks good. I ended up leaving mine cook a bit too long to 210* internal, and it doesn't seem overcooked at all, not crumbly at all and still crazy rich and juicy.

The book goes on to go into sciency details about the kind of wood you use and the exact setup of the smoker and airflow, but that's all too advanced for me. I use an electric pellet smoker, the pros are using offset firebox with actual wood from specific trees dried a certain way.

Anyway, thought I would share those insights for any of you who might be noobs to smoked bbq like I am. I went from "easy" pork butts that turned out ok, to a supposed difficult brisket that turned out phenomenal on my first try.

Edit: oh and he goes into detail on how to trim briskets, as well as how to smoke other things like beef ribs, pork spare ribs, turkey, etc. I have to say, trimming the brisket was the worst. I think next time I might pay the butcher to trim it for me.

Last edited by asshanson; 09-15-2020 at 11:30 PM..
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