T1B

I suppose some might consider this presumptuous seeing as how I don't have a proper smoker or a steamer and I've never actually eaten Montreal smoked meat. Well, fuck you I did it anyway.

I took a ~3lbs corned beef brisket flat and soaked in cold water for about 90 minutes changing halfway though. Then rinsed, dried and packed in the spice rub.

Spice rub:

2 tsp black peppercorns (Tellicherry)
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tbs celery seeds
2 tsp mustard powder
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp allspice
2 tbs turbinado sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tsp garlic powder

Grind the seeds less celery seeds in a spice grider or mortar. Add dry ingredients and rub all sides of the brisket.



Fire up your kettle or (preferably) your smoker and have at it. This was a thin cut of meat and a kettle doesn't exactly have fine temperature control. I'm not gonna lie here, the kettle was too hot.



I let it rest for two hours and niqqer rigged a steamer using a covered roasting pan for another couple hours. The meat was very flavorful but too dry.



I'm trying to see if a crockpot on low can break it down. The spice rub is money and the concept is sound. I'm sure some of you can make it work a lot better.

mvscal wrote:I'm trying to see if a crockpot on low can break it down.

I go to bed and leave it in the crockpot with a cup or so of water and fuggedaboutit. That brisket is dead to me now.

But then I woke up the next day and tasted a bit and stabbed it a couple times in the head and put it in the fridge for awhile, then I sliced it and covered it with a damp paper towel and microwaved it for 1.5 minutes at 50% power. It was fuckin delicious. Whaddyagonnado.



I believe that it is now proven virtually impossible beyond reasonable doubt to fuck up corned beef even if you try.



It was like velvety soft beef jerky. Not exactly what I was looking for but interesting.

Looks pretty damn tasty, anyway.

Money. Fuck that looks good...

It wasn't bad but it could have been better. I had a difficult time maintaining a consistently low temp over a period of time with the kettle. Even with both vents at 25% open it rarely got less than 250 and frequently much higher. Brisket really needs to smoke in that 225 sweet spot for hours. I will repeat it (I still have two more corned beefs in the freezer) but just smoke it real good for about two hours and then finish it in a low oven. Course for those with a proper smoker that wouldn't be necessary.

The rub is definitely a keeper. It probably wouldn't be bad on uncured brisket as well and definitely on pork or chicken. I'll be trying it on a tri-tip or sirlion as well. A little hot from the pepper, a little sweet with several other savory aromatics from the herbs and spices. It's very different than what I'm used to with a lot going on. It's a Jewey Canadian thing, I guess.

RACK Canadian Jews? :shrug:

mvscal wrote:Course for those with a proper smoker that wouldn't be necessary.

You know you can purchase an ECB for about the same (or less) than you spent on your Weber grills, right?


My ECB ribs were $$$$$$$ last night-BTW.

I've only got the one grill above. I'll definitely get a smoker eventually. We're moving next month so there isn't much point in buying something else to pack right now.

If you plan to smoke brisket or anything else for more than two hours, I highly recommend the Weber Smoky Mountain cooker.

Sorry Dins, but one cooking session without having to fuck with refueling is all it took for me.

I will keep my ECB as a backup/spare but that Weber is just too easy.

mvscal wrote:It wasn't bad but it could have been better. I had a difficult time maintaining a consistently low temp over a period of time with the kettle. Even with both vents at 25% open it rarely got less than 250 and frequently much higher.

Dumb question, but how much fire did you use? I've had pretty good luck counting out 30 briquettes - about a third of a chimney's worth - and then smothering the hot coals with a quart of soaked and drained wood chips. And yes, periodically, you will need to add more coals. Pain in the ass, but at least the kettle doesn't get away from you. I don't monitor grill temps, but I DO monitor the temperature of the meat. 'skets that take 10 hours to properly barbecue on my smoker generally come in about the same on the kettle.

I used a half-assed minion method. I banked 30 unlit coals on the side and put about 15 or so lit coals on top of them along with a couple chunks of pecan. I did forget a drip pan and that probably made a difference as well.

mvscal wrote:
RACK Canadian Jews? :shrug:

RACK them...but keep your distance. They are crafty.

So that ganef Friedman keeps raising his price for lox. You think I'm meshugge and should just go slowly out of business? If I kept going like this my shop would be bupkis.

Sin,
Haymishe