I think/hope this is the last “use up leftover stuff” from the family visit; Onion and Cheese Tart Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks for the tip! I told my wife, she tears the meat apart with her bare hands. She said she is going to try that. (Although the manual method helps her get rid of all her pent up aggression!)
Ask and ye shall receive! Details below. My neighbor with the oak trees wanted a tutorial, so we worked on it together. I wrote down times, temps, etc. for him. In short, 2 - 3 hours of heavy smoke outside, then finish in oven until target internal temp of 195 F. One more thing to note is that I got a later start than ideal due to lightning storms and an early morning drive. So, you'll note two places where I cranked the oven up from 250 to 300, then 350, so we could eat at a reasonable hour. Ideally, you'd like to keep temps down and cook longer. * 8:52 AM - take brisket out of fridge to start warming up * Note brisket weight, 9.56 lb * 9:05 AM - start fire, oak and charcoal * slice off hard white fat from brisket; not too much, since the fat renders and helps keep the meat moist * Rub salt, pepper, garlic powder on both side of brisket. Do not skimp on salt, it’s a big hunk of beef! * Fill a pan w/ water, place under where brisket will sit on grate * 9:25 AM - brisket on. Sear w/ fat side down, then briefly fat side up; a few mins at most, then off to the side (indirect cooking). * While fire is hottest use aluminum foil with holes poked in it - to allow juices to drip through - to shield the meat from most intense heat * Check fire, and flip brisket every 30 min or so, but try to keep fat side up as much as possible for better basting of the meat as the fat renders down * Once oak/charcoal are coated in grey ash, remove the aluminum foil beneath the brisket, and cook brisket directly on bbq grates * 250 F oven at 12:30 PM, internal temp = 156 F * 1:30 PM, 150 F * 2:55 PM, 158 F * 3:20 PM, turn up oven temp to 300 F, internal temp = 160 F * 4:20 PM, 174 F * 5:00 PM, 183 F, oven set to 350 F * 5:30 PM, 192 F * 196 F @ 5:38 PM T
Tonight’s dinner is antipasto di salami and formaggi with porcini and pea risotto and home roasted peppers Image Unavailable, Please Login
Fresh from the garden salads -- Vietnamese Perilla leaves (purple), Korean Perilla leaves, basil, toasted rosemary from garden -- mixed with store-bought organic arugula, spring mix, spinach with homemade honey mustard + kitchen sink. Pretty damn good salads, mostly because of "fresh from garden" additions (we eat a ton of salad during garden months, much less when only store-bought veggies available): Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Pesto and breaded chicken Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Haha you stole my thunder. Made mine Sicilian style with almonds, little mint, and cherry tomatoes. Will last in freezer till next year. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I've been boring the past few weeks. Traveled to the States and likely will have Olive Garden tonight or Mexican. We left late afternoon and by the time we crossed the border yesterday, it was 8pm. Needed food and in Blaine across the border the only places open are Taco Bell, Mcdonald's, and Burger King. Ended up at McDonald's.
3 day dry-brining: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
looks amazing. What can you tell us about the taste, texture and juiciness after that long dry brine?
It seems like dry brining for one or two days is optimal. The 3 (or maybe 4, don't remember) day seemed slightly less tender than the 2 day. Conventional wisdom is that 2 hours (in fridge seasoned but uncovered) is enough, but longer seems better to a point (maybe two days as an upper limit based upon this experiment). Short (less than 1 hour) is not recommended at all because the salt draws out all the juice, and it doesn't have time to reabsorb, so it is tougher than if you did nothing.. If no time for dry brining, seasoning and then immediately grilling works best. We did a test a long time ago between 1 or 2 hour (don't remember) dry brine versus seasoning just before grilling, and tenderness was about the same, but the dry brined was seasoned throughout, versus the center of the last-minute seasoning was more like unseasoned rare meat. This last longer period suggests that one or two day really helps with tenderness (versus 2 hour). Two hour dry brine is still worth it (over last-minute seasoning) for more uniform seasoning throughout meat. Would love to hear what others have found.
