Beef Brisket

(Adam ) #1

So I took the brisket how to turn off some of the fat (had to so it would fit into my vacuum sealed bags) I seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic, and steak seasoning. Then it was put in my smoker for 4 hrs (mosquito) and let cool. Once it was cooled I put it in 2 layers of vacuum seal bags Then and into my sous vide the for 32 hours at a 160ﾟF. It was one of the best briskets I’ve ever had and everyone that had it thought and said the same thing. The only thing I thought that was possibly missing was there is not a currency crust that you get with some briskets but it was still the best. We did not even need steak knives it was so tender you could cut it with a fork.

(Jane) #2

Do you think it would have the crust if you sous vide then smoked?

(Adam ) #3

I don’t think so because it doesn’t get one doing it before and I also don’t think that you’re going to get a good penetration of smoke because it would not be able to soak in while cooking. Even with out the crust it’s still worth it.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #4

Sounds yummy. I like bark on meat when it is smoked but I’ll eat brisket any way as long as some of the fat is there and it is tender. Mesquite is the right choice for brisket (texas BBQ).

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #5

Hey Adam. I guess we are on the same page… Even our screen names :slight_smile: lol

I have been Sous Vide crazy for a few weeks now (done about 8 of them) and am actually going out today to buy a big, fat beef brisket ! (been planning this for a week, and now I see you posted this yesterday :slight_smile:

I was thinking 155 for 36hrs… But even if it comes out great (which I’m confident it will) I plan to also do one at 135 for 48hrs. A lot of folks seem to be split on which way is better… shorter and hotter, or longer and slower ???

Anyway, no matter what you Sous Vide, a great, easy, cheap way to put a fantastic bark on it, is to torch it ! I got my torch from Harbor Freight for only $28 with the auto sparker. You can get it without the sparker for $20 :slight_smile: And let me tell you, this thing is hard core ! They claim it can reach temps of 3000 degrees F ! And the hotter the better for searing, as you want to do it quickly, so you don’t heat the internal meat temps any higher… or else you defeat the whole purpose, and will over cook the meat.

Works fantastically, but be careful with this thing ! Telling you, its loud and crazy :slight_smile: Pretty fun though. Maybe its a guy thing :slight_smile: lol

(Adam ) #6

I have one lol and have used it on different stakes and try tips and I don’t like it. It seems to give the meat at least the crust of the meat a strange flavor to me. I’ll keep experimenting to see what I can find for a good crust maker.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #7

You know to adjust the flame to where their is zero yellow flame visible, right ??? Otherwise, your not burning all the fuel, and it can make the food take like fuel. With mine, during use, I can barely even see the flame, until it hits the meat, then it flares all yellow, but that’s from the meat oils and juices burning. When I pull the torch back away, it goes invisible again.

Never had any “fuel taste” problems.

(Adam ) #8

I’ve tried the whole spectrum of temperatures ranging from what you’re talking about to nothing but yellow and it has that same weird flavor to me. Because I pre smoked the brisket though it was still visually appealing still. I’ve also tried a couple different torches and they tend to do it to I don’t know why. There’s a couple on Amazon that I’m thinking about trying they’re just a little bit more than I want to pay right now.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #9

Yea… Guga from SV Everything, is always raving about the Searz All (they probably gave him one :slight_smile: lol And it doesn’t even look like it throws much of a flame… but rather, just puts off a ton of radiant heat ? …which seems better, I guess. IF I had had issues with taste I might buy one, but there are crazy expensive.

(Adam ) #10

They’re 75 bucks on Amazon last time I looked and I’m a subscriber of his channel that’s where I got the brisket recipe or at least the cook time and temperature.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #11

Yea ! And for what they are, that’s sounds like a LOT ! My torch feels like such a great value :slight_smile:

Hey, so I plan to start my beef brisket today :slight_smile: Will post the results here.

(Adam ) #12

Doing something along lines of this is what I plan on doing with the leftovers.

(Steve) #13

I sous vide my brisket at 155 for 24 hours then on to a cookie tray in either my smoker or grill. If it’s the grill I add a smoke tube or box. Go indirect to get great bark. It’s about the only way that I have cooked my last dozen briskets. Sous vide makes it unreal tender and I have to have that yummy bark. I usually buy AAA Prime from Sam’s Club, trim it myself and grill the fat trimmings at the same time as the smoking bark stage. I use the Anova sous vide stick and have a bunch of keto recipes on their site, just search for keto and stuff will pop up.
Here are a couple of bark pictures and the crispy fat trimmings snacks.

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(Central Florida Bob ) #14

That’s beautiful, Steve. Especially that second one (IMG_7411).

(Steve) #15

Thanks Bob, I now prefer this style of cooking over prime rib and ribeye. Sometimes I don’t add smoke but just stick the bark on for a roast beef and gravy dinner.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #16

That’s looks fantastic :blush:
Think I’m going to go with 155 for 24 hours too. Starting it today :slightly_smiling_face:

(Adam ) #17

What temperature did you shoot for in the smoker and for how long?

(Steve) #18

Well that’s a tough question. It depends on what smoker I am using as they all burn differently in a quirky kind of way. For example if I am using the Primo ceramic smoker, I set it up with good lump charcoal, bury 6-8 chunks of wood. Fire up a chimney chute with a blow torch, 15 minutes later I throw it on to the charcoal. I let it burn for at least an hour to warm the insides and get it burning clean. The grate set up is a very simple indirect set-up that goes like this:
A grate with oven bricks to stop the direct heat from scorching and cooking the meat too fast.
A water tray for two reasons, easy clean-up and I don’t want the drippings to burn…
Then the grate that holds the meat.

As for temp and time, there are two methods, low and slow and git er done.
On the Primo I have cooked between 230 and 250 for 12-18 hours all depending on outside temperature, wind, cut of meat and whether the burn is cooperating.
The quick way is 280 degrees for 8 hours with great success. I get the smoke into the… lets say a brisket. When I have bark that looks yummy, I wrap it in tinfoil and stick it back on until it is very juicy fork tender which is around 180 - 195 degrees internal temp depending on the cut/grade of beef.
The important part about brisket and butts is the stalling or rendering stage which can vary between 150 and 170 degrees, it can stall there for hours and hours sometimes. It’s breaking down all the connective tissue which takes time. That’s the reason we use tinfoil to pop it through the stall stage. It’s kind of cheating but it works great. Let the foil pack rest for a while before moving to the firming bark stage.
As for tinfoil wrapping, it has to be the very best thick foil you can find and double wrapped. There is nothing worse than all that precious juice pouring out. We also add a small amount special bone broth at the wrap stage for extra flavor.
When the brisket comes out of the foil pack either slice if you can’t wait or firm up the bark on a smoker, grill or hit it with a torch.