mguerra

butt and brisket I put a pork butt on an hour ago and will do a hot fast brisket tomorrow. Got a family crowd of about 17 folks coming over.

Stoker Raingear Here's my fan cover for rain protection: http://gallery.me.com/mpguerra#100119

How in the heck do you get it there?!

one answer We have a Big Bob Gibson recipe floating around here, for baby backs I think, that go 250 degrees for four hours. That works perfect for me.

Santa Clara, huh? Looks like an old pro Texan did that brisket. Good job.

You can cook with it on the pallet, I did!!!

ThermoWorks Thermapen Sale $89. That's a bargain. August 2010 Thermapen Temporary Price Reduction & Free Shipping http://www.thermoworks.com/ FREE SHIPPING on all orders that include a Thermapen! LIMITED TIME ONLY!

You done good Ah, a man after my own heart! First cook on a KK should be a pork butt, in my opinion. I had a pork butt on mine within minutes of uncrating. It was the first actual low and slow, true barbecue, I ever did. And of course the KK makes you look like a star since it comes out so delectable! BTW, looks like you have all the right John Deere tools for moving your KK in to place. Welcome to the club.

guessing I have no scientific basis for this remark. Maybe a flat needs to be cooked while still attached to the point to come out right. I have never cooked only a flat so I don't know.

To amplify and expound on Sys' remarks; get the charcoal really burning before placing your fish. You can do this in a charcoal chimney, once that charcoal is really raging and has burned down a little, then dump it out in to an EMPTY charcoal basket. If you dump it out on to unlit lump, you will then start the unlit lump in to it's beginning, smoky phase. Or, to keep the lit lump from falling through the basket, dump it out in to a grilling wok, one of those four sided, slope sided things, and set that down in the charcoal basket. Now you have a hot fire, with none of the coals in their starting phase, and a lot less smoke. Give the mesquite to someone who likes it, for brisket. I can't get enough of the stuff, myself. I've got about twenty pounds of mesquite tar built up inside my KK! Or, better yet, just cook up a bunch of briskets with it and give them to family, friends and co-workers. They will love you for it.

That's funny, I never even intended that bit of golfy wordsmithing and only noticed it after your post! Must have been subliminal. Yep, just "putted" right on up there.

You get used to tonic water. There's a Mexican restaurant on my way home from golf; I swing in their drive through and get a big cup of tonic water for the drive home.

hmm It's interesting because I have heard a big swig of pickle juice will do the same. The common element between them is... vinegar. Some salt, probably also.

You say it is a bit of lore. Have you tried it yourself? I get awful toe, foot and leg cramps after a hot round of golf. I'll try anything!

All paella pans are on sale now, 20% off, at Latienda.com http://www.tienda.com/paella/paella_pan ... C-082310PR

Probably a good idea. I'll have to be really creative with my next "feral" cook, if Penny ever leaves me alone again. Maybe pecan smoked peanut butter and banana english muffins or something.

Penny brined some pork chops, I rubbed them with rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper, then we cooked them with a Chardonnay/ Apricot glaze: On the upper tier are some brussel sprouts, foiled in a pan to keep them from getting too smokey. They were roasted in olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary: Pretty tasty!

To expound, in the photo you see the smoke ring on the top of the flat, but not below. The bottom of the flat is the junction between the flat and the point, so that was not exposed to the smoke during the cook since both muscles were connected at that time. Thus, no smoke ring there. Between the two muscles is a thick layer of fat and connective tissue, all of which I remove, you see it piled up in the top right part of the photo. That's why you see that bare edge on the bottom of the flat.

That was the flat in the photo, not the point. I usually take a little point and a little flat in each bite. Very scrumptious that way! After cooking, I separate the two muscles, remove all the surface fat, and then slice each muscle across the grain. I have never seen a "marbled" flat, I don't think that muscle is prone to it. The points of course are usually quite well marbled.

Photos of the hybrid, one is a little blurry:

Good thinking! I actually thought of having a cabinet/dishwasher made, so as to be able to throw the grills and roti baskets in the custom BBQ dishwasher outside!

you are correct Yep, that's exactly step by step what I have to do with the ShopVac, a minor PIA. So, I often just leave the vac out there. Which I hate from a clutter standpoint. Combined with that ugly steel rack with all the exposed grills and roti eqpt. and charcoal chimney and such, I'm really hating the aesthetic of my back porch. Probably I will bite the bullet and get that custom stainless cabinet built to hold the vac and everything else to boot. I want all that stuff concealed.

The vac does not throw ash in the air, it ALL goes in the vac, and the special drywall filter keeps it there.

hot fast brisket No. The technique is fully described in the sticky. Once you put the brisket in the foil, you NO LONGER monitor its' temperature. You don't finish the brisket by temperature. The finish is determined by feel. When the brisket is very tender when poked with a sharp probe, it is done. Your probe can be an icepick, a skewer, any thin sharp object. In fact you can use a thermometer probe for this purpose, but not by looking at the temperature! I did a hybrid yesterday. The first part of the cook I did at 225 for about four hours, with mesquite. Then I foiled it and cranked up the KK to 300. Took about two hours after foil to get good and tender. It had a good bark and smoke ring, I'll post photos later. Remember, once you foil, start checking the tenderness at the one hour point, and then at 30 minute intervals thereafter. You will NOT overcook it this way. Even if you leave it on the fire for an hour after it is fully tender, it will still come out perfect, because the foil keeps it moist. Now, the technique specifies that you foil the brisket once it hits 160 to 170 degrees. I have no idea how that was determined. My thought is that you could foil it at any point, at any temperature, once you think the brisket has had enough time in the smoke. Especially with a hybrid cook where the first part of the cook is at 225, the brisket can spend a fair bit of time in smoke. Anyway mine yesterday came out as perfect as usual, super moist and tender with full smoke and bark. Plus the juice!!! Don't discount that little bonus from the foil. You can do a lot with that juice.

Here's something that might be useful: http://www.patioshoppers.com/products/T ... 564-0.html