col klink

Jim, you mention that you are a competition BBQ'er and I was hoping you would clue us in on what the judges are looking for in a competition brisket. I'm pretty sure that large pieces of fat would be unsightly to the judges so I'm guessing the flat would be the cut of choice off of the brisket and trimmed as well. Or do most competitors smoke the whole brisket and then cut the flat for presentation? How much of a smoke ring do they look for? Do they look for a clean profile or is it all right to mix in portions of the point in with the flat and chop it up?

Yes, thanks Jim for the tip on the placing unlit coals underneath the lit ones. That's a pretty important step regardless if you're smoking for 2 hours or 12. I must profess I haven't smoked on a WSM nearly as much as on my wood burning smoker.

Thanks for the tips, Sammy. I mentioned that the Weber chimney is larger than chimneys from other manufacturers but it was only a brief mention in the equipment section and not repeated when I address smoking with the WSM. Was it cold as well? I would invest in some sort of shelter for your WSM that would keep it out of the wind and rain but would allow you to smoke. One suggestion is using an old metal trash can. Cut out the bottom and a couple of tabs around the base to allow for air and the can will protect your bullet from at least the wind. I remember when I first prepared smoked chicken to my wife and she said "I don't like breast meat." That's when I realized that she grew up with subpar poultry. She knows better now. I have a couple of ideas. You said that it was raining pretty hard, was it cold as well? Let's say below 70? In those conditions it's quite easy for the WSM to lose most of its heat. You mention that you had a 12 lb bird, that sounds small enough to fit on the top shelf. However, how much room was around the bird? I'm guessing that there wasn't too much room around the bird, in which case whenever you lift the lid, your temperature is going to drop dramatically in first half of the smoking session. Especially if there is a decent wind -- when you take off the lid, the bird is completely exposed and a slight breeze will remove what little warm air that was around it. Later on, as the bird comes to temperature, the drops won't be as dramatic since the bird will act as a heat sink. It's the same principal that makes freezers and refrigerators more efficient as they hold more mass. How were you taking the temperature of the smoker? If you only looked at the thermometer before you lifted the lid, you would've missed the temp drops and then not notice how long it took for temp to reached again. Another option is to smoke the bird at higher temperature. Since turkey is cooked to a relatively low temperature (165 F, unlike pork shoulder or brisket which hit 190 - 210 F), cooking at higher temperature is just fine -- you'd roast a turkey at higher temps in the oven right? Like Jim said, try 325. The only down side is that since it won't spend as much time in the smoker, it won't be as smokey as it could be. It shouldn't take 4 hours to cook such a small turkey, especially if it was brined. I've smoked brined 25 lb birds in 3 hours. I'm thinking that 225 wasn't sustained for the 4 hours. However, if you want, you could also cut the turkey into parts before you put the turkey on the smoker, that would decrease the amount of time and give you a smokier outcome. As for the skin not getting dark, it's possible that if there wasn't much room left on the top grate after you put the turkey on that you weren't getting enough smoke circulating around it. Either that or there wasn't enough smoke. I suspect it was a combination of the two. I should mention that my birds are smoked with hardwood logs and not with coals and chips. These fires produce more smoke and as such, will darken meats more than a WSM. For instance, the image of the turkey next to the goose in the course was only smoked for an hour and it's quite possible that your turkey won't get any darker than that. As Jim mentioned, cooking at a higher temperature like 325 will get you darker skin. I wouldn't expect "crisp" skin, but it won't be as rubbery as a bird smoked at lower temperatures.

In Seattle, the best I could get was $1.12/lb but that took me over 2 years to find it. I found a couple of sources here in Duluth, MN, but I've been afraid to ask the price.

Foodman, you certainly have found the real deal and I'm willing to bet they sell for less than $2/lb. Although I point to the virtual weber bullet site in my course and there is a lot of great information about smoking with the WSM, I completely disagree with his treatment of brisket. In my course I spend a lot of time talking speficially about brisket fat -- the short version is that if you have to trim the fat, do it after you smoke it. The only prep I do with a whole untrimmed brisket is to cut it into thirds primarily because it will take less time but if you have a WSM, you'll need to so it will fit in the smoker.

I always brine my pork ribs because I brine every piece of pork that I plan to cook. They don't need to be brined but they're a helluva lot better if you do. Pork is one of those meats that greatly improves with brining because pigs have been bred so lean. Here's a thread discussing back ribs and brining them. You may also want to read Dave the Cook's course on brining.

Pork butt is no different than brisket, you smoke it until it's done. Typical butts are around 6 or 7 pounds and take at least 10 hours but can go for as much as 16 if you're smoker isn't too hot. The best test for figuring out if your butt is done is the fork method -- stick your fork in the butt and twist, if comes easily, it's done. Pork and beef ribs usually take about 4 hours and much has been written about them. The pork ribs definitely have to be brined. Whether or not the ribs are done is hard to define but if the meat is falling off the bone, they're overdone, likewise beef ribs. I prefer the English style short ribs (that's the cut across the ribs, containing 3 or 4 ribs right?) because after a stint in the smoker, they hold together better. Standard beef short ribs (that's the cut along a single rib right?) tend to fall apart too much, the meat will actually come of the rib though it's still not done. Luckily short ribs have enough fat to last. The flat of the brisket has the least amount of marbling in the brisket; there's basically only a fat cap. As you move towards the opposite end, you'll see far more fat making it's way through the meat, including a bigger fat cap. If you see brisket in a grocery store, it's going to be a flat and it will have nearly almost all of its fat removed. I have used Diamond Crystal and Morton's interchangeably. If you're really worried, you can go by weight -- 1/2 cup of Diamond Crystal weighs 2.5 ounces or 70 grams (thanks Dave!). Morton's salt is heavier than DC weighing in at 108 ounces for a 1/2 cup but like I said, I've used them both interchangeably. Just to round things out, Morton's Canning salt weighs 145 grams -- treat it like table salt.

As long as you have a safe place for the WSM, you can actually start it the night before and the coals will last until morning, which would allow you to get some sleep. Start it up around 10 or 11 pm the night before with a lot of chips and it should hold temp until the morning. Pull it off around 7 or 8 and wrap in tinfoil. If the temp fell below 150, you can reheat it in the oven wrapped in tinfoil but in a container of some sort. When you're ready to leave, put the brisket (still in foil) in the cooler and it should still be nice and hot for the tailgate. Here's a serving suggestion for your brisket - Texas Brisket Sandwich. I'd only do this though if the WSM is on concrete with nothing around it that is combustible. Also, don't do this if it's your first time with the smoker. Get to know it first before you let burn all night unattended. The last thing you want is to wake up to fire alarms. edit. If you're not comfortable leaving the WSM going all night, you can also smoke the brisket a day in advance and reheat it in the morning before the tail gate party. Just toss in oven wrapped in tinfoil and bake at 350 for 15 or 20 minutes. If the brisket was untrimmed, there should be plenty of fat left over and you should still have juicy brisket and the cooler really does a great job of keeping it hot.

Since Batgrrrl and I have been in the Midwest, we've had a number of occasions where we have ordered Chinese food and on every one, we've been sorely dissapointed. It's like my Mom is in back of the kitchen reading from a 50's La Choy cookbook. It's either feast or famine when it comes to sauces here in the Midwest and 9 times out of 10, whatever you ordered is drowning in an ocean of bad sauce, and except for sweet and sour, pretty much EVERY SAUCE IS THE SAME. It's so incredibly depressing. There's only one dish that hasn't come in a pool and that was the "salt pork" which I had never heard of. They're basically really salty fried thin pork cutlets. I was given the pork and rice. I must have gone through 4 glasses of water! Sorry about the rant, I just had to get this off of my chest. By the way, I've never had egg foo young before so again I had no idea what I'd be getting. But what arrived was more like an omelet with pork and mushrooms swimming in brown gravy. I swear they must've used brown gravy packets from grocery store. WTF! I swear I didn't expect anything close to decent food but what the hell is going on around here? Who would've thought that we'd be desperate for even Safeway's General Tso's chicken and chowmein? I can't imagine how happy we'd be if we could find a restaurant of their caliber. I will be kind enough not to mention the lack of the basic elements of any decent Chinese or Thai dish in the "ethnic section" at our grocery stores. That pretty much goes without saying and it's too much to unload on you guys. But the next time you hear Pac NWers lamenting the lack of good Chinese food, think of your beloved Klinky dying a thousands deaths by "Chinese Food" here in Minnesota.

Cool! It's settled then, I'm driving down on Thursday. That also leaves a lot more flexibility on Friday if folks need a ride.

Hah! Too late. Yes, I was probably overhanded with my comparison with "pickling" the meat. However, I have noticed the difference in the meat texture. If you're brining for less than 4 hours it probably doesn't matter, but for overnight stuff (like every one of my chickens) there is a slight rubbery texture. Most people who don't brine or know nothing of it, when they first try my poultry won't notice it since they are enamored with the juiciness but they just don't see as much as I do nor do they look at it with such a critical eye. At my last party I smoked up a Salmon and a turkey and did a little apologizing for the turkey since I didn't have my thermometer and they nearly jumped down my throat to suggest that I had created anything less than perfection. Luckily by next year these friends will be like my friends in Seattle and will know the difference. Of course it was nice to receive that kind of adulation after having the critical eye for so long.

Why not make an orange reduction sauce and throw it in your roasting pan along with your loin? That way you won't pickle your pork and you'll get plenty of orange flavor.

Hopefully I won't eat it all on the way drive home. When do the Friday night festivities start? I'll be driving down from Duluth and I'll be going through Chicago. How long is the drive from Chicago to Grand Rapids? Depending on when I have to leave the Good White North, I can take folks as well. I'm driving a fat Chrysler that very comfortably seats 4 and somewhat comfortably seats 5. I'd like to get there by Friday night. However, if driving all that distance is going to be too much in one day, I'm thinking of splittling the drive and spending Thursday night in Chicago, anyone free for something on Thursday night or Friday? Hell, if I can be persuaded, I'll split up the drive anyways.

A dirty tub might add some nice "mushroomy" accents to the pork. Sounds like it's time to make some gin.

Dave, very nice course. I'm looking forward to directing a lot people towards it. As to the herbs, you really do have to add a lot before you notice the affects and then you have to brine the meat for days, at which point it gets pretty salty. Being a cheap ass, I didn't like the idea of spending $5 on herbs and spices every time I made a brine. If I want the herbs and spices, I just do a rub or a marinade after I brine. Also, if you smoke your brined meat, more than likely the herbs in the brine are going to be overpowered. I'd also like to note that although I like the taste of vinegar from a brine in the meat, it changes the texture subtly, making it chewier so I haven't used any vinegar or hot sauce in my brines. Like above, if I'm looking for some heat, I'll add some cayenne powder or whatever I have up my sleeve. When I first started experimenting with brine (back before the aughts), I desperately wanted a lot of heat in whatever I was brining. You see, I lived in Texas and my tolerence for hot items was diminishing because contrary to popular myth, Texans are actually wimps when it comes heat. So in one of my brines I finely blended two habaneros and a dozen jalapenos in my gallon brine. It took four days it get any discernable heat and that was onyl in the skin. I was dissapointed to say the least. But, you can always marinade or dry rub after brining to your desired heat level and you also get more control that way. edit re vinegar: ever heard of ceviche? It's shrimp cooked in lime juice. The citric acid actually cooks the shrimp and a variation of that is happening when you add acid to your meat brines, you're partially cooking the meat, hence the rubbery texture.

First of all, Le Cruset is not cast iron, it's enameled cast iron and you definitely don't want to turn the heat up as high as it will go. Real cast iron is the Lodge type like you have, it's basically just cast iron metal that if you treat it right, will last for a century and is far superior to any non-stick. However, for steaks, I find that throwing the cast iron pan into the oven at 500 degrees (and waiting for it to come to temp) is far better than pan frying on the range. For a 3/4" steak, about 4 minutes a side will give you medium rare. Heating is much more uniform in the oven than on the range, plus the oven does a better job at cooking the sides of the steak. Plus, when you cook on the range, the steak is more likely to curl than in the oven. Season the steak with just salt before throwing it on the pan for at least 15 minutes (no real real reason, that's just what I do and everyone I respect does), pepper if you'd like afterward. I'd also throw oil in the pan rather than on the steak, but that's just me. When the steak's done, throw on a pat of butter while it rests.

Great pics Jason! Wish I could've been there.

Alas, no. My lovely bride will have to stay home, she has to work.

Yes I did! It's been a couple of years since I've had smoked prime rib. Damn, it's really good. When I was in Texas there are a couple of BBQ joints that had it and it was always sublime.

I'll get the ball rolling -- look out everyone, I'm coming. I haven't figured out the timing though.

Brining is something you want to do regardless of cooking technique. It should be as natural as breathing. Glad to hear you're enjoying the brisket, it's one of life's creature comforts.

Smoked chicken is fantastic in enchilladas and quesadillas. Also make sure to make stock out of the carcus and reserve the smoked chicken fat for the next chickens you smoke. That way you can have a smoked gravy to go along. It's pimp. Or you could use the stock and chicken in a gumbo along with some fresh shrimp or crawfish. That too is pimp.

Thanks Tolliver, I will be teaching a course on how to smoke a turkey (and maybe brisket as well) on the 27th. It will be a great precurser for Thanksgiving because you'll need need stock from a prior bird to make gravy.

I'm just working on a smoking class. I think I'll address both a turkey and a butt or maybe a brisket since the later two fall under the same category of "cook at a low temp for a long time" category and it's not that more difficult to write up. I am going to address grilling, but only as a method of cooking -- I'm not going to teach a class on it. If anyone would like to teach a grilling class, jump right in.

Heh, heh. For years my mother would roast almost inedible turkeys. In high school I would ask leading questions like "how often do you baste the turkey mom?" and I'd receive answer akin to this: "Silly Klink, nobody's basted a turkey in 20 years!" The next year I'd secretely baste the bird while she was taking a nap. Eventually, I just started doing it myself and nobody's looked back. I usually host a large Thanksgiving dinner, the last three of which have been in Seattle. The first year I roasted a bird (didn't have the smoker yet) and my buddy deep fried a couple of turkeys. As you'd might imagine, the fried birds won hands down. The next year it was fried birds versus a smoked bird. A couple of people tasted the fried birds as a comparison just to be nice, but the smoked bird totally kicked the fried bird's ass. Which kind of sucked because I didn't have any leftovers! By the way, our fried birds were juicy and tender but never greasy. The skin was pretty crisp too if I remember correctly. If frying weren't so dangerous and smoking didn't taste better, I'd definitely fry. Remember kids, never cook turkey without brining it first. Never!