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05/26/07 03:33 PM
The barbecue is on Monday, but the prep started yesterday when I bought all the meat. And today, I rubbed the briskets that I'll be smoking tomorrow.
Two 12-pounders from Costco. Not the cheapest at 1.55/lb, but it saved me a trip since I was there already.
Here they are unpacked and ready to be rubbed.
And here they are rubbed with a combo of the Fiesta Brisket Rub and Montreal Steak Seasoning from the first pic.
The fat caps
And last but not least, the fat caps after I rubbed them too.
The briskets are wrapped up in extra-heavy duty foil and are living in my fridge right now. They will go on the smoker tomorrow morning. For now, I'm going out to Lake Travis to have a little fun inbetween thunderstorms.
More pics will be coming over the next two days.
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05/27/07 10:36 AM
Alright, the barbecue has officially started. I woke up bright and early this morning after taking my little brother downtown for the first time last night (he just turned 21), and tried not to wake him up, as he is passed out on the couch right now. But I had work to do. Namely, getting a fire started.
I used a chimney starter to get the coals ready. I figured this picture might help, considering there was some confusion a few months back about where to put the newspaper.
Then I lit the paper, and got a bunch of smoke while the chimney starter did its thing.
About half an hour later, I was almost ready to put the coals in the smoker. You can see that the top isn't completely burned yet, but it's close enough for our purposes.
I added the coals to the firebox. This is a good pic to see my makeshift way of keeping the coals elevated and away the damper, to get better airflow (there is also a grate underneath the coals to keep them up off the bottom).
And then I added a few pieces of cured mesquite for the smoke.
Then I closed everything up and let the pit get up close to the proper temperature.
While that was happening, my dogs decided to keep watch. Kaci took the high ground and kept an eye on the neighbor's cat.
And Kona watched the squirrels like a hawk.
At around 9:30 the pit got up to around 200 degrees, so I put the briskets on. On a side note, look at the temperature reading - when I opened the door to put the briskets on that read in 180-190 range, 90 seconds later when I took this picture its reading 109; let that be a lesson as to why you don't want to peek while the meat is on the smoker - you'll lose temperature faster than you think.
The fire was a little too close to the left brisket, so I made a makeshift baffle out of a large piece of extra-heavy duty foil and moved the briskets as far away from the fire as I could. I really wish I had a larger pit, but this will have to make due.
After all that, I closed the doors and watched the temperature rise. It got up to 225 in about 10 minutes. I closed the damper on the fire box down a bit, and closed the flue to about half, and now it's just a waiting game, with lots of watching and probably unnecessary adjustments. But it makes me feel like I'm doing something useful when I play with the pit.
I'll probably rotate the briskets around 12:30 or 1, so that's when the next update is going to be.
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05/27/07 12:37 PM
I just rotated the briskets. The pit had stayed right around 230 for the last 3 hours or so, and I'm always happy to see that. I think the humidity in the air today is actually helping keep a more even temperature, I've noticed that when it's dryer I'll get bigger swings where the temperature meanders from about 240 to 200 for hours on end without me doing anything. Today, once I got the dampers set where I wanted them I never saw a reading above 231 or below 223. So I can't complain about the temperature control.
Here's the next round of pics:
This is what I saw when I opened the pit. Gloriousness. That foil baffle did a pretty good job, the left brisket didn't look burned at all.
I rotated the briskets using those silicone mitts, they don't have the most tactile feel, but they work fine for moving briskets and ribs and the like. As you can tell, the briskets have shrunk up since there is a lot more room between them and the firebox, and I'm glad to have it.
This is a good picture of the foil hanging down into the opening of the firebox a bit in order to deflect some of the heat, I must say it worked better than I expected, I'll probably start doing this on a regular basis. I poked around in the firebox and added a few more pieces of mesquite. I might have to add some more in a few hours. I'll probably take the briskets off around 3 or 3:30 to foil them and finish them in the oven.
Usually I would leave them on the smoker longer (closer to 8 or 9 hours instead of 6), but I have to go meet the family out at the lake this afternoon. I don't mind leaving them in the oven while I'm gone, but I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them on the pit where the fire could burn out or burn too hot or something.
Looking and smelling good. Tomorrow is going to be a good day.
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05/27/07 03:55 PM
Well the briskets are off the pit. The temperature sorta bottomed out around 210 or so for the last hour, but no big deal. Now to the important part, the meat.
Normally I'd only post one of these pics, but the pictures came out great and I think they all are important. Especially if you're like I was a few years ago when I started and didn't know what a brisket looked like when it came off the smoker. I was afraid I'd burnt my first brisket because it was so black, but nope, that's just how they look. That color is ALL flavor.
I brought them inside in some of those disposable foilware trays that cost a couple bucks at HEB - I use the ones with the wire support underneath because that's a lot of meat. And I also put a sheet on the bottom so that I can lift the brisket out to wrap it easily. Trick of the trade.
And now the briskets are wrapped up tight. I put them in the oven which I preheated to about 220. I'm going to go spend the afternoon at Lake Travis while these bad boys cook a bit longer. I'll try to get more pics when I get back tonight.
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05/28/07 12:21 AM
One more post before I try to get some sleep.
I took the briskets out of the oven around 10, and made some homemade barbecue sauce (that's a first, we'll see how it goes over, I don't use sauce with my 'cue, so hopefully even if it's not great it won't matter). And then I prepped the ribs for tomorrow morning. Pictures below.
Ah the briskets are done. So juicy and tender. I let them rest open like that for about an hour and then put some foil to cover them and put them in the fridge. I'll warm them up tomorrow morning.
One rack of pork spareribs, untrimmed. That's about to change.
See that flap- It's got to go.
Flap and some extraneous fat from the back of the ribs removed.
Flipped it over, and then trimmed the extra meat off. I smoke that too, I just cut it off before the ribs go on the smoker.
Repeat 4 times and this is what you get. That's pretty close to 20 lbs of pork spareribs right there. Now it's time to rub them.
First, you squeeze some mustard on them. Anything works, this was just plain ol' French's Yellow Mustard.
Then you spread it around and get a nice little base coat for your rub.
I put on a good amount of the Fiesta Rib Rub, followed by some Montreal Steak Seasoning. Seriously, Fiesta + Montreal Steak is the basis for a great rub for just about anything you want to barbecue.
Finally, I get my hands really dirty and rub the spices and mustard all together into a paste on the ribs. I only do the meat side, because it would be a waste of time to do the bone side.
I wrapped those and put them in the fridge as well. I'm gong to try to get the chimney starter going at about 5:30 or so, and hopefully have the ribs on about 6 am. I'll check back in then. Night.
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05/28/07 06:18 AM
<censored> rain. Woke up at 5:30 this morning to the pitter-patter of rain on my metal roof. It sounded nice until I realized that I had to barbecue some more. So then I ousted my little brother from his slumber and had him help me put up one of the EZ-UP awnings over the pit so that I can work in the rain. This is what I'm dealing with:
This is going to be interesting. The chimney starter is working right now, though I expect it to take a bit longer than usual. Luckily none of the charcoal or newspaper was wet, but it's 110% humidity right now.
Please rain, go away.
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Well the ribs are on the pit, put them on at about 6:45. It is kind of an adventure to get the dampers set so that the temperature will stay at the proper temperature, but I think I've got it down. I was hoping to have them on by 6, but the rain impacted those plans. Oh well, I'll have plenty of food even if the ribs aren't done right at noon.
Lets just hope this works.
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05/28/07 08:15 AM
The rain has stopped, and it looks like there's nothing after it down to the South where it all came from according to the radar. I'll hope that it was a one time deal. Now I can say neither rain nor dark of night will keep me from barbecuing. Take that, postal service.
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05/28/07 09:10 AM
Looks like I spoke too soon about the rain. But hopefully after THIS cell we'll be done for the day.
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05/28/07 10:52 AM
I can see the finish line. The ribs are in the oven right now for step 2 of the 3-2-1 method, and the pork loin and sausage is on the smoker. Pictures below.
About 3 hours after you put the ribs on the pit, this is what you get.
Here's a better picture of one of the racks. You can see how the bones have started to show on one side. I wrapped each rack in foil, and put it the oven that had been heating the briskets at about 225 for the last 3 hours.
Now on to the pork loin. That's a big piece of meat! (That's what she said)
Once again, Fiesta rub + Montreal Steak Seasoning. This time it was the Fiesta Pork Rub. Good stuff.
And after the rub has actually been rubbed onto the loin.
The fat side of the loin.
I rub it too.
And I put a temperature probe in the middle. Unlike the brisket and ribs, I watch the internal temp on the loin. When it gets to about 135 degrees, it's time to come off. And its easier to put it in before you put the meat on the pit.
And last but not least, 5 links of Alsatian-style venison sausage. This is from my hometown of Castroville, and I can guarantee you that you've never had anything like it. I love this stuff.
And finally it's all on the pit. A few more hours and I should have a ton of meat. I hope that the rain doesn't keep people away, because I'm not sure if I have room for a bunch of left overs.
Speaking of the rain, it looks like we're finally in the clear. Phew. Too bad it waited until this morning to rain, when the past 3 days have been relatively dry here. Oh well, that will just make the slip n slide a little more slippery.
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05/28/07 11:37 PM
Holy crap, I'm beat. That was one heck of a Memorial Day barbecue. I think we had 60+ folks through here today. Wow.
I'll put the final pics up after work tomorrow. Right now I need to sleep.
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05/29/07 04:45 PM
Ok, done with work, the house is mostly clean, and I have some time to upload some pics to the interweb tubes.
I decided to slice one brisket before the guests arrived, and it turned out to be the only "finished" meat that I got a chance to take pictures of. Once the guests showed up I was cutting meat non stop for about 90 minutes, and I never had a chance to clean my hands and take more pictures. But you can still tell what was consumed yesterday.
A picture of the first brisket, after I had warmed it up in the oven for about 3 hours at around 220 or so. I also let it rest for about an hour before I sliced it.
I started by separating the point from the flat.
Then I sliced the brisket up. Even after resting for an hour, the brisket was almost too tender to slice well, that's my they are so thick. I think I need a sharper knife, as well as figuring out something to do when cooking it to keep it from practically falling apart - it tastes great, but for my own sake when I'm cutting it I'd like it to stay together a bit better. That's the last of the brisket photos unfortunately. I made some chopped bbq with the parts that I couldn't cut well by chopping it all to heck and mixing with my homemade barbecue sauce, and it went over pretty well.
After I sliced the brisket, it was time to get the pork loin off the pit - the internal temp was at 133 when I took it off. I took it inside and wrapped it in foil, and let it rest for about an hour or so before I sliced it. Again, no pictures of the slicing, but it was probably the best pork loin that I've done yet. I think that was my personal favorite meat that I ate yesterday.
And then I moved the sausage over, and put the ribs back on the pit to firm up in the smoke for another hour. I wish I had a picture of the ribs after they were cut, because the smoke ring on those bad boys was pretty allsome for a smaller piece of meat like that, and the last hour in the smoke gave them a very nice "bark".
So that's that. The barbecue itself was a big hit, I was afraid when I woke up at 5:30 to the pouring rain that no one would show up and I'd have almost 50 lbs of meat to eat by myself, but as you can tell by the last pictures it cleared up nicely. And instead of having a ton of leftovers, the meat was all gone by about 3:30 or 4:00.
Everything turned out great. I got tons of compliments on the brisket, the ribs were gone in under an hour, the sausage didn't last much longer, and the pork loin, like I mentioned above, was my personal favorite. Even the homemade barbecue sauce I made turned out surprisingly good, and it disappeared quickly. The only leftovers I have is a couple loafs of bread, I guess I overestimated the demand for sandwiches.
All in all, I fed over 60 people. I had the guests bring sides and beer, the weather cooperated, and everything turned out great. And the slip n' slide was a big hit, both with my 5 and 3 year-old nieces, and my 20-something year-old friends. The only bad part was the clean up because of the mud and the dogs, but even that wasn't horrible.
Sounds like you had a successful party with lots of great food. 
Wow... great job! 
