Adventures with a "Micro-Brisket" part II
Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 2:29 pm
Hola Guys,
Got a gift from the mother in law recently, god bless her - a 2.02 lb "micro brisket" flat from the local grocery store, on sale. She heard I like to cook brisket, and found the unworkable and odd cut that socal is famous for. A thin, 2lb brisket is a bit of a different ex-animal - thin, lacking fat and quick-cooking, it can get dry and the bark can be odd. Fortunately, I got some help on the forum back in March with briskets this size, and gave it another go (special thanks to KAM for his guidance). This one turned out excellent - as moist as can be expected, extremely tender, and a really powerful, smoky, peppery intense flavor (think damn-good Hill Coutry beef jerkey). If only I had 10 lbs more of it... anyways...
Starting with the cut - kind of lean with a thin fat cap. I did a real simple heavy pepper and Himalayan pink Salt rub. Why pink salt? It's all I had at the moment, and it actually turned out great. Let it sit a few hours outside to get to room temp before an early-morning start on the grill
Ran some oak charcoal, a bit of mesquite (just for lack of wood), and a few good chunks of applewood and cherry. My grill is a bit cheap and can only hit about 220 sustained, but that is really all you need. Left it on for about 3.5 hours till the meat hit 165 or so...
Now for the "different" part - got the great advice last time to skip the foil wrap and leave in a pan, covered, for a few hours till the internal temp gets to 200 or so. I didn't have a cheap foil pan available, and had to leave the house for a few hours (Octoberfest!), so I placed it in a cast-iron skillet, wrapped tight with foil, and placed in the over set to 225. Took about 2 hours to get the internal temp to 205 (fast with a skinny cut):
After getting to 205, I left covered in the pan with the oven at warm - in lieu of putting in a cooler covered (good luck fitting a skillet in a cooler). The meat got to down to 180 or so, then I placed the meat only in a cooler to rest to 165 (again, happens quick with a micro-cut). And then - placed in the oven at 275 for 15 minutes to "set the bark" (a critical step):
The result? Great, crispy, peppery (and dark) bark, a somewhat moist and extremely tender cut of meat, and a powerful, smoky flavor - like a concentrated brisket. Not sure how my foray with the cast iron pan changed the game, but for flavor, easily one of the best 3 briskets I've ever made. It is a lot of work for 2lbs of meat, but "cheating" with the oven and saving wood made it easy (as did the Octoberfest beer). Again, thanks for all the advice on this one, and will let you know next time I try something a bit different!
Got a gift from the mother in law recently, god bless her - a 2.02 lb "micro brisket" flat from the local grocery store, on sale. She heard I like to cook brisket, and found the unworkable and odd cut that socal is famous for. A thin, 2lb brisket is a bit of a different ex-animal - thin, lacking fat and quick-cooking, it can get dry and the bark can be odd. Fortunately, I got some help on the forum back in March with briskets this size, and gave it another go (special thanks to KAM for his guidance). This one turned out excellent - as moist as can be expected, extremely tender, and a really powerful, smoky, peppery intense flavor (think damn-good Hill Coutry beef jerkey). If only I had 10 lbs more of it... anyways...
Starting with the cut - kind of lean with a thin fat cap. I did a real simple heavy pepper and Himalayan pink Salt rub. Why pink salt? It's all I had at the moment, and it actually turned out great. Let it sit a few hours outside to get to room temp before an early-morning start on the grill
Ran some oak charcoal, a bit of mesquite (just for lack of wood), and a few good chunks of applewood and cherry. My grill is a bit cheap and can only hit about 220 sustained, but that is really all you need. Left it on for about 3.5 hours till the meat hit 165 or so...
Now for the "different" part - got the great advice last time to skip the foil wrap and leave in a pan, covered, for a few hours till the internal temp gets to 200 or so. I didn't have a cheap foil pan available, and had to leave the house for a few hours (Octoberfest!), so I placed it in a cast-iron skillet, wrapped tight with foil, and placed in the over set to 225. Took about 2 hours to get the internal temp to 205 (fast with a skinny cut):
After getting to 205, I left covered in the pan with the oven at warm - in lieu of putting in a cooler covered (good luck fitting a skillet in a cooler). The meat got to down to 180 or so, then I placed the meat only in a cooler to rest to 165 (again, happens quick with a micro-cut). And then - placed in the oven at 275 for 15 minutes to "set the bark" (a critical step):
The result? Great, crispy, peppery (and dark) bark, a somewhat moist and extremely tender cut of meat, and a powerful, smoky flavor - like a concentrated brisket. Not sure how my foray with the cast iron pan changed the game, but for flavor, easily one of the best 3 briskets I've ever made. It is a lot of work for 2lbs of meat, but "cheating" with the oven and saving wood made it easy (as did the Octoberfest beer). Again, thanks for all the advice on this one, and will let you know next time I try something a bit different!
