Naked into the brine...

[ckkphoto]

I have company for dinner tomorrow. It has been raining for three days here in DFW, and as you can imagine the woodpile is soaking wet. I have a frozen solid brisket on the counter. Looked in the spice cabinet...Nuthin! I mean nuthin! Looked in the wallet...nuthin there to buy spices with either!
This is one of those moments that makes margarita flavored brine (or whatever it was that Phil used) I will be brining a stone cold brisket over nite to thaw it. Fortunately I have a gallon of worsey sauce, vinegar, and sprite. I'll get creative and let you know how it turned out, but I can say this much, it won't be the "Official Brisket" of the old site. Warts and all I would rather be a real frog than a fake prince. My brisket tomorrow is not gauranteed to taste good...but it damn sure will taste ORIGINAL. :twisted:

[BBQchef33]

yup.. mine was a margarita mix brine. Pork butt sat in it overnoight and turned a pale shade of grey. tasted a bit strange, but we ate it up. chris..... you gonna brine.. dont forget the salt!!!!!

[ckkphoto]

Here's the brine recipe that I came up with shooting from the hip with what I had:

2 cups canning salt
6 quarts water
several glugs of vinegar from a gallon jug
1 quart worsey sauce (pretty stout)
4 tablespoons black pepper
1/4 cup powdered garlic
1/4 cup fresh green cilantro from the herb garden
1/4 cup fresh green parsley from the herb garden
1 full fist of chives cut fresh from the herb garden snipped into little bitty pieces
1/4 cup of dried minced onion
actually tastes pretty good...of course its really salty being a brine and all, it is steeping on the oven to blend the ingredients then I will set it out on the patio to cool down so I can put the brisket in it ovenight. I will also inject some of the brine down into the meat because this baby's going on at eight in the morning.

[ckkphoto]

:? The brisket is in the smoker, this time I am gonna do something a little different. I am heating that brine to boiling to kill any bacteria that may have come out of the brisket and survived the salt overnight (doubtful but I won't take any chances) then I am going to mop the brisket with it today. It's really too salty for a mop, so I cut it first. I just liked the flavor so well that I hated to pour it down the sink.

[in2que]

Best of luck on your brisket venture. I live in Carrollton and just couldn't get in the mood for Q'ing with all this weather we have been having. Plus only have 2 hickory logs left in the garage. Need to stock up for next week.

[ckkphoto]

We had run OUT of wood. Had to go to Home Depot and pay TEN DOLLARS for one measly bag of mesquite! I sure miss my pickup! Now that I have the smoker going, though, I am enjoying the smell and looking forward to dinnertime. Now it turns out
(surprise) that my wifes folks will also be here for dinner from NM. :shock:

[in2que]

In-laws for dinner! Aren't you lucky! :P

I am going to try mesquite in the bandera next time I crank it up. To date I have only used hickory logs and a little apple and cherry chunks. I love the flavor of mesquite when I grill on the BBQ.

I am going to check and see if the place in Irving I get my firewood has mesquite and hickory. The oak and pinon I get are pretty reasonable. I'll let you know; maybe some of us Dallas folks can get together and split a half cord or something. Will let you know.

[ckkphoto]

The most affordable place in Dallas for firewood I have found is across from the arboretum--50 bucks for a pickup load you come and get and haul away. I believe you can get specific woods for a fee...but haven't gotten wood from them, because when I had my truck, I just cruised the old neighborhoods after storms and then hauled off the pecan, and hackberry.
My wife and I lived in Carrolton for a while near Keller Springs and Marsh, then we bought a house in lewisville when our family got bigger by one.

[ckkphoto]

Okay, an hour and a half to go, and I pulled the brisket out and cut all of the fat cap off and put it back in to get a smoke ring on that part--big flavor difference. Also, I took a portion of my brine and mixed it with two cups ketchup, some garlic. paprika and pepper and poured brisket drippings into it then set it in the smoker to absorb some smoke--will serve it as a bbq sauce/marinade.

[ckkphoto]

Final report...no leftovers. Not my best que, I had to run to the grocery store at the last minute, so I wasn't able to pull the meat out when I should have. The meat was VERY flavorful, but just a tad overdone. All my well-done loving family liked it that way and finished off a twelve pound brisket (before cook) between seven adults at the table. The gravy/barbecue sauce I made out of the brine was a hit as well. Go figure. Really! Who would guess that my leftover surprise would go over so well? I thought it was okay, but I won't brag unless its worth it, and trust me, it could have been better. Strangely enough, my wife who doesn't like barbecue had two helpings.

[threesticks]

ckkphoto, in2que,
we did a 8lb butt (and some ribs to munch on) today (sunday).
while enjoying some NFL sunday ticket. fell of the bone.
you can get bags pecan, hickory, mesquite at albertson's