fresh bandera meat

[boogerman]

just bought a bandera this weekend......sweet.i was shopping for an offset like a brinkmann.....saw the bandera,much nicer(249.00)good price?" not sure.i've done the propane deal,the littlechief,the electric water smoker.i was ready to go find my b.b.q.ing roots. did a 7lb pork shoulderthis weekend,turned out only o.k.with all the mod's and tips from this site.its only gonna get better.
thanks

[chad]

Welcome to the group.

$249 is about average - at least in my neck of the woods.

Drop over at Cattle Call and give us some background -- we have plenty of tips and advise.

[willkat98]

Welcome Boog

[jsn1511]

i paid $299.99 for mine, so yeah I'd say that was a pretty good deal. When all was said and done, after puchasing accessories and fuel, i walked out paying around $370.

[Wayne]

Dont worry about the mods. They are fun to do but are not necessary to the production of fine BBQ. The secret is to BBQ a lot. The more you do the better you get. My advise to beginners is to cook a prime rib for a big meal with guests. It is nearly impossible to goof up a prime rib. And when it is just the family you can experiment with ribs, briskets, and pork butts. For a quick meal try smoking a couple of big chuck roasts. They also usually turn out great and are small enough that they cook off pretty quick in a bandera. Another old trick that works with the less tender cuts of beef is to smoke them for about 4 hours and then put it in a roaster in the oven at about 180 degrees for about 8 - 12 hours (over night). The long slow heat will break down all of the cologen that makes the meat tough, and you wind up with wonderful shreadable beef. Also look at the history of posts on this forum for lots of help. It is a great plac to visit while the Bandera is working its magic.

[Bigdog]

Wayne's right. Smoking meat for about 4-6 hours and then wrapping it in foil and slow cooking it in you oven is a good method. Yes, I can hear the purists say no, but it beats staying up all night cooking a brisket 12-16 hours. Just don't put any of that liquid smoke on it for god's sake. A nice spray job with juice/oil or your fav. mix is must too.

Welcome to the group Booger.

[jsn1511]

hmmm, i was thinking of doing a brisket this weekend. Maybe i should hold off until I have smoked more than 2 chickens and 2 slabs of spare ribs. what do you guys think, am i jumping into quickly?

[boogerman]

thanks for the replys.......
couple of things i noticed is i went through a grip of fuel(lump charcoal) and it was hard to keep my temp up over 250.it was about 40 degrees out(portland oregon)and i lost alot of heet through all the cracks/doors/joints.i'm gonna go scrounge me some hardwood.i did elevate my wood-box grate and i'm gonna put a seal around the door and probably the baffle.
i was thinking of buying another propane grill for the wife.and my buddy who has a "big green egg" said and i quote"nah,you dont wanna do that...propane aint gonna get ya' laid".that made up my mind!

[brdbbq]

Hell go for it got to learn sooner or later.

[chad]

Booger: get the grill if ya need a grill! I use my gas grill along with my turkey fryer whenever I need them. We are a wide ranging bunch of cooks on this forum :D No need to "make do" with anything - I use the gas grill a lot during the week for salmon steaks, chicken breasts, etc. I can be done by the time my charcoal would just be getting ready.

Jsn: If you feel froggy, jump!! Read the material in the archives and recipes about brisket and go for it. Easiest way is to get about a 6# flat (trimmed up and usually around $2.12 a pound) dry rub it per one of the recipes (you can do the TK marinade but you might want to try simple first and then venture farther afield) over night.

Fire up the Bandera, get it up around 225 -250 and put the brisket in (this would be a good time to mention the heat shield - Bill swears by it and it does help conserve the heat) - use an internal probe thermometer to keep track of the temps in the meat. It's good to have an electronic for montoring the heat in the chamber too - or at least an oven thermometer inside on a rack.

It'll take about 1.5 hour per pound to get the brisket up to 190 or so. A lot of us cheat and foil the brisket at about 165 and take it on up to 190ish (Paul Kirk calls foil the Texas Crutch - but then he doesn't have my bunch breathing down his neck either). Then pull the wrapped brisket out and put in a cooler for a couple of hours - the temp will slowly come back down to around 160 or whatever you can wait for.

Slice and enjoy. Sometimes I wrap the top of the flat with bacon and cook it like that until I foil it. I then remove the bacon and make BLTs :D

[brdbbq]

thanks for the replys.......
couple of things i noticed is i went through a grip of fuel(lump charcoal) and it was hard to keep my temp up over 250.it was about 40 degrees out(portland oregon)and i lost alot of heet through all the cracks/doors/joints.i'm gonna go scrounge me some hardwood.i did elevate my wood-box grate and i'm gonna put a seal around the door and probably the baffle.
i was thinking of buying another propane grill for the wife.and my buddy who has a "big green egg" said and i quote"nah,you dont wanna do that...propane aint gonna get ya' laid".that made up my mind!

Do what you got to do to get laid. :roll:

[Wayne]

Go right ahead and do the brisket. I use the primal cut briskets (They are the big ones that come in the plastic bag. The bag will help if you want to soak the thing in something, just cut a small whole and pour your favorite marinade in. A lot of guys like Dr. Pepper but I generally don' use anything but garlic and a dry rub. Wonder if Guinness would be good? Naw, why waste good beer. Then smoke it to 165 and finish off in foil or the roaster. I like the roaster and add about a pint of water so the juice is rich. Overnight that and you will be happy.

[parrothead]

Wonder if Guinness would be good? Naw, why waste good beer.

Guiness would work great! To sip on while tending the smoker.

[willkat98]

hmmm, i was thinking of doing a brisket this weekend. Maybe i should hold off until I have smoked more than 2 chickens and 2 slabs of spare ribs. what do you guys think, am i jumping into quickly?

My .02, jump in and do a brisket. But what size and type you talkin about?

A big 13# cryovac packer, or the trimmed 5-6#'ers DavidL and I get (Costco mostly)

We will guide your through the path. A 6# trimmed, that would be great for first brisket. Brisket 2 can be a 15 hour packer.

[BigAl]

Hell yes, my worst brisket, the first sure was good....just like that first sex!

That is ,in part, why I designed a long burn fire basket....wanted to get some sleep! :D