Pitmaster T Series - Hot n Fast No Foil Jucicitidinous Brisket

btcg said:

As for cooking and achieving that nice internal red color: I don't see where you're disagreeing with me.

If you think that HnF is the only true method of brisket cooking... well, it's an opinion too.

Click to expand...

Both of these statements then scream "reading comprehension problems."

I never said its the only way but I won't have some guy who doesn't know brisket from pulled pork, much less BBQ conventions, tell me about what can and cannot be achieved. Just because some guy's skills limit the way he can cook meats, doesn't really covert into some cogent observation of what can be attained.

btcg said:

How bout we just can the p!ssin contest, and get back to BBQ?

Click to expand...

1. As a resident of the Maceo-Dickinson Line (Not Parker, but Sam), I have been insulting people above the Mason Dixon line to the point here that its lost all its power. I will continue to do so 'til my last breath. It's fun... unless of course I Que is in the vicinity, then I hide.

2. It's not a pissin' contest, oh supercilious lackey of the malliard quest, it is mere public relations, "heat." I figure a good ruse and tumble like this is good for a few more hits on the ole thread count.

3. You in fact came into a thread about B R I S K E T, which is beef, and told the high priestess of the internet hot and fast funk world that there was no way to get the "deep down red through the meat" [[[[ LIKE YOU CAN WITH YOUR PULLED PORK]]]] OR without using your technique, which I assume is low and slow. Then said, after my "goofie" [sic] rant (I like that term), that we are in agreement. All the while referring to Pork.

4. Furthermore you called me WHITE. I have never been more insulted in all my life. Neil Strawder, Big Mista can vouch EXACTLY what my complexion is....who you going to believe? Some black musician from Detroit, or your own eyes. Please... I have been dealing with that kind of discrimination for years....you have no idea what it like to be black, yet look white... I am shunned by both cultures!

Neil????? Please tell them who I am... somebody get Bigmista...

Hee Hee, LMAO

El Pistolero said:

Glad to hear you're redoing some of the videos, but please, for the love of all that is funky, do not mess with the dumplin's video.

Click to expand...

I hope to God no one can access it.

Well, being purposely cryptic finally caught up with me. Some guy just cussed me out on facebook for my sly avoidance of several questions regarding hot and fast although I have answered these questions in here for years. Here are his questions once he got through cussing at me (for telling him to ask me in at my Pitmaster T page ) and since he must have unfriended me he cannot receive the answer. I figured here would be a good place to answer it.

"i have watched all your video's. there are some that are marked private. your brisket video's really don't tell about the temp and temp times.

Ronnie, this is done purposely as I was frustrated with people's obsession with the 225 degree house temp and brisket internal temps and time and all. I am pretty sure the house temp of about 270 is in the dialog or something, maybe not.

what is the temp of the smoker when you put the briskets on?

This is kinda up in the air too Ronnie. When you cook a mess of briskets like I did in that video the temp of the pit, even if its 300, will be drawn way down for quite a while due to the mass of the meat. This is a good thing because as BBQ Brethen know, the smoke ring is estblished early on when the outer half inch of the meat is under 140. For smaller smokes I liek to get the pit hot (yep - 300) so the metal won't work against me, then bring down the temp to as low as 200. Its not crucial... just something under 230.

how many hours do you keep it at that temp?

about two hours will do it for small smokes --- will define small as how packed your pit is too... this means that if your pit holds 4 briskets and you are smoking one its not the same as 10 in a smoker that can smoke 50 briskets.

If you do however, since nothing happens BUT smoking at 200... who cares... but then again, you are just wasting time any longer.

do you ever change your temp at a certain time, like lower the temp when the brisket reach about 160?

I NEVER ever let anyone catch me take and brisket temp. In a panic I will... like if its raining or my house temp acts squirly during the day. One day for instance I had all large logs for a fire and this kept the house temp down... then it rained, then it got real cold... a large portion of the cook simply was not in the hot and fast range.

Now that that is said... in a perfect world... smoking at 270 ... I generally do not use anything but sound and site and smell for doneness with a confirmation probe that Third Eye made me... damn thing is capable of probing a brisket 21 inches on the other side. Briskets are like ribs and the sound they make as the fat renders when it hits my diverter plate intensifies like popcorn in a microwave when they weep and pass the stall.


if so what is the temp you lower too?

Here is the weird part. And I kinda already admitted it.

You ever seen those shows where someone's boyfriend lets the fire go out, or two oriental guys get hit by a rain storm, or the gas goes out? Well here is the true art of the pitmaster. He WILL pull out the foil if he needs to, he will pull out the temp probe (which I abhore) if he needs too, he will go above 300 if he needs to, he will do anything just long enough to fix it.

And when you leave competition there too goes your ego. You do more things because really it just doesn't matter. I have had to finish in ovens before because I said "the hell with it, theyve taken on enough smoke, I have wrapped both to quicken the time and once because my last bags of charcoal (when I used it) were crappy and the exposure to that was worse than any jokes that could be made as to me pulling the Q out of the ovens.

But what temp do I lower it to once its just past the stall... when everything is fine and I have plenty of time till service?

220 will do. My fires tend to naturally die down abotu there when the crowd arrives and people look at my big gauges and assume its been an all nighter at 220.

and about what is the estimated time you keep it at that temp until finish.

Okay here is another thing I use at the church not everyone has access to. I have a HUGE proofing oven. You may notice I have those briskets wrapped in plastic (which is preferred and cuts down on transportation mess) and stacked in a tall warmer. Max temp on it is 180 and I keep it there as much as 9 hours at 150-160.

That being said 8 hours is not required... its for convenience. Our big bbqs WE DICTATE TO THE PUBLIC WHEN WE SERVE!!!!!! That is not always practical. I smoke slow for two hours, crank it to high (270-290) until they are passed the stall (5 hours or for the most stubborn as much as 7) then I wrap and pop in the proofer. This keeps me from getting exhausted. I am at the pit, prep, and cleaned up and banked right as the sun sets and I wake up refreshed at 6, pull them out to rest and serve at 10 am.

BUT REMEMBER I AM DOING 30-50 PACKERS!!!!!!!

So being obscure about the tiem and temp is relevant to your arrangement.

it's really about temps and temp times.

NO it is not!!!!!!!
john mueller cooks hot and fast, he cooks everyday exactly the same times no matter what.

Well, let me expand on that because I have visited with the late Bobby Mueller and one thing always tickled me that I never got. He pulled the briskets when they stiffen. That always puzzled me.... I never got it. Of course he parks them in that 13 foot maSSIVE sausage box AND I always assumed it was kept at a sausage making temp. LOW... so they have a good resting or slow cooking time too.

So back to what you should to and I do not know your equipment. If you are going to make a brisket and serve it don't beat yourself up about it. The reason why I have always felt that temps like 220 were superflous was that NOTHING HAPPENS TO MAKE BRISKET GOOD UNDER 213 (EXCEPT THE RING). And when you are that close too much time is accidentally spent UNDER 213 degrees not to count the time the area immediately around the brisket is under 213 degrees due to its mass. The higher you go a bit then your time under 213 diminishes and your brisket is cooking the entire time.

Case in point, the best smoker I know of is the 4000 pound Oyler. It has huge racks that rotate and the funny thing is in this one guy's resturant, who claimed he smoked his brisket 18 hours (lol because he had to) was really because his temp setting was 220. This meant that where the gauges were the temp was 220/ BUT THE BRISKET as it traveled all the way around only spent 60 percent of its time over 213. I made a simple compromise of 230 and the time was cut significantly... enough to reduce his wood consumption and maintanance (due to operating time) in half!!!!

So back to what you should do. If you think you will need 8 hours (I am pulling out a number from my arse) plan for at least 12....with 4 of that being a nice long resting period. No stress, plenty of room for error... heck, LOL plenty of time to grab that brisket out in the rain, pop it in your oven (gasp) and return it to the pit before the guest arrives.

I can say one thing. Once they eat my brisket they could care less it rested in a cambro or ice chest 5 hours before I served it.

if this is totally wrong, please explain.


you say there is no need to wrap, great.

Remember what I said about the pitmaster... but also... I Do wrap before I hold it.
i really really want to learn how to do this hot & fast.
so i went to the person who i thought was one of the best at it.
that's it.
any other tips would be super great-full.
ty sir very much.
ronnie halcomb
little elm tx."

Yeah but the whole reason I do the hot and fast really is if things go like they are supposed to there actually IS less thinking.

jonboy said:

Pitmaster T,
When is the new cookbook coming out?
jon

Click to expand...

Right now the stuff I need to finish for the Galveston daily news is taking priority. Then there is the whole Tracy Scoggins project. GDN is slated to publish an article of mine I wrote about seeing her (shes an actress) dive off the diving board in 1970 which ruined it for me as far as women the rest of my life. Its an article about how significant her knit crochets bathing bikini was... the town still talks about it... anyway... she got wind of it and still has the bathing suit and is going to take a picture of her in it at the age of 59

which ... I am telling you... she is still as beautiful as ever.

lets see then theres an edit job I am doing on Italian Immigration in Galveston county at the turn of the century.

Then my articles on the Interurban of 1911 have now been part of a request to publish a monograph on.

I need to make some time but I need to get my cookign mojo back.

This was her pushing forty imagine her when I saw her at... 17 or so

http://www.celebs101.com/gallery/Tracy_Scoggins/98753/tracy_scoggins_photo_8.jpg

thanks man