New to this Sort of....

daniel17319 said:

Im going to explain what I’m going to do from people I have talked to hear and there. My family has been ranchers here were I live. I want to cook brisket the way I was told to do it with lots of coals and buried in the ground. I also want to make BBQ sauce in the ground. I have lots of apple-wood and cherry wood and other misc woods from our orchards. That is what my family has told me to cook with what they used. I’ve also been told that sage makes a nice flavor when put around stuff you wand to cook in a pit, does anyone know how to use it property this is wild sage. Also how should i set up my pit to be the best. I have done this before but want to improve. I have no intentions of buying fancy gizmos I want to do BBQ my the way my family does in a pit and burried. I was going to cook for 12 to 14 hours a 14 pound brisket. I was going to rap the brisket in wet newspaper and bailing wire.

Thanks and thanks for any suggestions.

Click to expand...

I actually did this with 2 shoulders this summer and it turned out great. I'll dig up some pics for you and give you some pointers.

Where in El Paso are you located? First off, looks like you want to do this "barbacoa" style. You could definitely do a brisket this way, but keep in mind it's A LOT of work for a single brisket.
Couple of things I'd suggest. Do not use wet newspaper. It will break down, make a mess and not to mention you will get that ink all over the brisket. Use foil instead. LOTS of layers of heavy duty foil. You will want to season the brisket and add some type of liquid to it as well. Since it is wrapped in foil, the only thing you will benefit from by cooking it under ground, is the heat. The smoke flavor, sage etc will not give it any flavor cause of the foil barrier.
Now, you can add sage, bay leaves etc inside of the foil. After you wrap in foil you can use wet burlap sacks on the outside and then use bailing wire to keep it in tact and to help remove it when it's done. Many people also use agave leaves or cactus leaves (pencas) as a barrier between the coals and the meat. These are loaded with water so they will keep the chamber moist as well, but remember that the foil layer keeps all that stuff out.
As for the bbq sauce, I wouldn't know how to do that unless you put everything in a pot, or Dutch Oven and then let it sit and cook in the hole as well.
It can be as easy as dig a hole and cover it, most times folks around here have lined the inside of the hole with rock or brick.
You are basically using an oven technique. I am familiar with the wild sage you are talking about, but I couldn't tell you if it's a good idea to use it one the meat itself versus just using in on the coals for the aromatic smoke.

Bob

I''m going to post the whole cook on it's own thread so I can find it later. I'll gladly answer any questions you have. The things I didn't love about the cook (although it was cool and fun to do) is that surprisingly little smoke gets on your food and the meat is essentially braised in a pan. You can do this cook in the oven with the same results (but then you don't get to tell people how badass you are because you cook food in a pit in the ground).

Another way to do brisket the old school way is to build a pit and then build a lean-to of wood or corrugated tin and cook the brisket on an old school tripod campfire rack. That is the way LBJ's chef did briskets when he was president and that is the traditional outdoor method for brisket.

The buried pit is more Mexican/S. American in roots and is definitely more about cooking covered tightly with leaves and buried and braised in liquid. Super succulent but very little smoke. i did the pit but have never tried the lean-to. I want to real bad though.

I'll dig it up and post it

It was funny if nothing else- we were hammered and all trying to build a pit and a huge fire at the beach. Food was great but the story was better

I agree with Bob about the paper. Wet burlap or foil work great.

Wild sage is pretty strong, I use it when cooking outside. IMO it doesn't take much.

You've already cooked this way so you probably know to use hard wood and get the hot coal deep enough to last through the whole cook.

Not sure if this is of any help but here are some underground cooks I've done.


Pig..

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73481


Pork Butt..

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102034


a meal...

http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2008/06/underground-pit-cooking.html


Sometimes I soak pintos overnight, put them in the pit with stock, onions, garlic, peppers, seasonings and let them cook along with the meat.


Throw a turkey in the pit too...they come out delicious!



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Here is the pig in a pit I did this summer

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2288375&posted=1#post2288375