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View Full Version : A couple of simple questions (leftover salsa and Cabinet cooking question)


THoey1963
09-07-2016, 11:11 AM
I made some Hatch Salsa on Sunday for a potluck we had on Sunday night. It tasted great to me, but I made too much and have some left over. Can I vacuum seal and freeze some? I won't eat it all before it goes bad...

Along with the butts I made for me this weekend, I had a couple friends ask if I would do them up a brisket. I was going shopping the next day, so I picked them out and they would just pay for the meat. Went to HEB on Saturday and didn't see any Primes out, so I asked, and was told that they were out as they ground them all up for hamburger??? On Saturday of a three day weekend?

OK, no probs, Choice it is. They had a bin of labelled and stamped Choice for $2.70ish per pound. Right next to it were more briskets, grade not listed on the label, but the bags said Choice and they were only $1.87 per pound. I went through them all and the best two were just over 20 pounds each. Bigger than I wanted, but they were nice pieces of meat.

Fired up the LSG cabinet at 3:30 PM Sunday afternoon, briskets trimmed (about 10 pounds of fat total between the two briskets), rubbed, and on the smoker (top grate) at 4:15 pm. I have the Guru attached and I am looking for a long, slow cook at 225*. I throw my butts on at 1 am, check them at 3 am before I went to bed and set an alarm for 6 am. I figure at that time the butts would be ready to pan and foil. They are, but while I am in there I notice the briskets look done. I tap the point and it jiggles. I slide the grate out and push a chopstick into the point and it goes through like warm butter. Fourteen hours in and they are done cooking at 225. I would have expected closer to 16 - 18 hours at that low temp. I let them rest in the oven (off) for several hours, go to slice them and they are slightly overcooked. A little crumbly, a little dry in the flat, and a little crusty on the bottom.

So, after all that, finally, the question. Has anyone experienced faster than normal cooking in their cabinet? The Guru, the Maverick, and the gauge all said the temp was running right around 225*. I expect Primes to cook quick, but not so much for Choice.

THoey1963
09-07-2016, 04:34 PM
Almost 50 views and no suggestions?

tom b
09-07-2016, 05:21 PM
Can't help with the brisket, but I don't see why you can't freeze salsa though I have never done it

IamMadMan
09-07-2016, 05:43 PM
There are different levels of prime as well as choice, it is possible to have a choice with the same level of marbling of a lower end prime.

http://askthemeatman.com/usda_beef_quality_grades.htm

the presence of a label doesn't necessarily set one steak above the rest

I've even had some store ungraded that was close to prime. Remember grading is voluntary and requires a fee. Many smaller local butchers/meat packers will sell ungraded meats

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/how-to-read-usda-beef-steak-labels.html

Shagdog
09-07-2016, 06:43 PM
Madman beat me to it. The only thing that rates the cow is a ribeye. They look at 1 slice and slap a stamp on the whole cow. I've seen dynamite briskets that must have had mediocre ribeyes for neighbors.

Both finished the same? That leads me to think that either A. You are very consistent with your selections or B. Maybe it was cooking a little hotter. I don't know your cooker, but I think you do, and if it feels like 4 hours too soon, it probably was.

Did you wrap them before you put them in the oven? I find that even after a little rest, the wrap will put a perfectly cooked brisket over the edge to just a bit crumbly on the edges.

Probably just one of those things, and a good PSA for keeping an eye on your BBQ! Luck you checked it, or you'd be eating chopped brisket Sammys...

Springram
09-07-2016, 06:59 PM
Almost 50 views and no suggestions?

No one on this forum likes you and we could care less about your questions... :tongue:


As to the briskets, they are, as you know hard to figure. I always try to start earlier than one would think to successfully cook a brisket only to have it ready way too early or way too late. Cows are funny that way, I guess.

pjtexas1
09-07-2016, 08:30 PM
Did you trim more than normal? That makes a difference. I'm also curious about if you vented and how long. I bet next time you put a probe in a brisket and set the temp alarm.:mrgreen:

pjtexas1
09-07-2016, 09:17 PM
So here goes...
Thought 16 hours, took 14 hours. So that's 1/8th or .125 quicker. Seems within reason. I mean if I'm cooking hot and fast and it takes 5 or 7 hours instead of 6 that is expected. I start checking around 5 hours.

THoey1963
09-08-2016, 08:08 AM
Thanks y'all, especially SpringRam for making me laugh this early in the morning.

The other briskets I have done in this cabinet have been primes, and they all finished earlier than expected, but I just put it up to them being primes. Now, maybe these were Choice+ , or maybe this cabinet cooks faster than my WSM.

Again, the Guru, the Maverick, and the door therm all said I was cooking somewhere around 225*. Maybe more radiant heat? Maybe some sort of convection? I don't know, but I am going to need to adjust my times in the future.

Come to think of it. Last time I fired her up was to make SLC ribs, which used to take me about 4 hours on the WSM at 275*. When I did the bend test at 3.5 hours, the rack broke in half. I was using a new brand of ribs, extra tender, so I chalked it up to that.

Yep, definitely need to adjust my times.

aawa
09-08-2016, 08:19 AM
Do you have any hot spots in the cabinet? Where are your Guru and Maverick probes in relation to the door therm stem?

Smokin' Greene
09-08-2016, 08:24 AM
Terry,
I cook in the LSG cabinet too, and I cook brisket quiet often. I usually put my brisket on at 10 pm, set the guru, and never open the smoker until 8ish the next morning. I usually cook at 225* and more times than not on a trimmed 15+# packer (choice or better) it is ready by 8 to 10 am the next morning. so, that is approximately 12 hours. This has been very consistent for me with the LSG. I am going to mark it up as efficiency.

THoey1963
09-08-2016, 09:11 AM
Aawa, placement of the Guru and Maverick probes varies depending what I have going where on the racks. In this instance, I had the probes on the third grate from the top, somewhere around the middle of the grate. The door probe is just below the top grate, obviously all the way in the front. I think there was +\- 5 degrees difference between all the temps. She's pretty even throughout, although I have temped her lately to see how close.

Thanks Greene. I'll be checking sooner from now on...