matadorbait
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2014
- Location
- mountain...
Hi everyone,
I think I've re-invented the wheel, here, and I want to solicit a discussion to see if this is so.
I was amazed to see that the sous vide crowd are cooking brisket at very low temperatures (57C to 80C). This reminded me of a Texan (texasgrassfedbeef.com, Ted Slanker) who advised me to cook all BBQ at 80C to 80C internal, then probe until done while holding at 80C. Keller at the French Laundry is said to cook at 64C for 48 hours.
Given that the sous vide crowd are holding brisket at, say 64C (147F) for 48 hours, why can't we do the same thing in a smoker. In other words, despite the advent of hot-and-fast smoker cooking, maybe very low and slow is analogous to sous vide and opens up the idea of a 'medium brisket' which never gets above 64C/147F.
Measurements on stalling (see Blonder, GenuineIdeas.com) add more to the picture. If a smoker is held at, eg, 90C, then the stall temp may correspond to 60C or 70C, our target. So, as long as the surface of the meat is moist (because of mopping, injecting, or water from the meat itself), it will be effectively the same as sous vide. Lowering the temperature and raising the humidity will keep the wet bulb temperature the same, all the way to smoker at 64C and 100%RH.
So, why not fire up the smoker, cook for a few hours at 150C/300F until the surface of the meat is at 64C/147F, then lower the fire and try to hold the surface of the meat (using IR thermometer) at 64C for 48 hours, using either mop or water pan to keep the surface wet.Given Blonder's measurements of stall, that means running my stick burner at 190F / 90C or thereabouts, keeping the surface of the meat stalled and mopped. Got that: we stay in the stall, with mopping and water pan, for the full cook (or at least 90% of it). Two days later, we have a medium, smoker brisket ready for slicing.
Anyone ever heard of cooking in the stall to get a medium brisket? Since its done all the time with sous vide, we should be able to do much better in a smoker, right? This is cooking to probe tenderness at its most extreme.
If I'm full of crap, please let me know before I waste perfectly good weekend, 48 hours of wood, and a brisket....
thanks,
raj
ps: I'm NOT talking about a brisket in plastic--I'm only referring to sous vide in terms of temperature and time. Also, the above would apply to chuck/ribs/butt or anything we take to 190F usually.
I think I've re-invented the wheel, here, and I want to solicit a discussion to see if this is so.
I was amazed to see that the sous vide crowd are cooking brisket at very low temperatures (57C to 80C). This reminded me of a Texan (texasgrassfedbeef.com, Ted Slanker) who advised me to cook all BBQ at 80C to 80C internal, then probe until done while holding at 80C. Keller at the French Laundry is said to cook at 64C for 48 hours.
Given that the sous vide crowd are holding brisket at, say 64C (147F) for 48 hours, why can't we do the same thing in a smoker. In other words, despite the advent of hot-and-fast smoker cooking, maybe very low and slow is analogous to sous vide and opens up the idea of a 'medium brisket' which never gets above 64C/147F.
Measurements on stalling (see Blonder, GenuineIdeas.com) add more to the picture. If a smoker is held at, eg, 90C, then the stall temp may correspond to 60C or 70C, our target. So, as long as the surface of the meat is moist (because of mopping, injecting, or water from the meat itself), it will be effectively the same as sous vide. Lowering the temperature and raising the humidity will keep the wet bulb temperature the same, all the way to smoker at 64C and 100%RH.
So, why not fire up the smoker, cook for a few hours at 150C/300F until the surface of the meat is at 64C/147F, then lower the fire and try to hold the surface of the meat (using IR thermometer) at 64C for 48 hours, using either mop or water pan to keep the surface wet.Given Blonder's measurements of stall, that means running my stick burner at 190F / 90C or thereabouts, keeping the surface of the meat stalled and mopped. Got that: we stay in the stall, with mopping and water pan, for the full cook (or at least 90% of it). Two days later, we have a medium, smoker brisket ready for slicing.
Anyone ever heard of cooking in the stall to get a medium brisket? Since its done all the time with sous vide, we should be able to do much better in a smoker, right? This is cooking to probe tenderness at its most extreme.
If I'm full of crap, please let me know before I waste perfectly good weekend, 48 hours of wood, and a brisket....
thanks,
raj
ps: I'm NOT talking about a brisket in plastic--I'm only referring to sous vide in terms of temperature and time. Also, the above would apply to chuck/ribs/butt or anything we take to 190F usually.
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