Brisket, how many days in the bag?

[Barry]

Four more briskets! Hope they all were very tasty. It would be an interesting experiment to dry age one. Something to think about.

[Scott Mark]

I’ve got half a brisket in a drybag now. Even looking at it, I can’t tell you if it’s a “point” cut or a “flat” cut. It went in January 15.

I’m subscribing to the meat-industry literature that says “30 days is the peak. Not much good happens after 30 days.”

I’d really like to post some happy results to the group, but I don’t think that’s going to happen this time. The brisket is about 3″ thick, and after trim — I don’t expect great results in terms of value, but I hope to learn something about aged brisket. Thing is — it’s February. Slow-smoking a brisket doesn’t seem likely. Maybe I should roast it in a 225 degree oven for a while.

And I finished processing a strip loin today. But that will be a different post.

[Barry]

Hello, Toasty! Please let know how the brisket turns out. From what I’m reading about dry aging, one could probably have a differe t flavor. If you plan to roast in the oven, you might want to think about adding liquid smoke to the marinade. Have fun!

[Ron Pratt]

toasty wrote:

quote :

… Thing is — it’s February. Slow-smoking a brisket doesn’t seem likely. Maybe I should roast it in a 225 degree oven for a while.

.

toasty, you need to open that musty coin purse of yours and buy a BGE! It scoffs at cold weather! One time I egged it was a minus -14° and that wasn’t wind chill!

[Scott Mark]

aiki wrote:

quote :

Hello, Toasty! Please let know how the brisket turns out. From what I’m reading about dry aging, one could probably have a differe t flavor. If you plan to roast in the oven, you might want to think about adding liquid smoke to the marinade. Have fun!

I’m open to suggestions. I’ve seen recipes for brisket in the crock pot, in the oven, in the smoker, etc. I’m really not sure what to do with this thing (and I’ve got about a week to decide).

And — there is the sous vide. Sous vide seems to be bad at getting rid of the fat (ingesting fat seems to have the double whammy of making one fat, and making one flatulent – yecch) but sous vide seems to be great at retaining moisture and “juiciness”, whether that be from water or from fat.

[Barry]

If you have a week to go, why don’t you consider an inexpensive electric smoker to use? Definitely, ceramic such as BGE or Primo IMHO imparts more flavor and moisture (using these for 12 years).

[Scott Mark]

RRP wrote:

quote :

toasty wrote:

quote :

… Thing is — it’s February. Slow-smoking a brisket doesn’t seem likely. Maybe I should roast it in a 225 degree oven for a while.

.

toasty, you need to open that musty coin purse of yours and buy a BGE! It scoffs at cold weather! One time I egged it was a minus -14° and that wasn’t wind chill!

I don’t wish to start an argument – but what can a BGE do that a Weber can’t? I can get a Weber VERY hot. Or I can keep a Weber at 220 for about as long as I like. I admit that I’m quite tempted by the “damper control” systems that eliminate the watching, but I don’t see that as a Weber -vs- BGE issue.

When I was a little younger, I had this semi-romantic fantasy of having a Saturday free and sitting on the patio tending a smoker and a beer, and having company for dinner. For good or bad, my life didn’t work out that way, and I ended up trying to keep a smoker “in the zone” while doing all sorts of other things on a Saturday. The dream didn’t work out, and I had this (fairly expensive) smoker that didn’t really work well on its own.

Through the precise control of the Sous Vide water ovens, I’m starting to lean toward the automated and controlled smoker solution. For a while I was thinking of the Bradley Digital Smoker, but customer feedback indicated that I’d be unhappy with it.

As for opening my musty coin purse – I admit that it often seems to me that the rest of you have a bigger budget than I have. I don’t wish to compete – I just wish to do what I can with what I have. I made a decision that I’m going to dry-age my steaks now. And… I think I made one mistake in that area. In terms of yield per dollar – I’m almost convinced (two or three experiments left to finish) that, aged, dollar-wise the sirloin is the best value. ribeye has a huge amount of fat. strip loin has less. But (again – some experiments are unfinished) it seems that sirloin has less fat to trim, and costs less per pound. And, after aging, it’s got as much or more flavor, and as good a texture.

The bad news being that there isn’t a drybag that’s suited for a sirloin. I used a “brisket” bag and wasted half of it. A short loin bag isn’t the right shape. But that’s the current situation. I think that if enough of us tried the sirloin, we might agree that it’s the best sub-primal for the dollar, and I think that UMAi would consider a sized bag for it.

There I go — two or three different topics in a single post. Sorry for that.

[Scott Mark]

aiki wrote:

quote :

If you have a week to go, why don’t you consider an inexpensive electric smoker to use? Definitely, ceramic such as BGE or Primo IMHO imparts more flavor and moisture (using these for 12 years).

That’s not a bad idea. As I mentioned a bit ago, I’m moving away from the romanticism of human-controlled smokers into the science and convenience of computer-controlled smokers.

I’ve got a gas-powered smoker. And a true Texas smoker. I think the gas-powered is more reliable, and the Texas is more showy. When I think of supper, I don’t think as much about showy.

I’m going to push you a bit — why would ceramic impart more flavor and moisture than a cheap Weber (or a cheapo gas smoker — I use propane for heat, and sawdust for smoke, and I can boil as much water as anybody for moisture.)

Let me re-iterate: I’m not interested in the argument. I’m interested in finding the most consistent and reliable technique for good food. Granted, my crazy brother likes a whole lot more “burned” on his steak than I do – folks differ. But control means that I get what I want, and he gets what he wants. That’s the thing I seek.

[Barry]

Saturday’s just set aside for cooking! That would be nice!
Your Weber would work, and I am not trying to push anyone to go ceramic.
Regarding the Bradley, it is a nice smoker with some differences. It can be used to cold smoke things like cheese. I have the older analog version and had to add an external controller to keep a precise temperature. One drawback to the Bradley is that it won’t heat efficiently in really cold windy situations as experienced here in Texas on Christmas Eve two years ago (the kitchen oven element happened to say “silent night” at that time also). The BGE saved Christmas dinner!
Other than that, I give the Bradley a high vote of confidence.
This is a great group!

[Barry]

The design of the BGE and Primo allow the moisture to stay in the chamber and meat. Don’t ask me how, so I’ll tell you no lies!
When we first looked at the BGE, the salesman said that I wouldn’t need any other cooker. He was right, but I cheated and got the Bradley!

As far as control on a ceramic, I use a BBQ Guru that will control the chamber temp and monitor food temp. Plenty of gadgets to make smoking more fun and time for another beer!

[Scott Mark]

aiki wrote:

quote :

Saturday’s just set aside for cooking! That would be nice!
Your Weber would work, and I am not trying to push anyone to go ceramic.
Regarding the Bradley, it is a nice smoker with some differences. It can be used to cold smoke things like cheese. I have the older analog version and had to add an external controller to keep a precise temperature. One drawback to the Bradley is that it won’t heat efficiently in really cold windy situations as experienced here in Texas on Christmas Eve two years ago (the kitchen oven element happened to say “silent night” at that time also). The BGE saved Christmas dinner!
Other than that, I give the Bradley a high vote of confidence.
This is a great group!

Saturday’s just set aside for cooking — it really would be nice.

I admit – as a kid things seemed so much simpler. My parents never seemed to have anything to do on the weekend except for dinner, and maybe they went somewhere for dinner. But that was it.

I thought things might be the same for me, and I’d get a smoker and sit outside and do absolutely nothing of interest except keep the temperature between 200 and 250.

Didn’t work out that way. Life’s a little busier.

And, in some ways, a little better. Busy life means that I can afford an office-fridge for aging beef. I’m sure I’ll eat beef (think pot-roast) that hasn’t been aged. But I don’t plan to cook a steak at my house that hasn’t been aged.

[Barry]

Amen to that. We are getting a jump on dry aged–bought two ribeyes to have tonight. The bags and sealer should be here next week.

Enjoy the day!

[Scott Mark]

aiki wrote:

quote :

Amen to that. We are getting a jump on dry aged–bought two ribeyes to have tonight. The bags and sealer should be here next week.

Enjoy the day!

A CostCo has opened “nearish” us. My understanding is that this will be an opportunity for prime beef. But it’s still pretty far away – not sure if it’ll be worth the membership price.

As for the ribeye — very best wishes.Ribeye has until now always been my favorite steak. But, with dry-aging, I’m now seriously thinking that sirloin is as tender, more flavorful, and hugely less fat-wasteful. And it costs less per pound. I think it’s worth your time and money to try it.

Whoa — I just re-read your post. When you say you bought two ribeyes, do you mean that you bought two steaks? Or that you bought two 14-lb ribeye sub-primals?

[Barry]

Good for having an access to Costco. They sell sub primal sirloin that has plenty of fat. We will probably start with that.
We bought 2 steaks. I want to work through the sealing procedures before buying the whole roast. It’s a taste of the good things to come.
This board is great–so many good people with good tips!

[Anonymous]

Good luck with your new Costco. I hope they will carry the prime grade beef for you. Not all Costco’s are the same. Mine doesn’t carry it. I get prime grade meat from a local butcher shop.

There are five Costco stores within 12 miles of me. The one I go to is 3 miles away. It is the biggest and busiest Costco in my area. There will usually (70% of the time) be prime grade whole tenderloin available, but that is a cut I’m not interested in dry aging. All other beef they sell is choice grade. A couple times a year around major holidays they will get some prime grade ribeye or NY strip loin in.

I just got a Sam’s Club membership, so I haven’t figured out what grades of meat they are carrying. Hopefully I’ll be able to find some prime grade beef. The three inch thick Angus brisket flat I got there a few weeks ago made an awesome pastrami.

[Author]

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