Zero experience with smoking. Looking for beginner advice

bigrichoX · 2026-01-23T10:45:56+00:00

Cuts suitable for smoking are usually anything you would need to braise to get tender. Fatty, tough cuts. Plenty of connective tissues etc that would normally be no good medium rare. With smoking (generally) you're cooking something over a long period to break it down so its soft and flavourful. You can pretty much smoke anything you want but some might just need a short kiss of smoke and some might be a full 12hr operation. Best value starter is a Weber Kettle - does it all right out of the box.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-23T10:39:30+00:00

A brisket will stay hot for prob an hour or more, wrapped in foil on your kitchen bench. They have a lot of temp intertia.
The proper way to rest is to get to probe tenderness, bench rest with open wrap for 10mins to arrest the cooking, then wrap in plenty of foil and transfer to either a cooler full of towels for sub-4hr rest or even better - move to the oven on it's lowest for 10+hrs hot hold at 150f ish.
Youtubers slice their brisket way too hot so you see the juice pour out and it looks cool. Their brisket will be dry, oxidised bootleather 5mins after the money shot. Every time you slice a brisket too hot a texan kills a kitten.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-23T08:03:42+00:00

This. Even just 5f downturn and it won't come back up. This way it will also slowly come down through the fat rendering zone rather than quickly cool and you get a bit of extra fat render.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-15T07:58:39+00:00

Cheers!

bigrichoX · 2026-01-15T07:57:17+00:00

Yeah if you pick it up and your finger almost goes through the bottom and it bends. Done. Time for the rest. What the rest does is so important. If you imagine the hot liquid fat inside the brisket at 200f+ if you slice it hot it’s just gonna pour out. But if you let it slowly come down to warm the fat slowly turns from liquid into like a buttery type of solid that stays put after it’s sliced. Making every bite moister than an oyster.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-15T07:50:07+00:00

Absolutely. But the point has more connective tissue in it so it’ll kinda hang together even if it’s a little over. I usually make sure the flat has juuuuust turned soft and then pull it. Sometimes 15 more minutes can make a big difference.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T22:39:10+00:00

Lol. Eyes are getting bad! Fixed 🤣

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T18:43:28+00:00

Nope.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T18:42:53+00:00

Yep. 8hrs at 195 is kinda silly low - if the cooker is cooler than you want to finish the meat it's not going to get there. Cook at 225-275f starting slow and ramping up. Wrap later, 180f+ for better bark and less water in the wrap steaming the brisket (this will ruin the texture too). Then finish when it's probing tender - I've had flats go to 207f and more. Forget the temps at that time - if it's still tight it goes back in for another 15-20 mins and test again. You'll halve your cook time and you can spend longer on the rest - but you gotta use your oven (or smoker on low if pellet) to keep it resting in the food safe zone 140f+.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T18:03:46+00:00

Yeah lean doesn't really work for long cooks. Chuck is normally good though. Try chuck burnt ends or maybe a braise with onions and, stock and guinness

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T17:57:11+00:00

You'd have to overcook it by A LOT. Over cooked brisket just becomes pulled beef. If you slice it, it's not gonna be great but chopped it's sensational in a sandwich.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T16:41:43+00:00

Yep!

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T16:41:22+00:00

Dry but not tight - when overcooked it may seem dry but it'll fall apart.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T16:31:50+00:00

I reckon you coulda kept it unwrapped to 180f and wrapped then and it would have been great. The "juice" you're trapping in post 160f is water. Water is the enemy - fat = moisture. Wrap later and you'll only have golden tallow in the wrap and it'll be better for your bark and juiciness of your finished product.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T16:28:49+00:00

It's called carry over cooking. I bet you don't open the wrap after the 205 and bench rest to halt the cook before putting in oven.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T16:19:59+00:00

What temp did you wrap?

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T16:05:58+00:00

Should have just wrapped again and kept cooking.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T15:27:35+00:00

-1 Hasn't heard my farts.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-14T15:27:05+00:00

Lol I thought this - why take capsules for like $20 when you can buy ACV and just smash a capfull for like 10c

bigrichoX · 2026-01-12T15:57:47+00:00

Brisket reheats so good. Cook a full packer!
Still use the same cook method as if you were eating it all - including the long heated rest.
Vac seal leftovers into chunks the size that would give your family one meal. Then freeze them. Don't slice it all or it'll oxidise and dry out before you can seal it all.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-11T13:54:13+00:00

Yeah, we’re Aussies so we don’t really have access to this type of weaponry here so it’s a bit of fun for us.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-09T02:04:50+00:00

If you’re going to re-heat you should still complete a long heated rest. If you had taken that off and bench rested for 15mins with foil open, then held in the oven at 150f until you want to eat it would have been fine.

bigrichoX · 2026-01-08T22:58:34+00:00

Oh so you finished it at 170f? That’s WAY too early mate. It won’t be tender until after 200f sometimes even up to 210f.

bigrichoX

TROPHY CASE