Any Time is Grillin Time

[Unforgiven]

I think that qualifies for a good run Chief! I hope the second half proves to be as rewarding as the first.

Or cheaper to keep 'er. LOL

Seriously, Congrats Chief. Let's hope those steaks mark the beginning of another 12,000 days.

 

[The_Chief]

Thanks for the well wishes: I hope the next 12,000 days are even better! It's ironic, considering that I starved her at a steak place until she agreed to marry me... LOL now she's spoiled on two things I make that no one else can match: steak and my old school movie theater popcorn. So steak it is for Day 12,001 tomorrow!

 

[olbriar]

My brisket point was very good. By the time I trimmed the incredible amount of fat off of the flap and melted the marbling, there was not a lot of brisket left to eat. My wife and I nearly devoured it. I have no complaints from a fourteen dollar beef choice for dinner. It would have taken more sides to be beef enough for three.

 

[olbriar]

My son took the afternoon off. Before heading home from work he headed the opposite direction first to go the likely the most renowned butcher shops in these parts. He bought some stuff for himself and I had him grab a few items for me. I bought jalapeno cheese brats which are to die for. They are pretty hot but still very tasty. I don't know how they spice them but they are super good! He also got some wagyu steaks for me. They are the Denver cut that I've never cooked. According to Google:
What's a Denver cut of steak?
Denver Steak is a beef cut that comes from the chuck primal of a beef animal, just below the shoulder blade. This cut is actually boneless short rib.
The Wagyu Denver cut steaks were thirty dollars a pound. The steaks I got are around 13oz each. I plan to slow smoke them until I see 110° internal temp and then put a reverse sear on them with the Blackstone and some butter. I know what I'm cooking Sunday. Here is a pic of one of the beauties.

 

[olbriar]

The Denvers turned out fantastic. I pulled them off the smoker at 112° and tossed them into a pool of melted butter. I only seared them for three minutes a side. That's my normal Weber sear time but the Blackstone is 100° cooler than the Weber. Either a higher internal smoke temp or a longer sear time would have been perfect. The steaks were rare and not medium rare which was my target. I think it's impossible to have a bad wagyu steak. They were very good, had a great flavor, and super tender. It's out of my logical budget to eat wagyu often but everyone should treat themselves to the meat now and then.

 

[olbriar]

I made a Costco run today. We were running short of some things that Costco always sells at a savings. I also bought some fresh caught Atlantic cod and some fresh caught salmon. I bought a 6.61 pound package of 88% lean ground beef at $4.19 per pound. I vac sealed the burger into three 13oz packages for grilled burgers for the wife and I. I sealed the remaining four pounds in one pound packages. I've been paying $7.99 a pound at my local market. I also bought a package of two tri-tips that looked super good. They were priced at $7.99 a pound. I vac and froze one and the other is in the fridge for some smoke in a day or two. That was the only two beef bargains I found today.

 

[olbriar]

I'm cooking one of my tri-tips today. I've never cooked the cut before. The net suggests slow smoking up to around 130° internal temp then putting a reverse sear on the meat. I was expecting it to be more like a roast cook and had envisioned cooking it that way. I've not a problem with cooking it like a steak but thought I'd ask if anyone has some experience with this cut of meat and if smoke and sear is the best cook.

 

[olbriar]

I cooked my tri-tip the net recommended way. It was tender and juicy but it was pretty short on flavor. I expected a deeper beef taste from the cut. I'm not sure how I'll cook the one I have in the freezer. I might just crockpot the meat with some potatoes and carrots. It either needs some flavor infused or served with some sort flavor poured over it or garlic mushroom topping.
We only ate half of the tri-tip I smoked today. I'll either slice what's left thin and let it simmer in some bbq sauce for sandwiches or dice it up and make some beef n noodles.

 

[AugieTN]

Was watching an old episode of Man vs Food and Adam was in a famous BBQ place in North Caroline and the BBQ Pit Master added vinegar dipped hickory to the coals and then some oak, I've never heard of using vinegar dipped hickory for smoking.

 

[olbriar]

Was watching an old episode of Man vs Food and Adam was in a famous BBQ place in North Caroline and the BBQ Pit Master added vinegar dipped hickory to the coals and then some oak, I've never heard of using vinegar dipped hickory

I wish I could tell you all about it but... I've never heard of vinegar dipped hickory either. I would guess that the vinegar when burned would produce a more acrid smoke. Strictly a guess.

 

[olbriar]

I have a little ham that I'm smoking tomorrow. My wife will have ham and a veggie for dinner. I'm breaking out the pressure cooker and doing a big pot of Navy peas. I'll dice up some ham and toss it in the pot. I need a winter dish to go with my winter weather.

 

[olbriar]

I'm making a Costco run in a while. My freezer is close to full so it will take something enticing or at a bargain to make me a buyer. I bought a pork shoulder the other day at my local market that will be my Sunday smoke. I always have to look at the Costco meats even if I'm not in need. The wife has a list or I wouldn't be going.

 

[olbriar]

I didn't buy any meat at Costco today. I almost bought some beef ribs but they had been butchered a bit close to the bone for my liking. Items that caught my attention was choice beef ribeye whole at $12.99 a pound. The one I considered was $228.49. Cut into steaks it would have been a great buy.
They also had choice beef loin tenderloin but it was $24.99 a pound. That made the loins run around the $130-$140 range. What I really wanted and would have bought but I have a whole packer in the freezer was a prime whole brisket at only $4.99 a pound. I paid more than that for my packer and it's choice not prime. I wish I hadn't bought the one in my freezer or had already smoked it up. I wasn't in need but did notice that they had no bulk ground beef in the counter. I have plenty in the freezer but I've never seen them without a counter full of seven or so pound packages for sale. It's always fun to shop the meat counters at Costco but this time I came home without a meat purchase.

 

[olbriar]

As per usual, I changed my mind on what I'm smoking Sunday. Talking about my whole packer, I decided it was time to cook it. I pulled it from the freezer this morning to let it begin a slow thaw.
I was all wet about the price of the chunk o meat. It was on sale when I purchased it, marked down from $5.99 to $2.77 a pound. It is choice and not prime but priced right for sure. I plan to separate the flat from the point once thawed. I'll smoke them at the same time but the two cuts will cook differently and I'll treat them differently. We will eat on either the point of flat and I'll vac and seal the other cut for a couple of meals in the future. There is no way the wife and I can eat a 13 pound whole packer otherwise.

 

[Unforgiven]

As per usual, I changed my mind on what I'm smoking Sunday. Talking about my whole packer, I decided it was time to cook it. I pulled it from the freezer this morning to let it begin a slow thaw.
I was all wet about the price of the chunk o meat. It was on sale when I purchased it, marked down from $5.99 to $2.77 a pound. It is choice and not prime but priced right for sure. I plan to separate the flat from the point once thawed. I'll smoke them at the same time but the two cuts will cook differently and I'll treat them differently. We will eat on either the point of flat and I'll vac and seal the other cut for a couple of meals in the future. There is no way the wife and I can eat a 13 pound whole packer otherwise.

You could take either the point or flat and soak it for a week or two and have corned beef dinner.

 

[olbriar]

You could take either the point or flat and soak it for a week or two and have corned beef dinner.

I've never tried making my own corned beef. I think I have finally consumed all of the store bought corned briskets I bought when they were all but giving them away last summer. I tried to smoke them with less than great results and had a few in a slow cooker with cabbage. We love corned beef. I will give your suggestion serious consideration. It would be fun to try something new. Thanks!

 

[Unforgiven]

Probably takes an hour of effort on the front and back end while the brine does the work for 2 weeks. If you do it, toss a chunk of fatty trimmings with some meat in the brine so you can boil it with the vegetables.

 

[olbriar]

I've been reading different takes on brining the brisket cut. I have most of the common spices on hand. Do you bag up your brine and meat or leave it in a tray? I see a five to seven day brine, is two weeks acceptable? I don't see us wanting to revisit the brisket in a week... two weeks would be far preferred.
At $2.77 a pound, it might well be a great time to experiment.

 

[Unforgiven]

I use the traeger recipe and most spices are stuff I have around. They are basic pickling spices. I usually use a homer bucket for the larger brines (turkey or whole packer) but I've used trays and bags as well for flats or wings or drumsticks. You just want to make sure the meat is completely submersed. Most things say 5-7 days but I've never done less than 9 days, and am usually closer to or at 2 weeks. Mostly because I take the time to dunk it one weekend and cook it another weekend. The brine will prevent spoilage and it won't get any more salty with a few extra days.

Here's what I follow

Corned Beef Recipe - Traeger Grills

View the best corned beef recipe. We show you how to cook and cure corned beef with the best homemade 4-5 day brine for your St. Patrick's Day celebration. The only thing missing is the cabbage.

www.traeger.com

Make some extra potatoes and carrots as I use any leftover meat, potatoes, and carrots for corned beef hash the next morning. Cooks great on the griddle.

 

[olbriar]

I have a couple of days to make up my mind on what I'm doing with my packer. The Traeger cook looks wonderful! I hadn't considered smoking the brisket following the brining process because I didn't have much luck at smoking the store bought brined offerings. If I brine a cut of my packer I'll likely do a slow cooker and cabbage cook on it. I must admit that the picture of the Traeger cook looks fantastic!!! That is how I had pictured my store bought corned briskets.

 

[Unforgiven]

I can tell you from experience it tastes better than the picture.

FWIW, one time I brined two whole (18#) packers at the same time and simply sectioned one up into 3-4lb chunks after rinsing it, vacuum sealed them, and had better than store bought corned beef for a year, plus a whole packer for St. Patrick's day.

 

[olbriar]

We do a corned beef brisket a number of times across the year and not just St Pats day. We love the dish with cabbage or veggies. We also love Reuben sandwiches on occasion. The pre corned meat is often a cheap buy which makes it an attractive buy as well. Making my own corned beef as you suggested and vac sealing meals out of a whole packer, which also see cheap sales once in a while is way attractive to me. I've got to get into the game.

 

[Unforgiven]

Tomorrow a) I don't have baseball b) my whole family is around for dinner and c) it isn't a holiday, which is a first since about July I think.

I pulled 15lbs of wings out of the freezer. I'll section them up and put them in brine in the morning and get them on the smoker tomorrow afternoon. Once smoked then finished and crisped up in the air fryer, we'll toss them in our favorite flavor sauces and enjoy. I like Carolina Gold, Franks Buffalo, and any habanero mango personally.

If there is any kind of crappy roast on sale I'll grab that. I haven't made jerky in a couple of years and it's about time. I can smoke it for a bit on the new grill then finish with the dehydrator mode my new oven has that I haven't tried yet.

 

[olbriar]

That all sounds great my friend. I love wings and smoked and then air fried is the perfect cook. Beef jerky sounds great too.. big time. I used to make jerky all of the time until our jerky maker gave up.
It was one of those cookers that had multiple trays that sat on top of one another jerky makers. I used soy and worcestershire sauce, paprika garlic and onion powders, and black and red pepper for my seasonings. The aroma of those strips dehydrating filling the house was enough to drive one out of their mind. I'm anxious to hear how your oven product turns out. That's a very neat feature!

 

[olbriar]

I may have to give up the option to make corned beef with some of my whole packer. I can't find pink curing salt anywhere. I haven't given up but it might have to be a future cooking adventure. I can get it from Amazon and Walmart but not until the end of next week. I really don't want part of that brisket sitting in the fridge waiting or refreezing it. It was marked down for an out the door sale to cook or freeze when I bought it. I won't have much time to search tomorrow because I'm having company. I'll definitely be better prepared the next time I do a packer.