2 briskets and interesting results on the Workhorse

[jkief]

So pic is how the Workhorse was set up. Brisket in front was dry brined in salt, pepper, garlic, and a touch of MSG. Second was dry brined in Black Ops and a touch of MSG. Black ops was in rear, SPG in front and full size pan of fat rendering in pan. Smoked for 8 hours then pulled, wrapped in butcher paper and cling wrap, and held at 150 in Non-convection toaster oven. The bottom righ thermometer near firebox read about 275-300 most of the cook. Bottom left near collector plate read 200-225 most of the cook. 2 separate external probes read 225-250 most of the cook. SPG Brisket in front had really good bark but probably 30 minutes undercooked for my liking, but still tender. Black Ops brisket had a spot of the point that got crazy overcooked, so I assume it was my crappy brisket cutting skills. Overall, the brisket was a hit. I personally preferred the complex flavor of the black ops but I’m splitting hairs at that point. Not sure why the thermometer was so far off…

 

[TheHojo]

Brisket looks great - what was cookin in the covered pan ?

 

[jkief]

Brisket looks great - what was cookin in the covered pan ?

The tallow. Figured I was already cooking the brisket, no reason to heat a separate pot for the tallow. The second pic was the leftovers from today. Didn’t take any pics of the brisket yesterday.

 

[bowhnter]

Looks like yer enjoying the new smoker, brisket looks great!

 

[jzadski]

From what I see it all looks really good. Not an offset guy (yet) but, was the pan by the fire messing with the temp distribution maybe?

 

[elcapitan]

For that size smoker, and from talking to a few guys that have em, the workhorse is supposed to be pretty consistant across +/- 10 degrees...

I can tell you that not all smokers are the same and the way the smoke/heat drafts over the meat can affect the way it cooks, the bark, taste and overall look. I would rather have my smoke flow over and under my meat. Especially with my Briskets, I want that heat and smoke to flow over and under the meat and my smoker stack drafts hard which produces a bark and flavor I like.

I m a Texas guy and MOST downhome South Texas guys do not use tallow man. That is a "internet" , "boutique" "sheik" BBQ thing. If I wanted more grease flavor or apperance, I would just not trim all the fat off and leave the fat on and cook it.
In short remove the pan next time and test your temps to see how the heat is distributing in your smoker.
Now if I load my smoker (48x20), the heat distribution will change and I adjust accordingly. I bet if you removed that pan, it would have distributed differently.

Also I like to keep at least 1/4 to 1/2 layer of fat. Some guys get TOO happy with the knife and trim TOO much fat off. So when I cut my briskets, the bark is not just black, it has a sticky yellowish/tanish color with the bark. Man thats the money right there. That small layer of rendered fat and smoked seasoning is heaven bro when done properly.

This is not about you in particular, but what I am noticing is that we have guys trying to cook "competition+commercial+resturaunt+youtube+ backyard+BBQ at home.

A lot of things you see the resturaunts doing is more for convience and appearance vs. producing an overall better product.

 

[jkief]

I figured it was the pan, when I smoked the prime rib, it was dead even across the grates. I use the tallow to moisten the butcher paper for the hold. I also use seran wrap around the butcher paper as to not make a mess in my toaster oven. Been doing that for years and we like the result. Don’t plan on changing that. I keep the fat to a 1/4 inch and it was rendered perfectly. Honestly, better than any other cooker I’ve used. I use tallow to cook tortillas brown stew meat off, etc. it’s great to have on hand so I’ll keep cooking it down. Next time, I’ll probably just move it to the top rack and see. Thanks for the insights. I’m sure it’s going to take a few cooks to figure it all out, but man it’s fun running the fire and learning. Even if it was freezing outside!

 

[Fooball]

This is not about you in particular, but what I am noticing is that we have guys trying to cook "competition+commercial+resturaunt+youtube+ backyard+BBQ at home.

You know, I have 5 how-to BBQ books that I have skimmed through. I like to watch SOME YouTube BBQ videos. And....I read here.

But with all that research over the years when it comes down to smoking on smoke day, I just put temp probes in the thick meat and grate probes in the air next to most other meat pieces and let her rip.

If things get too hot or cold, I move the meat left or right/up or down 1st or 2nd shelf and/or adjust the fire in the fire box.

That's it in a nutshell. Nothing fancy or scary hard to figure out in my cook process or meat prep process. Just put some rub on and smoke it. :grin:

 

[1Gradymaci]

For that size smoker, and from talking to a few guys that have em, the workhorse is supposed to be pretty consistant across +/- 10 degrees...

I can tell you that not all smokers are the same and the way the smoke/heat drafts over the meat can affect the way it cooks, the bark, taste and overall look. I would rather have my smoke flow over and under my meat. Especially with my Briskets, I want that heat and smoke to flow over and under the meat and my smoker stack drafts hard which produces a bark and flavor I like.

I m a Texas guy and MOST downhome South Texas guys do not use tallow man. That is a "internet" , "boutique" "sheik" BBQ thing. If I wanted more grease flavor or apperance, I would just not trim all the fat off and leave the fat on and cook it.
In short remove the pan next time and test your temps to see how the heat is distributing in your smoker.
Now if I load my smoker (48x20), the heat distribution will change and I adjust accordingly. I bet if you removed that pan, it would have distributed differently.

Also I like to keep at least 1/4 to 1/2 layer of fat. Some guys get TOO happy with the knife and trim TOO much fat off. So when I cut my briskets, the bark is not just black, it has a sticky yellowish/tanish color with the bark. Man thats the money right there. That small layer of rendered fat and smoked seasoning is heaven bro when done properly.

This is not about you in particular, but what I am noticing is that we have guys trying to cook "competition+commercial+resturaunt+youtube+ backyard+BBQ at home.

A lot of things you see the resturaunts doing is more for convience and appearance vs. producing an overall better product.

Not to be honoree, but South Texas does use Tallow, in fact the Top 3 in Texas Monthly use it with a ice cream scoop.,

 

[elcapitan]

Not to be honoree, but South Texas does use Tallow, in fact the Top 3 in Texas Monthly use it with a ice cream scoop.,

If you are depending on a publication as you mentioned to determine the "top" BBQ places in Texas, let Stevie Wonder cater your next BBQ event. We all know that its poli-tricks when it comes to the list.

There are guys on the corner with a trailer and their smoker that will run circles around most on that list. Most of the real BBQ shacks/joints are not even on the list because they don't get the promotion or have a large social media following. 1 place in for example is Burn's BBq should be top 10 and they are not there. The place damn near sells out almost daily.

Another interesting fact is most on the list are not even open daily. Only 2-3 days a week. Why? Because they don't have the real customer base and also because most of their following are tourist, not the locals.

Just like I cannot tell you about Florida BBQ, and who is the best. If I wanna know I would go to that city Tampa,Miami,Jax vile , etc.. and ask the locals, the people who live there.

My family has been BBQing for well over 100 years, and traditions passed down, and if they let someone convince them that the "big secret" was to pour brisket fat/grease back on top of your brisket, man they will continue to be lost.

Reread what I said. "Convience and appearance". Jirby and others have even stated this as well. Real BBQ people know its not a "craft" its an art.

It takes time and actual smoke time, not likes or follows to learn how to BBQ.

 

[SkaterSmoker]

I figured it was the pan, when I smoked the prime rib, it was dead even across the grates.

There's a hot spot on the 1975 and it changes location depending on how far your stack damper is closed, or if wide open (see orange circles in picture below). If your stack was wide open, half of that pan was right in the hot spot location or the spot where the hot air/smoke rises to grate level, so that most likely affected airflow. I always avoid the hot spot so the airflow isn't impacted. Hopefully this is helpful. I did hours and hours of research, testing my 1975 with 6 probes and charted all the temperature data. The picture below is a summary of how the temperature and hot spot changes with different damper settings - all the fires were the same size in all three examples. I can send you all the nerdy data spreadsheets if you’re interested.

Next time you're cooking, adjust the damper, the right Tel Tru will get hotter and hotter (and further from even from the left Tel Tru) the more you close your damper. This is a result of slowing the airflow down and as a result the hot spot moves closer to the firebox. It's pretty cool to witness how fast the temperature changes in less than a minute.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

Not to be honoree, but South Texas does use Tallow, in fact the Top 3 in Texas Monthly use it with a ice cream scoop.,

Tales From the Pits podcast asked about tallow in this episode ... its the very first question, starts at one minute and 24 seconds into the episode.

Conclusion is tallow only used for cosmetic purposes if used at all. These pitmasters are from Cattleacks, Goldees, Leroy and Lewis, Truth, Evie Maes, and Zavalas.

====================================

Ep. 184 Pitmasters answer our listener’s questions

August 29, 2022

We asked our listeners what questions they’d like to ask pitmasters, and as always you came through with some good ones! We sent out questionnaires to several of the best in the barbecue world and many were kind enough to respond.

Want to know what Todd David, Lane Milne, Evan LeRoy, Leonard Botello, Arnis Robbins and Joe Zavala have to say about things like tallow, prime grade beef, reheating brisket, their favorite bites in BBQ and more? Tune in for this fun episode.




https://bryannorton.podbean.com/e/ep-184-pitmasters-answer-our-listener-s-questions/

 

[Inthewoods]

I like that cooker..
Win/lose/or tallow, I enjoy the cooker pics.

-D

 

[Splined]

There's a hot spot on the 1975 and it changes location depending on how far your stack damper is closed, or if wide open (see orange circles in picture below). If your stack was wide open, half of that pan was right in the hot spot location or the spot where the hot air/smoke rises to grate level, so that most likely affected airflow. I always avoid the hot spot so the airflow isn't impacted. Hopefully this is helpful. I did hours and hours of research testing my 1975 with 6 probes and charted all the temperature data. The picture below is a summary of how the temperature and hot spot changes with different damper settings - all the fires where the same size in all three examples. I can send you all the nerdy data spreadsheets if you’re interested.

Next time you're cooking, adjust the damper, the right Tel Tru will get hotter and hotter (and further from even from the left) the more you close your damper. This is a result of slowing the airflow down and as a result the hot spot moves closer to the firebox. It's pretty cool to witness how fast the temperature changes in less than a minute.

How open was your firebox door for this set-up? I ordered a workhorse 1975 and wanted to run a similar test myself whenever it arrives. Thanks for sharing the info!

 

[SkaterSmoker]

How open was your firebox door for this set-up? I ordered a workhorse 1975 and wanted to run a similar test myself whenever it arrives. Thanks for sharing the info!

You're welcome! It was a lot of effort but totally worth it. With the damper 2/3 closed, the firebox door is cracked about 2 inches. For the other damper settings, about 1 inch.

Once I figured this out, my food became so much better. Using the different airflow/convection/smoke to your advantage depending on the meat, smoke profile wanted, and the stage of the cook takes it to the next level.

I made a detailed video during a brisket cook that explains everything in more detail. Let me know if you have any questions. https://youtu.be/QClqddVHYNc

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Looks good to me

 

[jkief]

How open was your firebox door for this set-up? I ordered a workhorse 1975 and wanted to run a similar test myself whenever it arrives. Thanks for sharing the info!

My damper wide open and door open about an inch or so

 

[jkief]

Looks good to me

Thanks!

 

[Smoking Piney]

Brisket looks great, Jeffry! :thumb: