Giving my Smoking Oasis a proper workout today

[Kevin James]

Decided to give my BBQ aera a workout today.



I wanted to do some brisket testing. As I mentioned in another thread, Costco is up to their old tricks so no more Prime Briskets in my neck of the woods, only Choice, and I have found their Choice to be complete and utter garbage. So went to Restaurant Depot yesterday to try one of their "Superior Angus Choice Briskets. They are a little more expensive at $4.29/LB, but I figured I would try them and see if I like them.

Picked up a nice 16.2 LB example.


Got it all trimmed up



and rubbed down with my Brisket rub


And in to the offset it went (Big Phil's Blue Smoke Smoker).



This was at the three hour mark. Not looking bad.



Got hungry and decided to make some tacos on the Blackstone for lunch with some chopped brisket (I keep a ton of it on hand in the freezer).



Then it was time to get the sausage going. I made some all beef sausage out of the brisket trim, and that's currently in the PK100 smoker for a nice ultra low temp smoke bath (it has Cure #1 in the recipe).



In a couple hours a Tri-tip will be going on for dinner. Not sure if I'm going to throw that in the Blue Smoke Smoker with the Brisket, or if I'll throw that in the Pellet Pro 2300 Verticle pellet smoker. Time will tell. Either way it will get a reverse sear job, probably on the Blackstone, or maybe directly next to the firebox on the offset. Not sure yet.

Brisket will be for dinner tomorrow and will get an overnight heated hold in the PK100 which doubles as a warming cabinet.

 

[TheHojo]

Looks great - and it looks like a nice afternoon to cook!

 

[rwalters]

Perfect way to spend a day!

 

[4ever3]

Yessssss SIR!!!

 

[Kevin James]

Thanks guys. The brisket finally finished and is now getting an overnight rest in my PK100 which doubles as an insulated holding cabinet.

The Tri-tip came out perfect, as did the sausage. I'm especially happy about the sausage as I finally feel like I've dialed in my process. Sausage making will always be a PIA, but I'm happy with my flavor profile, spice level, and best of all I'm not popping casings anymore and I've learned how to minimize air pockets.

I snapped a few pictures but still need to get them uploaded which I'll have to do later.
For now I've been summoned by my better half to hurry up and come watch TV, as we're in the middle of binge watching an older show, Lost (which I've already seen when it was on, but she never saw). She's totally hooked, and even though I already saw it, I have to admit I forgot what a great show it was lol.

I'll also post an another update after I slice in to the brisket tomorrow.

 

[larry4406]

Looks Great!


Nice outdoor cooking space filled with all the toys!

 

[ModelMaker]

Busy Boy!!!
Ed

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Good for You. You are having a super nice Day

 

[blackdogbbq21]

Everything looks great. Let us know how you like the RD brisket. Prime at coscto has been hard to find and even when they have them i feel like the quality has slipped from a few years ago. I'm always keeping my eye out to find a better source for briskets.

 

[Kevin James]

More Pictures. Finished Brisket Pics will come later tonight after I slice in to it for dinner.

Brisket 8 hours in


Brisket Boated


Tri-tip trimmed up


Tri-tip on the Blue Smoke Smoker


Tri-tip done after a reverse sear. I decided to just make use of the hot spot near the firebox for the sear. Works great.


Sausages getting some good color about 4 hours in.


Sausages done. The slightly shriveled ones in the back were the ones sacrificed for temp probing.


And last, my humble dinner plate showing the doneness on the Tri-tip and a few sausage coins (and some beans for a side).


The Tri-tip and the sausage came out great, I was very happy with both. Tri-tip is a no brainer so no surprise there, but the sausage... man... I am seriously stoked as that has been a journey figuring out how to get that right but I finally feel like I'm there, at least for this recipe. The flavor and spice level were on point (for my taste anyways, and my brother thought they were perfect as well), the color was exactly what I was looking for, and the casings had a perfect snap to them. Now it's time to dial in my Jalapeno Cheddar recipe, that should be pretty easy though as the spices will be pretty much the same just need to dial in the size and ratio's for the Jalapeno's and the cheese. The hard part is done though... learning how to properly case and link without getting blowouts, and getting the link size consistent. As Bill Dumas the Sausage sensei says... "Casey casey, linky linky"!

 

[Stingerhook]

I'd be full for a couple of day's after the plate above KJ.

 

[Phrasty]

Beautiful BBQ area, pro brisket trim, perfect smoke on it, sausages are on point and try tip is money lol

I feel like everyone has Obviously seen your smoker set up cuz no one is commenting on it but that is indeed a smoker oasis Lol :shock:

I'm loving it all!

Cheers