[somethingtoday]

I own several Texas BBQ restaurants. We have a pitmaster but here are the things I know:

1. Not all beef/cattle are created equally. You must start with a high quality brisket. Just because it is a prime grade brisket is not enough. We tasted brisket from many farms and we centered on Creekstone Farms.

2. Not all smokers are created equally. Test the extremes including low-slow (12-15 hours) vs fast-high (8 hours). We found offset is good for low-slow, but gas powered is better for fast-high.

3. Not so secret: you must rest the brisket for 12 hours in a warmer after it is finished cooking. This gets the fat rendered inside, so you can get those grooves / mountains and peaks within the meat. This also achieves the most tender brisket.

4. Before wrapping with butcher paper, we put beef tallow on the brisket. This creates a juicier product for us.

5. Injecting and/or putting brisket slices in broth never worked for us. Instead of tasting like juicy brisket, it tasted like "brisket and broth".

6. We trim a lot to get a more even brisket with consistent height, and use trimmings for other products. Consistent height means your flat lean side won't dry out by the time the fatty point side is cooked.

[ineedasername]

I own several Texas BBQ restaurants

You, sir, are a hero. mostly for the brisket though, not any of the other stuff. Which brings me to your point #1: You are correct, but leave off an important fact: No matter the grade or source, if properly cooked there is not such thing as a bad brisket. There are merely lower grades of amazing.

My primary complaint about brisket is that somewhere around '07/'08 people started realizing that a properly cooked brisket was the most underrated piece of meat on the market. This drove the prices form $2-$3/lb to north of $8/lb.

[schwartzworld]

Same thing happened to short rib, or flanken as my Grandma called it

[creaghpatr]

Short rib prices are out of control these days

[SaintGhurka]

And chicken wings. Once buffalo wings became popular, chicken wings went from scrap prices to premium.

[hinkley]

Gotta work on my bbq chicken thigh skills again this summer.

[ineedasername]

Chicken thighs seem like one of the only great deals left. Also corned-beef brisket around St. Patrick's day ($1.29/lb recently), large hams right after a few different holidays, and occasionally pork picnic roast, although they are harder to cook well.

[jghn]

The thing that always drove me crazy about this was that there wasn't a corresponding drop in prices for other cuts. I get the supply/demand curve driving these previously undesirable cuts up, but I would have thought it was a zero sum game.

[mensetmanusman]

Over half of Americans gained weight during the pandemic, diet is definitely not a zero sum game.

[smiley1437]

Not so much for bbq but oxtail used to be scrap meat, but the price is ridiculous now

[Wistar]

And, as a component in home-ground beef, irreplaceable due to the very high fat content.

My ground burger blend is equal amounts chuck (SRF wagyu if available), brisket (flank if I can't get brisket) and oxtail (very challenging to cut all the meat off the bone but absolutely worth the work). I use a Kitchen Aid grinder attachment and grind coarse.

Best burgers ever.

[ineedasername]

I've looked at the grinder attachment are was sure if 1) it worked very well-- mainly in terms hassle/speed 2) If it was too much of a hassle to clean between uses

[Wistar]

It does work well and it is not hard to clean. It is important to put the grinder, housing, disc and blade, in the freezer before use. Both the grinder and the meat need to be cold to prevent the fat from melting out of the meat due to the heat generated by the grinding.

I've not tried to grind more than two or three pounds at a time.

[hinkley]

Brisket is a traditional dish for a few different ethnic groups as well, isn’t it? For a long time I only heard of it in two contexts: Jewish cuisine and higher end bbq.

[Wistar]

The Texas BBQ lore I recall reading says that it was thrifty German immigrants who first came up with the low and slow method of cooking brisket in an effort to not waste an otherwise nearly inedible cut.

[matwood]

Same thing also happened to flank/skirt steak wrt to it becoming popular. I don't even buy it anymore.

[scapecast]

putting beef tallow on the butcher paper before wrapping has made the round on YouTube recently with Mad Scientist BBQ and also Harry Soo.

In the Mad Scientist BBQ, he suggest to wrap it twice and also put beef tallow into the second wrap. One wrap is to get through the stall, and then a fresh wrap for the rest. Maybe that's worth an additional list item.

For everybody who wants to get going with BBQ, watch these channels:

Mad Scientist BBQ - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCselvHbb5ah0sEqZrFa-7nA - just fantastic video production

Harry Soo - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4dtbTXdvjo272b5x_mxRBw - Harry keeps winning 1st place in all BBQ comps he participates in.

Texicana BBQ - https://www.youtube.com/user/MCglobalvision (he is Aaron Franklin's pitmaster)

[koolba]

I’m going to try #4 this weekend. From personal experience, everything is better with beef tallow.

How’d you end up on HN and/or how’d you end up in the BBQ game?

[1MachineElf]

Anecdote: Last year my girlfriend recently became obsessed with BBQ and has been smoking brisket using technique #4 for the past month. It's consistently improved the brisket every time.

[seehafer]

#4 is rumored to be one of Aaron Franklin’s secrets

[toolslive]

Yes. you make the best fries using tallow as well. That's what they (used to) do in Belgium.

[covidthrow]

McDonald's used to fry their fries in a 93% tallow oil blend until they stopped in 1990 because of hysteria over cholesterol in beef fat.

Guess nobody considered the patties were still chock full of (much more) beef fat, but oh well. (Properly deep fried fries retain only a few grams of oil vs upwards of about 500% more in a single, lean McDonald's patty.)

[samstave]

I like the cut of your Jib, and would like to subscribe to your news letter...

1. What factors to look for when seeking "high quality brisket, but also...?"

2. When to use which low /v/ high

3. warmer at what temp? Tented in foil? just an oven? open flame/coals? or special equipment?

6. What do you do with the trim?

Thanks - would love to taste yours...

[somethingtoday]

Mad Scientist BBQ from Youtube is your best bet: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCselvHbb5ah0sEqZrFa-7nA

1. High quality brisket to us is taste and tenderness. Taste is beefiness, smokiness (not too strong, but present), right amount of salt taste, and a good bark (here you will have opinions, between "soggy" bark and "crusty" bark). Tenderness is it must bend on the finger and you can eat it with just a fork.

2. For us low-slow is for offset (ie; traditional bbq pits) and fast-high is for gas powered (ie; Southern Pride Smokers). Reason is gas powered smokers create a lot of air/wind, thus drying the brisket faster than a traditional offset smoker. The verdict is that offset smokers make a better product (ie; because it's low-slow, which you can't do with gas powered smoker).

3. I believe we are warming at 160 F but don't remember.

4. We don't do tented foil, but there are lots of youtube videos claiming otherwise.

5. Flame/coals, don't know enough about this.

6. We don't have any special equipment other than really good gloves to carry hot brisket around when wrapping.

7. You can cook the trimmings separately and use them for sandwiches (since you don't need a clean looking slice) or use it in beans. You can also grind it to create products like sausages or burgers. See this video https://youtu.be/H-_ok8WGb4k?t=236, look at how thick the trimmings are.

[linsomniac]

Thanks for the pointer to Mad Scientist, I've been meaning to watch, but the only one I've seen is the unpackaging of that Franklin smoker, more of a fluff piece.

On the beans front, my official beans recipe is this whiskey bbq beans. But I like whiskey, so YMMV. https://grillinfools.com/blog/2015/06/11/my-spin-on-oklahoma...

[samstave]

Thank you.

I am full, currently - but now my mouth is watering.

[ptconroy]

A dedicated warmer makes sense for restos, but if you're a home cook, just put the butcher paper wrapped brisket in an insulated cooler and let it sit. Nothing else is required (except maybe some kitchen towels. It will stay warm for hours, improving as it rests, and it is easy to take places as well. As OP said, good gloves are worth it.

[jfrunyon]

Does "Texas BBQ restaurant" describe a BBQ restaurant which is in Texas, or a restaurant serving Texas-style BBQ? If it's the latter, definitely don't trust it ;)

[hnick]

I have little experience but on #5 I thought the consensus now was that 'juicy' is largely a matter of rendered fat, and water content doesn't really have that much to do with it.

[crysin]

May be off topic but seeing as you're here... so I just got into smoking last summer and what got me really interested in it was watching Aaron Franklin on the Chef show. I bought some of his books to kind of introduce myself to the art / science but I'm curious where would you point people who are novices at BBQ and looking to build their skills?

[tru3_power]

Check out Malcom Reed’s how to bbq right on YouTube. It’s solid.

[mylons]

Sir Malcolm is the stone cold nuts.

[lamename]

The website mentioned in the article https://amazingribs.com/ is excellent. And it will help you skip a lot of the BS/myths that people are exposed to when starting out, because Blonder and Meathead (the main host of the site) do a number of pretty well-controlled experiments to mythbust or test methods as systematically as they can.

[dlgeek]

amazingribs.com, hands down one of the best sources online.

[ryanmarsh]

I’m no pit master but I’ve put in the hours and tried every brisket technique I can find, including smoker mods.

Amazingribs is one of the worst sites for learning brisket cooks. It fools you with pseudo-science and big talking. If you want a reliable simple method that will never fail you then go with Aaron Franklin’s system.

Case in point, amazingribs recommends injecting broth.

If you want to get fancier then go ahead, but most folks won’t know the difference.

[linsomniac]

I watched this video before I knew who Aaron Franklin was, about trimming brisket. "Make it aerodynamic, anything that sticks out is just going to burn." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaMgt1Altys

[glapworth]

I would love to get started with Smoking BBQ at home and I’ve been interested for some time. What type of BBQ would be good equipment to get me up and running from a beginner level? I’m in the UK if that helps.

[SaintGhurka]

Brisket is very forgiving and you can get greatness out of a range of styles.

If you want to get started tomorrow for like 100 pounds, search youtube for clay pot smoker.

If you want to get it right the first time and you don't want to work hard, just buy a good quality electric smoker. Like the large (22 inch) Weber Smokey Mountain. The others are too small for whole briskets.

If you want to earn your stripes as a pitmaster, buy an offset smoker. They're cheap, but don't cheap out. Get a heavy one. Someone else mentioned Oklahoma Joe's - that's my smoker. Prepare to spend a lot on charcoal and wood. If you want to throw huge bbq parties this is your best option because it's big enough for multiple briskets.

A great option is a Big Green Egg or a knockoff. Expensive to buy but cheap on charcoal and wood and holds temperature all day.

Salt and pepper rub. Oak or hickory or pecan wood. Get a good grilling thermometer.

I've had Franklin's. You can make it just as good with any of the above options.

[Jenk]

Oaklahoma Joe's Highland BBQ. It's an offset smoker BBQ which can also be a grill. Got one a few weeks ago and it's incredible. Built like a tank. 3mm cold rolled steel.

I'm in the UK too.

[le-mark]

You can get really awesome pork ribs by just baking them in a plastic baking bag in the oven at 250F for a few hours then finishing them on a charcoal grill with hickory chips on the coals and brushing on sauce. I’ve been eating bbq my entire life and all these people smoking for hours and hours generally end up with nasty tasting jerky. Its not hard to get incredible ribs, the meat itself is delicious.

[ceejayoz]

Serious Eats has a recipe for sous vide brisket that basically uses this approach. https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/08/food-lab-complete-guide-...

I can vouch for it being very tasty.

[glapworth]

Thanks everyone. Great tips. I’ll have a look at the Oaklahoma :). Here’s to good BBQ

[dkdk8283]

Can you give me a reference of the temperature for point 3?

[dbt00]

Assuming your brisket is done to somewhere around 200-207F.

Rinse out a reasonably sized beer cooler with boiling hot water to warm it up, then put the wrapped brisket on a towel in there, and close it. It'll hold it's temperature and finish in there.

[Wistar]

Fantastic comment. The Creekstone Farms tip alone is gold.

Question: What temp is your warmer? Also, do you leave the brisket wrapped when it is resting in the warmer?

[somethingtoday]

I really forget the warmer temperature (i think it is 160 F) but like someone mentioned on here if you wrap it in butcher paper, then wrap it up towels, then put it in a cooler (without ice of course) then it does the job. You do this after taking it out from the smoker when it is finished.

And definitely yes, keep it wrapped at all times when warming.

[giantg2]

"... putting brisket slices in broth ..."

It's sad how many places still do this. I love brisket and this basically ruins it in my opinion.

[tbalsam]

This is really good advice. And this is just to save this comment for my future brisket-making dreams.

[twodave]

FYI if you click on the comment’s time stamp it’ll give you a “favorite” link you can click to save it. It’s a bit non obvious.

[enw]

I’m sorry this has nothing to do with your post, but what are you doing on HN?

I’m always so curious when I see the sheer diversity in backgrounds and interests on HN, especially when not directly related to tech.

[graycat]

Yes, maybe there is a lesson here for the future of the Web, Internet, and media content: Some people really like actual information instead of something extracted from the techniques of formula fiction entertainment.

That is, there is an audience, so far not very well served, for good information.

Soooo, HN can attract people who want good information even if they run BBQ restaurants and don't read about neural networks, the latest microprocessors, or the question of P versus NP. Sooo, we have some evidence that some of the audience so wants good information that they are willing to jump over a high fence into Techy-Land with issues of cache concurrency in multicore processors or distributed databases to get their information.

Part of the future of the Internet, then, is (A) generating such information and (B) helping people find from all that information what they like.

[nbar]

I’m guessing he bought BTC at $1 and has been enjoying days of hazy BBQ life since

[jfrunyon]

Just because someone owns a business in an industry does not mean they themselves work in that industry. It's quite possible that he is (or was) in the tech industry in addition to owning a restaurant...

[flobosg]

It’s probably uncommon, but hackers in the hospitality industry are not unheard of. See for example jwz and DNA Lounge.