Brisket and Salmon Again
I ran out of brisket too quickly last time… It makes a fantastic sandwich with Philly Cream Cheese (strangely enough). Then I eat a bunch of salmon on bagels, with Philly Cream Cheese… The discovery that it’s the right cheese for both sandwiches has made shopping easier.
The brisket is 15.5 lbs, $2.99 per pound. Salmon is 6 lbs, didn’t get the price before tossing the package. We have to move in July and I hope I can keep up this hobby at the next stop in life.
1700 30 Dec: Fish begins brining.
2120: Brisket is on the smoker at 225℉, vent half open, fat cap up. Next temp check should be 8 hours from now at 0520. Used 4 Tbsp salt, 4 Tbsp pepper, 2 Tbsp garlic powder on the brisket. I forgot to put water in the tray… Let’s see what happens.
0520: 163 and 162, next check 0720
0720: 176 and 173… I missed the crutch temp, but things seem to be proceeding well… I cranked up the temp to 250.
0920: 193 and 188, smelling real good now…
0940: Fish started drying.
1040: 200 and 201.
1140: 207 and 204. Close enough! Meat came off, and I cleaned up the grates to put the fish on.
1210: Fish is on at 120.
1610: Fish is done, right on time. Final temps were just above 140.
Everything was great, some of the skinny parts of the flat were dry, but not much… The bark was fantastic. Crisp, flavorful… Some parts of the flat were more like roast beef than the brisket normally is. I think I should try it unwrapped again, but maybe trim less fat on the flat and turn the temp up an hour sooner and see what changes. Right now though, wrapped seems the way to go.
The water tray was almost full with grease by the end, I think next time I’ll put water in, but don’t think it makes a difference.