BBQ Purists HATE This Winter Brisket Hack
Cold Smoke Outside, Finish in the Oven
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Introduction
Smoky, Tender and Barky, Without Spending All Day in the Cold
What's up BBQ fans! Today we're doing an ice-cold brisket. It was 9°F (-13°C) with 40 mph winds and 60 mph gusts. A ridiculous day to barbecue, but the show must go on. This hack will annoy the purists, but it came out smoky, tender, delicious and barky, and I didn't have to spend all day outside.
The plan: start the brisket cold for a real cold smoke on the Komodo Kamado 38, then wrap it and finish it in the oven.
The Rub
Salt and pepper: 4½ tbsp of fresh cracked pepper from the Pepper Cannon (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%) at 16 mesh, plus a good amount of Season-All. I freehanded both. You go through a lot of peppercorns, so fill the Pepper Cannon up first.
You can almost never have too much pepper on a brisket. A reddish finish means not much pepper. A lot of pepper gives you that meteorite-black bark. Pepper doesn't really "attract" smoke. It adds texture, and smoke adheres to texture, especially once the surface starts to sweat.
The Trim
This is a 12 lb Costco Prime brisket.
Freeze it first. About 20 to 30 minutes in the freezer firms up the fat and makes trimming much easier.
Use scissors on the plastic, not your knives. No reason to dull them.
Pat it dry so it doesn't slide. I trim without a glove for better control.
Take out the big piece of deckle, round off the thin edges and the point, and remove the slimy fat, the gray edge meat and the vein.
Carve out the pocket of fat on the other side like a little canoe.
Aim for about ¼ inch of fat cap, or you'll have rendering issues. Cut with the grain to keep the flat flat.
Save the trimmings for grinding. Brisket burgers are delicious. On a kamado, there's not much moving air, so you don't need a perfectly aerodynamic trim like you would on an offset or pellet grill.
The Setup
The adjustable basket runs from a quarter to three-quarters, or pull the divider for a full basket. I went with almost half.
Two huge oak chunks, Bear Mountain lump, and the last of my Fogo on top
About 30 seconds with the GrillGun (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%) to light one spot, then another big oak chunk over the hot spot
Top vent 1 turn, bottom vent an eighth
Bring it up slowly. The expansion grout and 2-inch walls like gentle heat, especially in the cold.
The brisket went on indirect, off to the right, while the kamado was still coming up to temp. It was 37.6°F inside at the tip.
I used my Typhur Sync (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%) to watch the ambient and internal temps without going outside. With five sensors, you can see the spread: 37°F at the tip and 45°F near the top.
The Cook
Target: 275°F, climbing slowly from about 200°F
About 5½ hours: the grate ran closer to 285°F, so it was a bit hotter and faster. No spritzing. I wasn't going outside.
The wrap: at 180°F internal, it was down to 0°F outside. The smoke flavor was in, so I called it. I wrapped it in foil with beef tallow, including a piece on one spot that got a little hot near the wall of the kamado.
The bark was pretty decent for a kamado cook. Lesson learned: I thought the cold would burn more lump. It didn't. The Komodo Kamado is so thick that I used way too much.
The Oven Finish
Oven at 275°F until it hit about 188°F
Then down to warm, about 150°F, for a long rest: 16 hours before I filmed again
Honest miss: my oven dial isn't digital, and I bumped it a little above warm because I was heading out to dinner. It peaked at 207°F. I should have dropped the oven at 185°F, or stayed home and watched it.
The Typhur ran 27 hours on one charge. The chart also showed the oven swinging between about 170 and 194°F. Temperature swing is normal on anything you cook on. People only obsess over it on pellet grills because of the digital display.
Taste Test
I pulled it at about 165°F. I'd like 160°F for slicing, but I was short on time. Cotton gloves under nitrile gloves are handy here (the discount shows at checkout).
It looked great: good bark, great fat render, and even the pocket that can be a pain turned out well. There was a nice smoke ring and melt-in-your-mouth goodness. It was a little shreddy on the bottom from going too far, but when it tastes that good, you don't care. Jake approved, and doggy approved.
Final Thoughts
If you don't want to spend the entire day outside, smoke it until you've got good color, push it past 165 to 170°F, wrap it, and finish it in the oven. You can turn out great barbecue all year round.
Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
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