Mama's Boys Talkin' Cookin'

Fair.

 

Pork is fine, but brikset may be the perfect food. My 9 year old can smoke pork.

I’ve smoked 50+ briskets, and am still learning variations on how to do it well.

Brisket is both so hard and satisfying to do because it’s a hard, chewy and an entirely terrible piece of meat, and which was so poorly thought of that it used to be just scrapped.

It’s full of collagen, and which makes it entirely too tough to chew - except when it’s between 187 - 203(ish). At that temp, the collagen “melts” (releases, loosens) and allows the sizable fat content to drop down and fill in every pore of the brisket. Anything above that and it can evaporate / burn the fat, and it taints the whole brisket, making it bitter and terrible, again.

I routinely smoke mine for 18+ hours 180° for 14-16 hours and 195ish° for 2-4 final hours, either in an Egg (home) or via an electric smoker when at the lake. Once done, you always wrap the meat and let it settle / reabsorb the moisture and fat for 30 minutes or so after taking it out of smoker.

I’m damned sure no expert, but it’s better than any brisket I’ve ever bought anywhere in Knoxville (haven’t tried Sweet P’s, but now intend to).

Finally, as to the ease of pork vs brisket, I’ve smoked many pigs - sucklings to hogs, on pull behind smokers and on a rotisserie over an open pit - and I’m still 1000x more cautious with a brisket than any pig I’ve ever done.

Pork is fine, but it takes next to nothing to get it right, and that’s why it’s so common, and brisket isn’t.

Just my $.02

 

I don't think I've ever had smoked brisket. When I eat bbq/smoked meat it's usually pulled pork or chicken. I prefer chicken but I seem to be a weirdo on that one.

Also love me some smoked Turkey on thanksgiving

 

I feel like this is a mic drop, good post.

 

Anybody talking shit about brisket hasn't had good brisket. I'm sure of it.

 

I think my preference may be somewhat tainted by the fact that I don’t prefer white meat - chicken, pork, etc. I can eat it, and some is quite good, but it’s just not my preference.

And I love smoked turkey, too...but started deep frying them about a decade ago, and that’s my favorite way to eat it now, even more than smoking. Highly recommend deep frying a turkey to anyone.

 

I'm the complete opposite, I love chicken in basically all forms and prefer it to red meat. Turkey is excellent both smoked and fried, but I prefer smoked foods in general to fried. Not turning it down on thanksgiving in either form though.

 

WTF

 

Deep frying Turkey is the only way to go IMO JMO FWIW just my $0.2 IYKWIM

 

Trash can turkey is the best.


I think chicken is about the worst meat to smoke.

Chicken is made to be cooked at a high temperature to make the skin crispy. Low and slow just makes the skin rubbery.

I load up my Webber smoker with as much charcoal as it will hold and get it as hot as I can when I do chicken with wood in it just for a smokey taste added.

 

I’m going to assume he meant fried chicken, in which case I’d be fine if I could only eat one or the other for the rest of my life. No other prepared way stacks up to red meat.

 

Good fried chicken is tough to beat.

 

Champy's reigns supreme

 

Forgot to say, you salt brine them first.

 

You do and you'll clean it up

 

Well said

 

I get requests every year for smoked turkey on Christmas and Thanksgiving.

 

Do a turkey like this and you’ll never do it any other way again....

 

Fried chicken is tops, but I'm not turning down a solid steak or any hamburger in existence. I like red meat well enough, but I could eat chicken/turkey for every meal and never get tired of it.

 

I have found that you can always trust a fat guy on what tastes good.