Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

This really is a full service blog.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

You are here: Home / Food & Recipes / Cooking / The Seven Stages of Brisket

The Seven Stages of Brisket

by | 104 Comments

This post is in: , ,

Like grief, but beefier and more appetizing, there are seven stages of brisket. Also, Seven Soldiers of Victory!

  • Stage 1: In the cryovac;
  • Stage 2: Out of the cryovac, rinsed off with the hard/unrenderable fat trimmed;
  • Stage 3: Dry rubbed, wrapped in paper towels, and in the fridge forming a pellicule for 24 hours;
  • Stage 4: Wet rubbed, bedded down on and smothered in thin sliced onions, and in the oven for at least five hours at 275F;
  • Stage 5: Out of the oven snd resting;
  • Stage 6: Sliced;
  • Stage 7: IN MY BELLY!!

Here we have a Stage 4 brisket just before it went into the oven:

The Seven Stages of Brisket

This was then covered in silver foil and placed in a 275 degree Fahrenheit oven for five hours.

It has just come out and is now resting. I will slice it before I go to sleep tonight, put the slices back in the drippings, cover it, place it into the fridge, and tomorrow afternoon it will go back into a 275 degree Fahrenheit oven to bring it back up to temperature for serving.

I had wanted to do it hybrid, braised in its own juices, which is my way of doing a Jewish style brisket as I don’t like braising it in tomato sauce. But instead of done slow in the oven, I wanted to do it slow in an indirect heat with natural hardwood coals on the kettle. However, one of the people that this is being prepared for does not like anything smoked, so even though this wouldn’t be really smoked, I can’t take the risk.

Next time.

Right now the Dog Lanterns are looking at me with the “Is it ready to slice?” “Why isn’t it ready to slice?” look. They know that they will have late night noms. In fact, they’ll be Midnight Nomming!

Nomming after midnight,

Noshing till the dawn.

Snacking till the morning,

Then I’m gone, gone…

Nom Nom King Shark GIF from Nomnom GIFs

Open Thread!

And Nom Nom!!!!

Reader Interactions

104Comments

  1. 1.

    trollhattan

    Gott im Himmel, that looks amazing. 

    I’ll confess when I’ve seen an untrimmed brisket, am quite intimidated.

  3. 3.

    dmsilev

    In my neck of the woods, ‘cryovac’ means ‘cryogenic vacuum’, which generally speaking is not ideal for the texture of meat. Mostly because of the cryogenic part. Think a very very bad case of freezer burn.

  8. 8.

    The Dangerman

    Somewhere today (might have been here), I read steaks should be cooked low and slow…

    …so I googled and found a recipe where first the steak is frozen (for whatever reason) and then is seared with a blowtorch (because who doesn’t want to use a blowtorch for a steak); make sure your insurance is paid up however…

    …then cooked low and slow in the oven (seems to me this could be a sous vide kinda thing too).

    Definitely on the soon to be attempted list.

  10. 10.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mary G: Unfortunately, I don’t think it will make it there in any way, shape, or form that you’d want to eat.

  11. 11.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @The Dangerman: Michael Symon just did a reverse sear 3-inch ribeye (isn’t that a roast?) – low and slow, then he literally covered it in oil and threw it into the fire. Looked amazing when he was done…

  13. 13.

    Mary G

    Questions from someone who gave up most cooking before I could afford brisket:

    • Googling cryovac gets me storage systems to protect meat from freezer burn. Is that what you mean, or is this a step in the cooking, like sous vide?
    • Googling pellicue  gives me a thin diaphanous membrane. Does yours come from the paper towels or is it more like a crust from the dry rub?
    • What spices are in the dry/wet rubs, I am preparing a Penzey’s order
  14. 14.

    mvr

    This is a reaction to what Watergirl said about you posting doom threads, isn’t it?

  18. 18.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mary G: Cryovac is the restaurant shorthand for the thick plastic shrink wrap packaging that a brisket or large cut of meat like a steak primal (rib, strip, loin, etc) comes in. It isn’t a proper use of the term, but I learned it a long time ago when I was working in restaurants to help pay for school. And now it’s just the term I use.

    A pellicle on meat, chicken/poultry, fish, or pork is a protein buildup where the meat, chicken/poultry, fish, or pork has been cured. Either by a dry or wet rub, but always one that contains salt. My preference is always coarse ground kosher salt. Basically, it pulls moisture out of whatever it is you’ve rubbed it on and by doing so it deepens the flavor, changes the texture, and forms a surface to get a better sear or if you’re smoking smoke.

    As for dry rubs, they can be whatever you want. I tend to stick with simple: coarse ground kosher salt and freshly ground and/or cracked black pepper depending on how coarse I want it. But a lot of people get really elaborate and put onion and garlic powders in their dry rubs for meats, as well as chipotle powder or other dried chilis that have been ground into powder. It all depends on what you want to do, what you’re preparing, and how you’re preparing it. I prefer to buy good meat, preferably on a sale if I can do so, and then let the meat, chicken/poultry, fish, or pork speak for itself.

  21. 21.

    MomSense

    We grilled fresh salmon and halibut (the last of the season) tonight.  So good.

  22. 22.

    Ruckus

    @Adam L Silverman:

    There used to be a restaurant in Pasadena called Norm’s Green Lake. Was on the corner of Green and Lake, owned by a gentleman named, of course, Norm. I don’t think there was a light bulb in the place over 20w but the booths were thick red leather, candles on every table and the bar was probably 25 ft long with a mirror behind it. It was a steak and liquor place, my folks would go there once in a while. I always felt like a guy wearing a fedora and carrying a Thompson sub was going to walk in any moment. But the food, OK the steak was about 20 steps beyond magnificent. I’d bet my last dollar that it was reverse seared. You never, ever needed a knife and yes I can still taste one over 50 yrs later

    And shame of all shame there is now a bank where the restaurant was.

  23. 23.

    Mary G

    O/T and the cutesy language in these tweets can grind my teeth, but this photo is so joyful:

    ? Guess who is the most spoiled pupper, especially during weekends when dad @POTUS and mom @FLOTUS have a bit of time? Champ is! I am too, but our parents always give him extra pawttention because he’s a senior and such good boy. My brother is the best! Awooof!- Major pic.twitter.com/WiNwIPYJQI— The Oval Pawffice® ?? DOTUS Fans (@TheOvalPawffice) May 30, 2021

    Like Kamala earlier, the emotional normality of this so refreshing, and the room looks like a real home instead of an insanely glittering box. It’s also hard to say someone is too old when they can lie on the floor.

  24. 24.

    Adam L Silverman

    @mvr: No. And I know when this is normally said it means the opposite, but with no offense at all to WaterGirl, her opinion on what I do or do not post has no weight with me. Additionally, I think most people either misunderstood my point or, as what seems to often happen here, most commenters read the post they wanted to read, rather than the post I wrote. The point of the post was not “we’re fucked, there’s nothin to do”. Rather the point was to provide a detailed delineation of the problem set we’re facing, which is dire, and an analytical framework to place it in that itself provides some indications of what needs to be done to prevent the worst from happening.

  25. 25.

    The Dangerman

    3 inch ribeye (insert appropriate Homer Simpson noises here). Gluttony. I’m in.

    I almost ordered something similar an Oregon Casino one; I think it was called a Tomahawk cut. I could easily be wrong in my current state of consciousness (prescription meds, not alcohol, dammit).

    Oregon was where I was also introduced to Waygu beef. Oh my.

  26. 26.

    chopper

    @dmsilev:

    “cryovac” is a brand name for a plastic packaging used in foodservice. so due to its use it became a generic term for it. the “cryo” part was cause it was great for packaging hard frozen stuff

  27. 27.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steeplejack: The other good way to do steaks is that for steaks between about 1 and 1/2 inches and thinner, do 3 minutes on medium high heat, flip and do 3 minutes on the other side, then flip again and do 2 minutes, and then flip one last time and do 2 minutes. Remove and rest. Anything below 1 inches thick and I can’t help you. Anything over 2 inches and start adding a minute per side per flip per inch. I have yet to not get a medium rare steak with a good sear out of this. Either in a skillet or over direct heat on my kettle grill.

  29. 29.

    Kayla Rudbek

    That looks good, although I am suffering from the effects of gluttony tonight. Vegan tahini brownies are responsible; Mr. Rudbek and I ate the whole loaf between us in under 24 hours, and the middle of the loaf had a nice soft texture just like regular brownies.  Don’t ever let anyone tell you that vegan food is inherently better for you,..

  31. 31.

    Ruckus

    @Mary G:

    After the last guy, one of the best comments is that JB looks like a normal human being. He’s not pissed all the time because he’s ruined his life, he smiles because, well he doesn’t need a reason, other than being alive, with a great partner and a great dog. He looks forward to the next day, not the next dollar.

  35. 35.

    Sebastian

    Outstanding.

    5 hours are more than enough for the onions to caramelize but if you ever need to speed up the Maillard reaction, sprinkle the onions with a tiny bit of baking soda. But you probably already knew that :)

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    Mom’s ‘secret’ to Jewish brisket is to keep everything else the same but eschew the ketchup and slather it in Ocean Spray cranberry sauce instead. Probably a method she picked up in the 1950s. Not to say it isn’t yummy.

    ;)

    No more hours in the oven, no more basting chez NotMax. Instant Pot produces a killer brisket.

  43. 43.

    Adam L Silverman

    @gwangung: This is from the new, James Gunn is now running things, Suicide Squad movie. Here’s the red band trailer. Stallone is doing the voice for King Shark:

    Also, every woman I’ve ever dated has had that same look in their eyes at one time or another as Harley Quinn does at the 25 second mark in the trailer. Which, perhaps, explains why I’m still single…

  44. 44.

    Carlo

    Oooh.

    At some point this summer, I’ll try to document “The N Stages of Porchetta”, with a 60-70lb pig. Basically Italian deboned pig roast. I missed doing one in 2020.

  46. 46.

    gwangung

    @Adam L Silverman: Yeah, I knew that. It’s witty enough to be the dominant King Shark meme (wit+summer tentpole movie is pretty potent).

    But my sense of humor loves a shark biting a guy’s head off while singing (probably off key) “I’m a shark!”

  48. 48.

    Adam L Silverman

    @gwangung: I remember when he was a Green Lantern villain and was called Tiger Shark Smith!

    I am looking forward to the movie though. That and Gunpowder Milkshake both have amazing casts and look like they’re going to be a lot of fun.

  49. 49.

    Ruckus

    @Adam L Silverman:

    It’s been gone for a number of decades but yes it was always my favorite steak place. I’ve had good, even great steaks in other places, but never at that level.

  50. 50.

    Steeplejack

    Memory was jogged, and I looked it up: a Milk Street episode where they do thick steaks low and slow for 45 minutes and then sear them. Bonus: Argentine chimichurri sauce. (Video is 24:34.) Just happened to see it again a few days ago.

  51. 51.

    gwangung

    @Adam L Silverman: Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Karen Gillian? Oh, damn…..potent combination.

    (Though what does that say about me when those two movies and In the Heights are the three movies I’m loving forward to the most this summer….)

  54. 54.

    Steeplejack

    @Mary G:

    It’s also hard to say someone is too old when they can lie on the floor.

    Well, assuming they can get back up.

  55. 55.

    Stuart Frasier

    @The Dangerman: I make my steaks sous vide at 130 degrees for about an hour and a half and then use a blowtorch with a Searzall attachment.  Alternately, you can use a very hot grill or cast iron to do the final sear, but there is more chance to cook into the meat (rather than having edge-to-edge doneness with a nice sear).  The nice thing about sous vide is that you can get a consistent result without having to worry as much about the timing.

  57. 57.

    Adam L Silverman

    @gwangung: 1) Who cares, you get to enjoy what you want to enjoy. 2) You may have a bit of strange taste in movies based on those three selections.

  58. 58.

    Adam L Silverman

    @mvr: I didn’t take it as criticism. But you gave me the opening to make that clarification.

  63. 63.

    West of the Rockies

    How do you not have a wife?  You’re highly educated, fit, can cook, like four-legs…

    I’m sorry.  I just made it weird.  The brisket looks excellent.

  64. 64.

    joel hanes

    @Ruckus:

    If I were a betting man, I’d bet that the steaks in that place were dry-aged by someone who knew what they were doing.

  66. 66.

    Kattails

    @dmsilev: I was just working my way through those & came back to report, you’re way ahead of me. Galactic level trolling.

  67. 67.

    Steeplejack

    @dmsilev:
    I can’t find it now, but there was one where the person said that when he reported something to his commanding officer he was told, “You can’t handle the truth!”​

  70. 70.

    Kattails

    @TaMara (HFG): Meant to send you this link earlier, hope you notice… found on Stonekettle’s twitter, it was apparently National Biscuit Day.  This lady posted pics of the decorated biscuits she’s done so far this year… William Morris, the embroidery on Q E the first’s gown, and so on..

  76. 76.

    Adam L Silverman

    The brisket has been sliced! The dogs have nommed all the noms!

    I’m pooped!

  78. 78.

    Kattails

    @TaMara (HFG): Not sure if I’ll ever be able to keep my head up decorating another Christmas cookie, or if this is a gauntlet thrown down.  I also thought the ones based on her friend’s quilt that was made from childhood dress fabrics was wonderful. She’s got to be using every trick in the book.

  81. 81.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steeplejack (phone): It is a sad statement about humanity to state that there are billions of humans who are not as well taken care of, let alone well fed in terms of quality of food, as my dogs.

  83. 83.

    JoyceH

    @Mary G: ​
     

    It’s also hard to say someone is too old when they can lie on the floor.

    I was watching the news recently and there was Biden trotting up the steps of AF1. And I said out loud, resentfully, “Okay, now you’re just showing off!”

  84. 84.

    Kelly

    Just finished dinner a nice beef tenderloin cooked over charcoal in our Kamado Joe accompanied by some oyster mushrooms gathered from an alder log on our walk this afternoon and a salad gathered from our garden. I’m … Satiated.

  85. 85.

    jnfr

    Nearly every bit of food we buy these days comes wrapped in plastic. TOFU comes wrapped in plastic. All the fish, chicken, much of the produce even. It’s insane.

  87. 87.

    Ruckus

    @joel hanes: 
    I wouldn’t doubt it at all.

    We also used to eat at a Mexican restaurant down the street from the San Gabriel Mission, called Panchito’s which closed in 1993 as the owner and his wife were getting on in age. He passed away in Dec 2009. Absolutely the best Mexican food I’ve ever had it was amazing. My father knew their produce guy who turned him on to it, I think they were in the service together during WWII. Another place was La Villa Basque in Vernon, a town with a nighttime population of around 5000 and a daytime population of about 50,000. In the middle of this industrial town was this amazing restaurant, mostly Basque food, with some French for good measure. Amazing food and service like no were else. It’s got a new owner who has completely remodeled it inside, and an interesting note, Mad Men was filmed there, not sure of how much of it but enough to be a thing.

  88. 88.

    Mary G

    @Ruckus: Panchito’s! OMG I worked a five minute walk away from there 1984-1989. The food was scrumptious and the people so nice.

  90. 90.

    Ruckus

    @Mary G:

    Yes it was scrumptious. And about 12 other great things. The last time I ate there was around 90-92, the ex and I went to go there again and it was closed. The owners ran it like it was their home. Which considering how much time they spent there, it almost was. But the employees really seemed to enjoy working there because they were treated like family. They could have given valuable lessons in how to treat employees. The world would be a better place.

  91. 91.

    Ruckus

    @James E Powell:

    La Villa Basque was/is not the only great restaurant in LA, there are great restaurants all over. Some are better than others. Some are amazing. Another great place is Pecos Bills BBQ in Glendale on Victory. Takeout – they did/do tables outside on the sidewalk. First time I ate there was 1961, my dad had just opened his business about a block away. Last time was 5-6 yrs ago, the current owner is 3rd generation, the first time I ate there his grandfather was the owner/operator. It’s a historical landmark, they can’t change anything. The food is absolutely as good today as it was 60 yrs ago and hasn’t changed one bit, still cooked in the same brick oven.

  92. 92.

    Low Key Swagger

    @Ruckus: You ever get down to Valley Blvd back in the day and eat at ElBurrito?  It was across the street from Nam’s Chinese.  That was my parent’s place.

  94. 94.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: I tried the reverse sear method for a steak, and I haven’t cooked a steak any other way since.

    As long as you have a meat thermometer, you can’t go wrong.  It’s the perfect amount of doneness every time.

  95. 95.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie: @Mary G:

    re: the language, there’s cute, too cute, way too cute, and cutesy.  Cute is great, but the descriptions in that twitter account passed way too cute and has run over cutesy.  I guess I need to find a word for the next step in the continuum.

    I appreciate, though, that Joe gives them free rein to handle that account in whatever way they want.  Gotta respect that.

  97. 97.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: 

    Hey, for the record, I read your post and appreciated it for what it was saying. If I thought it would make any difference to the RWNJ who keeps thinking he can “engage” me in dialogue (which boils down to “agree with me that Democrats are socialist traitors! I have RESEARCH!”) I would share it with him. Maybe I still will, just with the added comment: “Dude, WE SEE YOU.”

    Yeah, and I still want some brisket. *sulk*. However, today is a neighborhood gathering, and there will be smoked meats in abundance. Not too long to wait, now…

  98. 98.

    West of the Cascades

    I have to confess to having covid19/coronavirus-update-withdrawal this morning – it drives home how absolutely essential Anne Laurie’s daily updates have been to preserving some sense of sanity and concentrating daily updates on the progress of the pandemic, the vaccines and vaccination programs, the most current science, and hope/despair in one easily-consumable morning dose that saves going down internet rabbit holes for the rest of the day. I’m more grateful than I can say for her daily updates over the past year, and in honor of her hiatus from doing them I pledge NOT to go searching willy-nilly for information on the pandemic for the next three days. Portland’s county is now 60% first-dose vaccinated, and numbers of new cases across Oregon have dropped below 10 per day again, so it does feel like the pandemic has eased here, even as much more work is needed to get vaccines into arms around the world asap.

  99. 99.

    Miss Bianca

    @dmsilev: Damn, there’s some funny shit in there. Good thing our side has all the humor, without it I think I’d go insane. Well, more insane, anyway.

  103. 103.

    Another Scott

    Another entry in the everything will kill you file, STATNews:

    Editor’s note: Originally published in 2016, this article is a timeless classic.

    There’s almost nothing better than a summer cookout. The tantalizing aroma of barbecue wafts through the air as you relax with your family and friends with a cold drink in hand.

    But all those delicious grilled meats may be harboring chemical compounds that can cause changes in DNA, possibly even increasing your risk of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.

    Related: Happy Memorial Day?! Maybe not: Here are 6 ways barbecues can do you in

    […]

    Includes 1:24 video.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  104. 104.

    Pete Mack

    Brisket is the one thing I have yet to smoke. 12 hours on a Weber kettle just is not going to happen. 5½ for back ribs is long enough.

Comments are closed.