1st Brisket on the # 2 tomorrow

[DivotMaker]

Greg,

To have a better understanding of the different brining processes, read this (if you haven't):

Brines 101

What I mean by "controlling the salt" is not that you aren't measuring it for your brine, but that you can't absolutely control the absorption rate, unless you use an equilibrium brine.  Walt uses an equilibrium brine in his famous brined/injected recipe.  You are using a gradient brine, which relies on time to control the absorption.  It's not precise, and there's a lot of "black magic" in our gradient brine process.  I gradient brine my butts and briskets, more for simplicity than anything else.  But, I've also learned pretty good estimations of time.  I use equilibrium brining for things like beef jerky, where I want very precise results every time, with no guess work.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread into a discussion on brining!  But, since you asked...

[gregbooras]

Greg,

To have a better understanding of the different brining processes, read this (if you haven't):

Brines 101

What I mean by "controlling the salt" is not that you aren't measuring it for your brine, but that you can't absolutely control the absorption rate, unless you use an equilibrium brine.  Walt uses an equilibrium brine in his famous brined/injected recipe.  You are using a gradient brine, which relies on time to control the absorption.  It's not precise, and there's a lot of "black magic" in our gradient brine process.  I gradient brine my butts and briskets, more for simplicity than anything else.  But, I've also learned pretty good estimations of time.  I use equilibrium brining for things like beef jerky, where I want very precise results every time, with no guess work.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread into a discussion on brining!  But, since you asked...

Hey Tony,

No worries, I post here to exchange ideas, recipes and hopefully gain some knowledge that would take years on my own. My goal is to also give back with some of the things I have learned over the years.

Thanks for the link I will take a look tomorrow and see what I can pick up.

Most important since this is not a competition smoke, the brisket really tasted good. The bark was good, it was tender and the salt level was spot on. Overall I would do this over and over again. The smoke ring..... well we both know this has nothing to do with the end result, but wow it was way too deep, but looked cool.

Thanks Greg

[Barrel99]

Yay Greg! It looks great. Glad it tastes just as great. Brining and injecting is definitely a step up with smoking. It takes a little more understanding of the process, but ultimately gives fantastic results. Nice job!

[gregbooras]

Greg,

To have a better understanding of the different brining processes, read this (if you haven't):

Brines 101

What I mean by "controlling the salt" is not that you aren't measuring it for your brine, but that you can't absolutely control the absorption rate, unless you use an equilibrium brine.  Walt uses an equilibrium brine in his famous brined/injected recipe.  You are using a gradient brine, which relies on time to control the absorption.  It's not precise, and there's a lot of "black magic" in our gradient brine process.  I gradient brine my butts and briskets, more for simplicity than anything else.  But, I've also learned pretty good estimations of time.  I use equilibrium brining for things like beef jerky, where I want very precise results every time, with no guess work.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread into a discussion on brining!  But, since you asked...

Hey Tony,

I watched the videos on brining and while a bit dry, I did pick up some really good points.

While I don't use cola in a brine it was good to know that mixing curing salt with cola could form a lethal compound.

Thanks for saving.

Greg

[DivotMaker]

Yeah, the cola and cure was kind of off the wall - I actually forgot about that part!  The main thing, to me, was learning a good understanding of the equilibrium brining technique.  Using Martin's (Digging Dog Farm) calculator, it's crazy simple.  It doesn't matter about time, either.  If I'm brining jerky, I can leave it in for several days, if needed, and it will never get any saltier than it is at the point the brine penetrates all of the meat!  That's what I really like....time not a factor, and consistency/control.