Another one goes to the dark side

[joker smoker]

rolled brisket has usually been trimmed of all its fat so if I had to cook one I would probably cook it hot and fast using the following method http://www.texasbbqforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10793

[Chris__M]

Useful link, many thanks. Between here and pelletheads.com, I'm getting lots of useful information, and this is also a fun way of learning, from people who know, rather than books.

Yes, you are right about the joint being trimmed of fat - I'd originally bought the brisket to either slow cook or freeze, simply because it was reduced in price, but then thought "what the heck, it only cost me a few quid, let's learn on it". The fat issue is something I had thought of earlier, but then totally forgot today, in my excitement.

What I think (almost) saved the day was that in the last couple of hours I saw how dry it was getting, so made up a foil parcel to finish it off - containing the remains of the sauce I had been using (raspberry vinegar, worcerstershire, and olive oil) and a third of a bottle of good beer. This seemed to turn it from a complete disaster to something edible (and a gravy more flavoursome than the meat!)

[Chris__M]

Continuing with my experiments. Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day, and I have a brisket prepared to go on there and cook, while I work upstairs. But I also had a couple of nice sirloin steaks in the fridge, so I thought I would cook those this evening.

Not knowing any better, and too lazy to look up how other people cook steak on a traeger, I simply seasoned with salt and pepper. I turned the grill on high, and left it for 15 minutes, then slapped the steaks on the hot grate, and immediately turned the grill down to smoke (I did say it was an experiment!). I then left it like that while I cleaned the kitchen and did other chores. About 40 minutes later, the steak was at about 120, and I was almost ready to eat, so I opened the grill, turned the steaks over, and turned the grill on high again.

Because I wasn't absolutely sure of myself, I let the steaks go to 160, then took them off and let them rest. They turned out a perfect medium, with a nice subtle smokey taste, and extremely tender. Next time, I will take them to 150, instead, as I prefer a little pink in my meat.

All in all, a success. But what will tomorrow bring?