# Brisket's on with #2



## LarryWolfe (Jul 16, 2005)

Bryan, that open invite is still valid righ???  I'm on my way!


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 16, 2005)

Crank up the A/C and let the guru do its job! Brian, do you use your drippings for a gravy? If so, what do you do to it?


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## The Missing Link (Jul 16, 2005)

Bryan looking good keep us update with some pictures.


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 16, 2005)

Well maybe Kevin will step up and give us a good receipe for some gravy!


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## LarryWolfe (Jul 16, 2005)

Bryan that sounds awesome.  I just spent 2.5 hours weed whacking and other yardwork.  It's brutal outside.  Nice smoked brisket and cold beer, it don't get much better than that.  By the way, I'm doing your chicken tonight!


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 16, 2005)

Larry Wolfe said:
			
		

> Bryan that sounds awesome.  I just spent 2.5 hours weed whacking and other yardwork.  It's brutal outside.  Nice smoked brisket and cold beer, it don't get much better than that.  *By the way, I'm doing your chicken tonight![/*quote]
> 
> Whoa, hold up there fella! #-o


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## LarryWolfe (Jul 16, 2005)

Nick Prochilo said:
			
		

> [quote="Larry Wolfe":1xoqzmf0]Bryan that sounds awesome.  I just spent 2.5 hours weed whacking and other yardwork.  It's brutal outside.  Nice smoked brisket and cold beer, it don't get much better than that.  *By the way, I'm doing your chicken tonight![/*quote]
> 
> Whoa, hold up there fella! #-o


[/quote:1xoqzmf0]

Bad choice of words on my part.      I cooking chicken using his soon to be famous recipe.


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## LarryWolfe (Jul 16, 2005)

Susan Z said:
			
		

> "Brisket's on with #2" is actually a far worse choice of words!  Ewwwwww!
> 
> :-&


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## Shawn White (Jul 16, 2005)

=P~  Lookin good Bryan! ...


I wonder what this would be like with brisket drippings ....


Tako's Beer Gravy
for Beer Can Chicken

from Deep Fried, Live! episode 1, 
the Exotic Bird Show

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp "chicken goo" 
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup "cooking" beer
1 cup chicken broth 
salt & pepper to taste 

Beer Gravy Theory: 
A 4 lb chicken will yield about 2 Tbsp of drippings. When making a roux (French for: "cook the flour and fat for 5 minutes until the consistency becomes more liquid, implying the starch is ready to soak up liquid"), you'll want to match the quantity of fat with that of the flour (drippings aren't all fat). Each Tbsp of flour in a blond roux can thicken about 1 cup of liquid. ("Blond" means you cooked it for 5 minutes.) Cooking longer will deepen the flavor, but will result in a thinner roux. 

Once your roux is done, pour the beer into the roasting pan and scrape off the goodies sticking to it (beer and roasted goodies leftover from Tako's Beer Can Chicken). Pour this into your roux and stir. Add the chicken broth and stir until the mixture is smooth. Let it cook down and thicken, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.  
www.8Legged.com


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 16, 2005)

Okay Shawn, help out an iliterate like me. What the hell do I mix with what to make the gravy for the brisket?


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## Shawn White (Jul 16, 2005)

Nick Prochilo said:
			
		

> Okay Shawn, help out an iliterate like me. What the hell do I mix with what to make the gravy for the brisket?



Bryan is capturing the brisket drippings ... I'd dump them in to a gravy seperator to measure and control the quantity of drippings and fat that go into the gravy ... 

from there it says to use about the same amount of flour as grease when making the roux ... err on the lesser side ... you can always add a little more flour later if you need to thicken it

It was just an idea, yours actually ... maybe there is a reason I've not heard of beef beer gravy before ..  :grin:


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## K Kruger (Jul 16, 2005)

Drippings can be a little smoke-heavy tasted straight, but that  can be ameliorated with the addition of other ingredients. For a gravy for brisket I'd skip the flour and thicken with aromatics and by reduction instead. The big deal is to watch the salt levels of the ingredients prior to the reducing as you can end up with a salty finish if you don't. For liquids I'd consider beer and a blend of low-sodium chicken and beef stocks. 

While the meat cooks roast a couple heads of garlic (top 1/3 lopped off, drizzled with a little evoo, wrapped in foil) in the cooker or oven till tender (350, 50-60 min). Meanwhile, saute a couple chopped medium onions in unsalted butter (or evoo) over med-high heat till browned in spots, about 12-15 min. Add a hefty splash of whatever beer you're drinking, a large pinch of thyme, and the flesh of a chopped  peeled ripe medium tomato (remove the stem from the tomato, dip in boiling water for a few seconds, then peel off the skin; halve crosswise and gently squeeze out the juice and seeds--or use a 1/3 can of drained diced tomato). Add a pinch of rub and a t of Dijon, yellow, or brown mustard; stir; remove from heat and reserve.  Whenever the roasted garlic is finished, squeeze the heads into the pot. 


Drippings can burn during the cook sometimes (this occurs more frequently at higher temps) but some water in the drip pan will prevent that. But look at your drip pan at the end of the cook. If the drippings look good, deglaze the pan with water, scraping up and dissolving the stuck on bits from the bottom. Shoot for around 3/4 cup of drippings--add more water if needed or reduce if needed. Pour into a separator, if desired; reserve. 

[If you find the drippings unusable for whatever reason, mix 2 T unsalted butter with 3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth (or mix 3 parts low-salt chicken stock with 1 part regular beef if low-sodium beef is unavailable) and pour into the foil when you rest the brisket.]

To finish the gravy bring the onion-tomato-roasted garlic mix to a simmer. Add the 3/4 c drippings you reserved (or get it from the resting meat's foil), stir, cover and simmer about 5 min. Puree the contents of the pot in a blender, in batches if necessary, adding a splash of half-and-half or milk here and there till smooth. Return to the pot. (Force through a sieve if you want it ultra-smooth.) Reduce if needed for a thicker consistency; add beef or chicken stock, or more drippings if available, for a thinner consistency. Taste for salt and pepper. 

Okay--so that's what flew through my head just now.

For a version using a roux, I'd still saute an onion in unsalted butter or evoo till browned in spots and then add a clove or two of minced garlic with a pinch of rub and some thyme and cook it just till fragrant, another minute or so. To this I'd sprinkle in 1 T or so of flour, whisking the whole time, and cook the flour a couple minutes. Then I'd add about 1/4 c beer and 3/4 c low-sodium beef stock (or a blend of chicken and beef as noted above) and whisk well till the mix is well-blended (you could add the tomato as noted above here, if desired). I'd reserve this. When the dripping were ready (again, as noted above) I'd return the onion mix to the heat, get it simmering, then add the drippings, a few T at a time. This I'd puree in a blender with a little half-and-half or milk to smooth the flavors, return to the stove and thicken by reducing, or thin with more dripping or stock. 

Just a thought.


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 17, 2005)

Thanks for that recipe Kevin. I posted it in the sauces forum.


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## K Kruger (Jul 17, 2005)

Susan Z said:
			
		

> Kevin, what's your impression of thickening with arrowroot instead of flour?  I bought some for that purpose but (naturally, as with EVERYTHING I buy...!) I haven't tried it yet.


Like cornstarch, arrowroot is a more potent thickener than flour. Also like cornstarch, it should be mixed with cold water first (a slurry) then added to the sauce and whisked in. It works quickly and, as it heats, becomes clear. It has an advantage over cornstarch in that if you cook the sauce too long after adding the arrowroot it will not break as quickly and become thin again; cooking a cornstarch-thickened sauce too long will turn it thin again. Still though, pull the sauce off the heat as soon as it's thickened.

I use arrowroot in fruit sauces, glazes, and in many Chinese/S.E. Asian sauces (like those for stir-frys). I don't use it for gravies as it makes it very glossy. Not a quality I want in a gravy.


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## K Kruger (Jul 17, 2005)

Nick Prochilo said:
			
		

> Thanks for that recipe Kevin. I posted it in the sauces forum.


Thanks, Nick.

Btw, some horseradish would be good in a gravy for brisket. I'd put some in with or in place of the mustard and add more, if needed, when the gravy was done.


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## oompappy (Jul 17, 2005)

The idea of traditional "gravy" with the BBQ spices and smoke on brisket just doesn't sound very appealing to me. I think it's more for oven or pot roasted meats or chicken fried steak. In the South I've heard tomato sauce called spagetti gravy so I guess BBQ sauce would be the BBQ Gravy!


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 17, 2005)

Bryan S said:
			
		

> oompappy said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Ahhh, yes I am most of the time! Then another meal or 2 during the week! It adds a whole new dimension to a brisket. JMHO.


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## Shawn White (Jul 17, 2005)

well, gravy aside    ... how did the brisket come out? did ya get some pics?


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 17, 2005)

Bryan S said:
			
		

> [quote="Nick Prochilo":cjxznbjy][quote="Bryan S":cjxznbjy]
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Ahhh, yes I am most of the time! Then another meal or 2 during the week! It adds a whole new dimension to a brisket. JMHO.[/quote:cjxznbjy]
OPEN A FREAKING JAR OF GRAVY AND MICROWAVE IT.  :!:[/quote:cjxznbjy]

Thats what I do for my biscuits!


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 17, 2005)

How big was that brisket? What was the total cook time? It looks great, how about some pics of it sliced?


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 17, 2005)

Yeah, I know what you mean.


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## LarryWolfe (Jul 17, 2005)

Bryan S said:
			
		

> [quote="Shawn White":12j0agn2]well, gravy aside    ... how did the brisket come out? did ya get some pics?


Shawn, Came out great. Not much left for brisket and GRAVY later in the week.  :-(  


[/quote:12j0agn2]

Looks great Bryan, the only thing you are missing is a nice bottle of "Earthy Wine".   8-[


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## Nick Prochilo (Jul 17, 2005)

Bryan S said:
			
		

> [quote="Nick Prochilo":1r3acyh7]How big was that brisket? What was the total cook time? It looks great, how about some pics of it sliced?


It was 12.7 lbs. I seperated the flat from the point. Cook time was 12 hrs. My hands were all greasy so no pics of it sliced.  #-o  Wife was bitching about that pic i took of it finished. We're hungry why do you have to take a pic of it Blah, Blah, Blah.    They just don't get it.  :-X[/quote:1r3acyh7]

Thank god you didn't waste time making gravy!  :lmao:


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## LarryWolfe (Jul 17, 2005)

Bryan S said:
			
		

> [quote="Larry Wolfe":27yqnj7z]
> 
> Looks great Bryan, the only thing you are missing is a nice bottle of "Earthy Wine".   8-[


I think *NOT* I'd rather drink paint thinner.  =P~[/quote:27yqnj7z]

Me too, I was busting your chops!!   8-[


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