Go for the Gold California contest

I put a story about the competition on my website, http://www.mojavehotstuff.com

Tom Chilton

YOU GO TOM!!!!!I hope we can do as well in our comps here in Florida.
Peggy

Tom,
I went to your website. That was a beautiful place where the competition was held.
You were proud of your brisket! We have to special order briskets here. It will be wild to learn to cook them for me. Jack is familiar with them, so I hope he likes to teach!
A great finish for you.
Best of luck in the future.
Peggy

Hi 2greyhounds - good luck in your contests there in Florida! I entered another contest in Northern California - "The West Coast BBQ Championship" in Fairfield, CA - this last weekend. Out of 27 teams, I was third in chicken and first in pork, and third overall. I was the only FE-100 team at the event. There was another team with a Traeger, which got disabled when the sprinklers for the lawn he was on came on. It worked again in the morning.

Again, the brisket killed me. I tried to use the Wagyu brisket again, had it on smoke for 3 hours, then at 275� for 6 hours - foiled it at 180� internal temp, pulled it off the pit at 198�, then it sat in my Cambro for 1.5 hours. The thing is, again, I thought it was really good - moist, juicy, good taste, but I got low scores. Since this is two contests in a row where it's gotten bad scores, I guess maybe it's too different from what they usually get as brisket turn-ins for them to give good scores to.

Anybody have any insights into this Wagyu brisket? I can get it relatively cheap at a place in Los Angeles, and know it's good - I think maybe it's not smokey enough since it doesn't cook as long as a "regular" brisket, and it tastes like beef, not just sauce and rub. I think I'm going to have to either radically change how I'm cooking it or just give it up entirely.

Anyhow, I had a great time at the Fairfield contest and learned a lot about my (relatively) new cooker. I have it in a 6x14 utility trailer, and used it inside the trailer with a smokestack on the vent to the outside, which made for no unloading and loading of the cooker - my back is thanking me today.

I'll ask "wagyu?" brisket. Brand?

Are you using a brisket flat? Probably with those hours. I'd smoke it a lot longer on the smoke setting and see what that does to you. When you pull it off at 198 isn't it too tender to cut? If I put mine in foil and do like you did, mine fall apart.

Smokin'

Hi Smokin', "Wagyu" is the breed of beef that Kobe beef comes from. They don't call it Kobe because it's from Australia and not Japan. It has a lot of fat marbled through the meat. It cooks a lot faster than a regular brisket. It didn't fall apart - it sliced up really nice. I'll try smoking it longer like you say. It was a whole brisket, not just the flat, but it is shaped different than a regular brisket.

Hi Tom,

I had a similar experience with the only "Kobe Style" brisket I submitted. With the extra marbling throughout the brisket it didn't come out with anything near a "standard brisket's" texture. It did however tast great. I have since gone back to submitting only Choice Grade briskets.

Side note: A pair of butchers told me that Briskets aren't actually graded and that looking for Choice Grade was a waste of time. They suggested going after Angus Certified meat.

Thank you RH. Your explanation has certainly help me to cut thru some of the bull that is being thrown around out here.