i have and 11lb. brisket. I will smoke it to in internal temp of 160 F. After it cools completely do you think that I can put it back in with a pan of water and steam it up to an internal of 190 F.? If I turn my machine up to it's max setting of 250? Thanks everybody. Paul Irving. Toronto
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In answer to your question: I seriously doubt it. Think of how many hours it took to get to an IT of 160. And after cooling, you want to steam heat it to 190? That could take hours and could dry it out. A better option would be to vac seal it with some juices and sous vide the brisket to your desired temp. No moisture loss but it will still take some time to get the temp to where you want it.
Yes excellent points. I am making Montreal style smoked meat. Apparently the old pros in Montreal smoke it, wrap it and leave it in the fridge for a week, and then steam it and serve it. Perhaps I was confused in thinking that they "partially" cook it up to 160 and after the week in the fridge, finish it off with steam up to 190...when in fact they smoke it up to the complete 190, in the fridge for a week, and then simply steam it up for slicing and serving. Does that sound more realistic? Thanks!
I did a quick search for what you are doing being unfamiliar with the Montreal Smoked Meat.I found these videos on YouTube. There are some others. I hope this helps. Looks like the fellow did the steaming on the stove top.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI_NIEJhcWs
Here is another done via sous vide:
I always use my sm66 to smoke my briskets to 160 deg then wrap with alum foil sealing it completely. Then place into oven set to 250 deg overnite and probe in the morning to see if tender enough. No water necessary just let juices from brisket to steam.
@oldsarge posted:I did a quick search for what you are doing being unfamiliar with the Montreal Smoked Meat.I found these videos on YouTube. There are some others. I hope this helps. Looks like the fellow did the steaming on the stove top.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI_NIEJhcWs
Here is another done via sous vide:
OK I will watch these. Thanks!
@gque posted:I always use my sm66 to smoke my briskets to 160 deg then wrap with alum foil sealing it completely. Then place into oven set to 250 deg overnite and probe in the morning to see if tender enough. No water necessary just let juices from brisket to steam.
Interesting! Thank you for this.
Whether it is brisket or butts, I Smoke to the desired internal temp and pull. Double wrap in foil, wrap in heavy towel then into a cooler till serving time anywhere from 1 to 3 or 4 hours. Always great. I will have to try the Montreal method some day. Seems interesting.
As I said earlier, I read somewhere that some Montreal deli folks put the cooked brisket in the fridge for a week!...before steaming and then slicing. A week worries me for some reason. Perhaps over night. Thanks for your advice!
If the fridge is just shy of freezing you should be ok.
Yes I suppose. A few days for sure. Thanks.
gque - I tried something like this once, but I really missed the bark on a fully done-in-the-smoker brisket. Also, the rendering of the point fat wasn't so good.
Yes, bark is not a big feature in the Montreal smoked meat process. I hope I don't have that problem with the point. If I do, I guess I could remove it and render it more on it's own and then do burnt ends. Brisket two ways!
IIRC, Montreal Smoked meat is essentially like pastrami except that it gets its own blend of spices in the rub on it when smoked. The brisket is wet cured in a brine just like corned beef. Then, it’s rinsed to remove the excess saltiness and smoked to 160-170, just past the plateau. Then, like pastrami, it’s refrigerated, then steamed before service to somewhere in the low 190s. The result is a moist, very tender brisket that is firm enough to slice, yet tender enough for the slices to be thicker (say 1/4”). That's how Ive done pastrami, and it’s similar to what.you’ll find at Katz in NY or Langer’s in LA. There’s no bark in the BBQ sense because of the steaming. AFAIK, you can steam either on the stove top or in the oven. Either way, the brisket goes onto a rack in a pan over water and is tightly sealed in with either a lid or foil. I haven’t made pastrami in a few years, but as I recall, it only takes 2-3 hours to steam it to the finish temp because it has already gone through the plateau during the smoking. Certainly not an authority, but that’s been my experience. Admittedly, I have not tried making Montreal Smoked meat itself, only pastrami.
That's exactly my method for pastrami. I use a rub of fresh-ground pepper, coriander, and mustard seed. I also cheat and use commercial corned beef.
Thanks for all the input. Based on it I am going to brine my 11 lb. brisket for three weeks. Then smoke it to 160-170 F internal. Then wrap it immediately in foil and refrigerate for a week. Then back in the smoker [no wood] and get it up to low 190s. I hope that will give it a type of "steaming" in it's own juices.
@Paul Irving posted:Thanks for all the input. Based on it I am going to brine my 11 lb. brisket for three weeks. Then smoke it to 160-170 F internal. Then wrap it immediately in foil and refrigerate for a week. Then back in the smoker [no wood] and get it up to low 190s. I hope that will give it a type of "steaming" in it's own juices.
I'm not sure if you'll get the same result putting it back into the smoker wrapped as opposed to unwrapped on a rack over water in a closed pan where the steam is heating and permeating through the meat. If you do use a pan with water to steam the brisket, start out with hot water so the steam generation will start right away.
Understood. That does make more "steam" sense. As long as I can get it up to it's 190F doneness with the rack and water pan method. Someone earlier suggested that I might not be able to. My Cookshack smoker has a max setting of 250 F. Will that generate the steam required?
It should be no problem, water boils at 212F, so 250F should be fine, just start with hot water in the pan (ideally from a kettle that just boiled on the stove).
Yes of course, me use science! Thanks for the encouragement. I can't wait to do it.
Water boils at 212 deg at sea level. The higher the altitude, the lower the temp:
