I tested these COMPETITION BRISKET methods and THIS ONE is the BEST!

Рет қаралды 34,682

3 ай бұрын

Get Smoke Trails BBQ Brisket Rub here! www.amazon.com/Smoke-Trails-B...
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Should you cook your brisket whole or separate the point and the flat in a BBQ competition? Let's find out!
Links in this video:
Whole Brisket Methods:
Myron Mixon Brisket Videos cited in this video:
- • Myron Mixon's Hot and ...
- • Myron Mixon's Champion...
*Note: Tuffy Stone also appears to use a similar method in his book "Cool Smoke" but he removes the bottom of the flat below the point in the book. Harry Soo also appears to use a similar "whole brisket method" but partially detaches the point and flat to get more bark.
Separating point from flat methods:
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Пікірлер: 127

@AlaskaBrisketCo 3 ай бұрын

When Steve drops a video the procedure is simple: Click on video, like said video, and enjoy. 🤘

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Thanks man!

@kansaswildcat 3 ай бұрын

I hate to be that guy, but you are a technical guy and I truly appreciate that about you so here I go. "Au Jus" means "with juice" so when you say "I would sauce them with a little bit of au jus and some sauce", you are saying "I would sauce them up with a little bit of WITH JUICE and some sauce." Au jus = with juice, jus = juice. There I said it. I love your videos and have gleaned so much knowledge from your quest to master the brisket. You have completely changed my philosophy and I have adopted your "resting" method at 150 F for 18-24 hours. It has elevated my ability to produce quality product consistently, which was always a huge variable in the past. Thank you ever so kindly for your efforts.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Haha! Yes I am aware of the distinction. It's just easier for people to understand what I mean when I say au jus.

@reelsk376 3 ай бұрын

Great video. Myron is the man. His methods are very precise. The closer you get to following them exactly, the better the results.

@billbryant1288 3 ай бұрын

Competition BBQ sounds like a race car competition that gives awards for best paint job, most horsepower, and coolest looking wheels, but doesn’t actually give a trophy to the car that wins the race.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

It's not as crazy as it's made out to be. If it's really good bbq it wins. The best bbq ive eaten has been at competitions. But there's also alot of not so good bbq at competitions.

@billbryant1288 3 ай бұрын

Fair enough. Oh, and for what it’s worth the best barbecue I’ve ever had was at a bull auction in West Texas.

@sevensickstrings 3 ай бұрын

@SmokeTrailsBBQ I see competition BBQ not so much as a competition for the best end result, but more of a competition for how proficiently the cook hits certain marks. As far as a pure "how good is the food," I think whole hog has the most connection to "real world" cooking. The typical competition brisket only JUST resembles what we're making out back. And don't even get me started on the weird trimming they do in SCA. Having said all that, I DO think high scores in competition brisket are a solid representation of a pitmaster's ability. If you can cook a great comp brisket, you're probably going to have a solid cook out back, whereas the reverse is not necessarily the case.

@notaliberalfromcali6245 3 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ Not true... comp barbq is subjective to the judges. The best doesn't always win.

@crushingbelial 3 ай бұрын

Pretty weak analogy but in the spirit of the post how else do you expect bbq to be judged

@dannygoldman8216 3 ай бұрын

BBQ Pitmasters is what got me into BBQ. I would say following their methods, my ribs and pulled pork came out great. But their brisket methods always left me disappointed and frustrated with the results. To the contrary when I follow your methods and that of Mad Scientist and Chudd’s the results are phenomenal, repeatable and it’s consistently amazing. Brisket on par with Texas’ best. Kudos to you and as for Myron Mixon well… my dogs seemed to enjoy his brisket and I enjoyed the impromptu pizza nights.

@akonesky7171 2 ай бұрын

Great video as always Steve!

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 2 ай бұрын

Cheers bud!

@timr0by 3 ай бұрын

Competition BBQ sounds like it might be good to look at but disappointing to eat.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

When it's good it's really good. When it's not it's not

@travis759 2 ай бұрын

Great video! Thanks for giving us an inside look at the competitions. What make and model holding cabinet do you use? Thanks

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 2 ай бұрын

Winston cvap

@davidvinson4681 3 ай бұрын

Competition cooking is definitely not for too much waste, definitely not profitable in the restaurant business. I’d rather have satisfied customers than satisfied judges are, but this was a very good video you explain it very well.

@Randel1966 3 ай бұрын

Myron knows his Q. Great video. Thank you! Good luck at MM. 🍻

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

He certainly does!

@BrightBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Nice video, I'll see you at Memphis in May, I'm your neighbor there. Let me know if you need anything before you the event.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Nice! See you there man! So pumped!

@crushingbelial 3 ай бұрын

Enjoyed the content. Enjoyed the hint of Bluey shirt more.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

My son loves bluey

@smokingfinns2681 Ай бұрын

We've had good results with separating before cooking. Cooking HnF with (usually) drums, 300-325F naked until color, then wrap with some salty stuff and cook until tender. Years 2022-2024 in KCBS: 1st place, 2nd place, 1st place, 2nd place, 2nd place. Most important thing: get good meat, our results skyrocketed after we got a good supply of handpicked Prime briskets. We've beaten SRF Golds in at least four comps with those, we don't like spending too much money if we don't have to 😁 Don't get me wrong, I love SRF Golds, I just think that handpicking is the most important thing. We also got bored of sometimes having a bland tasting brisket even though we thought me cooked it right, so we upped up the saltiness quite a bit.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ Ай бұрын

Totally agree meat quality is huge. Hot and fast on drums is also a different ball game than my low and slow cooks on offsets. Drums have higher humidity, less airflow, different heat flow etc.

@smokingfinns2681 Ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ Yeah every cooker is different. We've (had to) compete with most of them, since we have to fly in to most comps and use whatever we can beg from others. I'd say HnF wins more than LnS these days, I've heard that many successful Jambo/other offsett cooks start their brisket cooks at 450 ish to try to get that roasted drum flavor. We've tried that with a drum, burned the sh*t out of our brisket, turned in only six burnt ends that were the only things not really burnt and scored a 179.44 🤣 I don't recommend doing that, though, even we've never scored that well after or before that.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ Ай бұрын

@@smokingfinns2681 haha!

@andrewpope204 3 ай бұрын

We use a brisket caddy that helps with keeping it uniformed for slices. We also stopped putting burnt ends in our boxes. Extra variable that can go wrong for judges. Great video and good luck at MIM!

@jonbuettner270 3 ай бұрын

Interesting about pushing your fingers into the muscle fibers for donees. Gotta check that out next time. Thanks Steve!

@CTP-bbq-HundHutte 3 ай бұрын

Whole and heavy trim. But I’m a Tx comp cooker. Don’t get to hung up on Myron he’s a pork cooker. Don’t get me wrong I’m a fan of his I even have one of his H2O cookers. Check out ArnieTx and Aaron Lesley for some great info on trimming brisket

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

How do you like the h2o cooker?

@CTP-bbq-HundHutte 3 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I like it a lot. It’s a very forgiving smoker because of the steam it produces. But it will never take the place of my custom off set. But I’m a Tx bbq snob. Lol

@evh347 3 ай бұрын

Exactly, Myron is a pork cooker. If you want to win the brisket category, then you already know that ‘BBQ Jesus’ is the metric you should be aiming for.

@reelsk376 3 ай бұрын

Except BBQ Jesus didn't do so hot in recent comps (he posted a video himself) and Myron has won several brisket trophies.

@2AChef-n-BBQ 2 ай бұрын

Remember, Myron uses SRF Gold or Black briskets, extremely high graded meats or Wagyu

@frishmac 19 күн бұрын

Please do a video making poor man’s burnt ends. Should it get pre cubed? Should we long hold etc. thx!

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 19 күн бұрын

Like with chuck roast?

@frishmac 19 күн бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ YES!!

@CoolJay77 3 ай бұрын

Brisket guru, you don't leave any stone unturned. There is something to learn from every experiment that you do. I recall Myron mentioning, trimming less, yields into juicier results. May be derived from his whole hog experience. For home BBQ, though it might be easier to cook separated muscles, as it is more fun to leave it whole. I smoke briskets as a hobby, rather than for ease. Meathead recommends separating the muscles. Perhaps sometime, you'd make a backyard version of this experiment, using prime grade briskets, separating the muscles before applying the rub.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Thank you, as always, for your thoughtful commentary! I'm planning on doing a whole vs separate texas style video. So far I'm on team "cook it whole" but it would be interesting to pull out all the stops to see if I could do a perfect one separated point from flat.

@gwine7084 3 ай бұрын

Myron is full of shit when it comes to brisket

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

@@gwine7084 I think he has a point about cooking it whole

@easybackyardbbq 3 ай бұрын

Myron knows exactly what he is talking about.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

It appears so!

@easybackyardbbq 3 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ great video.

@gregfoster6916 3 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQMyron’s hot and fast brisket is an abomination. Watch someone like Harry Sou or Franklin.

@gregfoster6916 3 ай бұрын

Cook whole brisket. Include thin fat layer on flat if cooked/rendered properly

@dansklrvids7303 2 ай бұрын

I see a video from Steve, I click

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 2 ай бұрын

Thanks man!

@cccantrell27 3 ай бұрын

It would be really cool to do another video about brisket competition and what the judges are looking for. Maybe the judges don't like fat cap is because you tend to get more satiated with fat than with just protein. Just a guess. Great video.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Every judge is different. Some are used to eating brisket and like the fat. Some have barely ever tried it and to them a fatcap could be perceived as the gristle on steak that is cut off because it's undesirable. Some judges just don't like the fat. There's even judges who think a little bit of pepper I'd too spicy, and others who love spice. It's all about finding common ground with as many taste buds as possible

@Allan-. 3 ай бұрын

Hi, Steve. As a Brazilian, I'm more used to grilling, but I'm trying some American BBQ methods (loving it btw). That said, I think many of us can agree that grilled fat flavour is great. Regarding the whole brisket of the video, instead of removing the fat cap in the end, don't you think it would be worth it to try hot grilling it, thus adding another layer of flavor on the brisket profile? Or are the judges avoiding fat that much? Thanks!

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

The problem is if 2 out of six judges don't like fat, it really hurts your score. It's all about making the most generic bbq that appeals to the broadest taste pallete.

@DriftlessBob 3 ай бұрын

I'd like to see an offset smoker mod for a hob firebox like the Oklahoma Joe's Tahoma 900, only without electricity. I'm thinking tall chimney and above and below charcoal grate air intakes that have a good seal for precise control.

@scibbo3966 3 ай бұрын

Hey Steve There has been changes in preparation methods for competition brisket from what you have currently posted. Try keeping it whole, remove the fat/silver skin, but square is up completely across both the flat and point. This is including the height of the point. In short you want it to look similar to what you done with just the flat but more aerodynamic across the sides and edges. This gives you easier square cuts for the box as well as easy even squared burnt ends off the point if you decide to add them in thr box as well Tom demonstrate the whole brisket for competition. Also look into a device called a Que Cutter. It slices the brisket straight and even to the perfect 3mm thickness required for competition bbq.

@shawnstuckey2461 3 ай бұрын

Que cutter!

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Where do I buy the que cutter?

@shawnstuckey2461 3 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ Google!

@jmantwild9373 3 ай бұрын

I was just thinking the other day that I haven't seen one of your videos in quite a while and today it came across my feed again. BOURBON!😅 I'm actually very surprised that you only have 100,000 followers. You should try to do a collaboration with Guga that would probably bump up your ratings a bit.🤔

@evh347 3 ай бұрын

Honestly Steve, that looks a lot like a step backwards (more like a leap) from what you normally output. Who cares what Myron does? Myron is irrelevant. What you have contributed to the BBQ community in the last couple years is light years above what those dinosaurs have contributed in the same time. Trust your methods. Myron has never been 100% truthful about his techniques. If that’s what the judges want, then myself I wouldn’t bother. If you’re really competing in the Memphis in May, I wish you all the luck. I’m a regular Amazon customer of your brisket rub and it is OUTSTANDING!

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Thanks man! I'll definitely be using a mix of my own techniques and some comp ones. Thank you for buying my rub I appreciate it. New one in the works!

@murp5115 2 ай бұрын

Have you had any issues with your Maverick igniter rods? Love the videos.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 2 ай бұрын

Nope

@murp5115 2 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ ugh! I'm on my third in ten months.

@georgecostan3248 3 ай бұрын

Steve, I am curious what you do with all the trimmings and with all the leftovers after the taste tests. It always looks like you discard them. If not, do you have any favorite recipes with them? Thanks!

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Most of it is given away. Or we chop it up and put it in rice bowls or have it with dinner, with potatoes, veggies and a salad for example. Nothing too crazy. Sorry my diet is not that exciting lol!

@shawnstuckey2461 3 ай бұрын

Whole for sure. Next time when "comparing" don't deviate from the method...makes comparison useless. Competition comparison means when you have won as much as Myron you can then judge!

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Why do you like the whole method?

@shawnstuckey2461 3 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ always comes out juicier and more flexibility at the end. Also as someone stated..the Que Cutter!

@FakeName39 3 ай бұрын

Steve I got a question about the knives for cutting. So I have one like you use in this video, but I also see people using serrated or even electric. My question is do you have a preference or noticed a better cut through bark or other cuts?

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 2 ай бұрын

I like straight blades because they don't mess up my cutting boards. Serrated and electric knives will chainsaw up nice wood cutting boards

@Lettuce-and-Tomatoes 3 ай бұрын

Have you ever heard of anyone smoking a “commodity grade” brisket? If so, what do you think about that? There’s a fellow on KZfaq who recently posted a video doing exactly this. He bought the brisket from HEB. HEB is a well known grocery store chain in Texas with many locations and it’s common to find choice grade briskets, all natural grass fed briskets, prime grade briskets and even Wagyu briskets. I’ve never seen a commodity grade brisket and I assumed that they were primarily sold to food processors to make beef hot dogs or generic “ground beef”, but this fellow got one. The kicker is that a choice grade brisket is only 50 more per pound when it goes on sale two or three times a year. Is there anything good about smoking a commodity grade brisket and saving 50 cents per pound in your expert opinion?

@brisketwizard8004 3 ай бұрын

Just last week, at my local HEB, I saw some "commodity grade briskets". They were " Black Angus Choice Grade" and $1.00 less than the other Choice Briskets. If you look on the underside of any brisket, The stripe with text tells the grade with different colors. Red = Prime, Blue = Choice & Black = Select. There is a meat market in Houston that has "No Roll" briskets. They are inspected for wholesomeness but not USDA Graded. They tend to be cheaper by the pound. I have smoked a few of them and turned out fine.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Was it a select grade brisket? Nothing wrong with that. I like to smoke then sous vide them. But if commodity grade means less marbled than select, that would be interesting. I know there's a ton of grades below select but they don't sell them commercially very often because they are so lean.

@michaelc6868 3 ай бұрын

Do you see any Weber Smokey mountains at competitions? Or has that been a thing of the past.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

I see them. But mainly I see I ton of drums

@jasonpettis4691 3 ай бұрын

Does Memphis in May have a brisket ancillary category?

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Beef ancillary

@johnanderson6614 2 ай бұрын

Is parsley required for presentation? I think it would be cool to do something else outside the box. No pun intended. 😅

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 2 ай бұрын

In kcbs you can use kale as well or some types of lettuce. You can also use no garnish.

@slideoff1 3 ай бұрын

I live in South KC... We ALL BBQ here, well most of us do...

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

I'm going to pass through there. Any restaurant reccomendations?

@slideoff1 3 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ , Arthur Bryant's around 18th ST and Brooklyn , or Gates BBQ on south 435 and state line.

@robertburnett1970 3 ай бұрын

Is the clarified butter salted or unsalted Can you buy clarified butter already liquefied?

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Unsalted. You can buy it pre clarified. Butter is solid at room temp. You can get liquid butter though

@BrisketMedic 2 ай бұрын

We remove fat because you don’t have 24 hours to cook a brisket in a competition. It’s silly to even risk it.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 2 ай бұрын

How long do you usually have from meat inspection to brisket turn in?

@BrisketMedic 2 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ generally check-in is around 1-3 on a Friday. Cooks meetings are around 6-7 and ancillaries. I know some guys that will prep the meat in the afternoon and cook all night, but even then it’s not enough time to render it like we would in the backyard. Most of the top cooks are doing it in 4-5 hours the past few years. But- Mind you, I’m in Texas. Your sanctioning bodies, rules, judging criteria may be wayyyyy different. I’m here for it though and excited to see how you do!

@CoffeeAndSmoke23 3 ай бұрын

I really dislike competition bbq especially KCBS..

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Why's that?

@CoffeeAndSmoke23 3 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ Well I understand what its about,but the sort of taste that the judges are usually looking for just isnt my cup of tea..I mean for instance,I dont think Franklin even placed when he competed

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

What do you guys think? Whole or Separate?

@evh347 3 ай бұрын

Whole. Not a doubt.

@ericmendel8109 2 ай бұрын

What team did you cook with?

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 2 ай бұрын

Mine! Smoke Trails bbq

@dustinmessner674 3 ай бұрын

Preparing meat for BBQ competitions is like fashion in The Hunger Games. Flipping ridiculous.

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Haha!

@blueenglishstaffybreeder6956 3 ай бұрын

Should’ve shown us a slice that had oxidised to show the difference

@ralfygodinez 3 ай бұрын

Why season it if your just gonna cut it off ?

@ThomasLWoo 3 ай бұрын

What team will you be with ? I’m with Jonesyq

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Smoke trails bbq. I'm doing ribs. Booth r 38

@ThomasLWoo 3 ай бұрын

Hope to see ya there buddy ! We will be near the stage area

@ThomasLWoo 3 ай бұрын

@@SmokeTrailsBBQ H308 next to Jacks old south . Should be a tad quieter this year lol

@evh347 2 ай бұрын

Memphis in May 2024 Results: Ribs 51st SMOKE TRAILS BBQ Beef Sauce 28th SMOKE TRAILS BBQ Ms. Piggy Idol 5th SMOKE TRAILS BBQ

@chadwallace3598 2 ай бұрын

So now making beef “sweet” is a thing now? Really?

@cc66bb44 3 ай бұрын

why tallow? raw tallow doesn't taste good

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Tallow, clarified butter, lard, oil. Any fat that tastes relatively neutral. I think it makes a big difference and makes the slices look better. Wagyu tallow is even better because of the lower melting point. Stays liquid for longer

@TexasAggie97 3 ай бұрын

BBQ Jesus knows all....

@randyhogan3071 3 ай бұрын

That's all cool.... I guess. Not for me tho

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Not for everyone for sure!

@AllMyHobbies Ай бұрын

do judges even like brisket?? what is he point of flat without the fat cap in the bite?? just give them the fat cap and you might win

@billbryant1288 3 ай бұрын

Steve, I just realized why you grew out your hair. You’re sick and tired of somebody else being barbecue Jesus!

@SmokeTrailsBBQ 3 ай бұрын

I have to try out all the hairstyles before I go bald

@billbryant1288 3 ай бұрын

Too late for me!

@likeachamp91 2 ай бұрын

Don’t know how much I can trust a guy on winning anything when he can’t use a Webber kettle correctly 🤦🏽‍♂️

@craigsteen8938 2 ай бұрын

Don’t think MIM cooks brisket.

@MikeDQB Ай бұрын

I generally enjoy your videos but the depth of field filter on this video was very distracting. Take it for what it’s worth.

@JoeVolcano42 3 ай бұрын

Seems like competitions are a waste of time, brisket and are not the reality of 99% of the people eating this bbq!

@jsblusmokebbq4343 2 ай бұрын

However mixon does it, I'll do the opposite. Despise him

@poochiegreen3478 3 ай бұрын

Competition bbq is awful. 🤮🤮🤮