Brisket on a Pellet Grill vs Offset | Smoke Lab with Steve Gow | Oklahoma Joe's®
Vložit
- čas přidán 29. 05. 2023
- What makes a better brisket, a pellet grill or an offset smoker? Steve Gow from @SmokeTrailsBBQ conducts an experiment to find out, comparing a brisket smoked on the #OklahomaJoes Longhorn Offset Smoker with a brisket smoked on the Rider DLX Pellet Grill. Let’s find out if there’s a difference!
Products used in this video
Longhorn Reverse Flow: www.oklahomajoes.com/longhorn...
Rider DLX 1200 Pellet Grill: www.oklahomajoes.com/rider-dl...
Pellet Grill Brisket Recipe
Ingredients:
Meat
10-15 lb brisket (Choice grade or higher)
Rub
Quarter cup course black pepper
Quarter cup kosher salt
Tablespoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Wrap liquid
1/3 cup beef tallow
1/3 cup clarified butter/Ghee (or substitute with normal butter):
Technique
Trim brisket
Mix rub ingredients in shaker bottle, add small amount of vegetable oil to help mixture stay consistent
Apply rub to brisket, starting with back and sides, and finishing with fat cap. Let sit on counter for 1 hour to overnight
Place large water pan in the center of the bottom grate
Place brisket on top rack of pellet grill above water pan
Smoke at 175 (low smoke on Rider DLX) overnight for 10-12 hours
The next morning, refill pellets and water pan if needed and increase temperature to 300
2 hours later, start probing brisket every hour until it reaches at least 190-195 internal everywhere in the brisket (Should take ~3 hours)
Remove brisket from grill and turn grill down to 175 (or as low as it will go)
Wrap brisket in butcher paper with beef tallow and clarified butter
Place wrapped brisket in aluminum pan with quarter cup water added, foil top tightly. If aluminum pan is unavailable wrap, brisket with aluminum foil, ensuring liquid cannot leak from bottom.
Let brisket rest on counter for 2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees or lower
2 hours later, place rested & wrapped brisket on top rack of grill (which is still running at 175 or lower), water pan still on lower rack, and let it hold until dinner (3-4 hours max, otherwise the brisket may overcook).
NOTE: this recipe assumes you are serving the brisket for dinner. The 2 hour rest and 3-4 hour hold at 175 will ensure you are able to serve the brisket around 5PM, but it is also essential to achieve tenderness if the brisket is pulled from the grill at 190 internal. If you are serving the brisket for lunch, you can instead take the brisket to 200-205 degrees internal until it probes tender, wrap, and then rest on the counter for 2 hours + and slice (skipping the hold stage).
Offset Smoker Brisket Recipe
See previous Smoke Labs video “Do temperature swings matter?” for offset smoker recipe
Great video man, I have a custom offset but can’t beat the push button wake up and the briskets done convenience of the pellet grill. Life’s busy, every good pitmaster has a pellet grill in there arsenal.
The more cookers the better!
I love my Broil King Crown 500 pellet grill. Best briskets ever. Cheers from BRANTFORD Ontario
What would happen if you put the brisket fat side down on the pellet smoker ? Would that render the fat cap better? Thanks for your taking the time to put these videos on here so that the rest of us can learn .
It does render the fat cap better and faster but it leaves grill marks on it and generally messes it up. That's why I like going fat side up.
What’s your long hold method for the pellet grill?
I thought it was the 10 hour low smoke, bump temp to render fat till 190
Then pull and hold
I started this last night at 11pm in which i set my ok joes dlx at 200 for 10 hours. After 10 hours the brisket temp was only 140s. Therefore i added more pellets/water/ice and turned it up to 225 in which brisket temp went up to as of now 153. Granted outside temp went to low 40s last night but in the pellet smoker, would that matter much? Curious why im not reaching close to 190 temp for me to take out, wrap and put back in? Im using an 8.29lb angus brisket. Hoping to get this done by 3pm so I can place in cooler and drive 2 hours to destination. Its almost 10am currently
That seems like a great cooking strategy on a pellet grill. However my tiff about the smoke flavor from pellet smokers is not that they produce light intensity smoke flavor, but the smoke flavor is too homogeneous. Burning logs results in more flavor nuances even when smoked with a lighter clean fire. However I have never tasted them side by side such as you did. You have prompted me with the perfect analogy. Pellet grills are to Jack Daniels, what stick burners are Glenmorangie. Jack Daniels has a quite pleasant but homogeneous barrel flavor, however Glenmorangie has all the notes and nuances that you read on the bottle. Cheers!
Great analogy!
Only thing I'd do differently with the pellet brisket is use a foil boat between the stall and eventual wrap when you hit 190⁰ -- those last few hours are crucial to insulating the flat and preventing any overcooking. Just my two cents.
That's a good idea. I might test it out some more. Problem I've had in the past with foil boating on a pellet is the flat actually overcooks because it's sitting in liquid getting braised.
Guga did an experiment with replacement butter and they went crazy over the Parkay squeeze butter. I wonder how a brisket would turn out if you wrapped with that instead of ghee
I've heard good things. It's very popular in competitions.
I have a temp probe on the top rack. Should that read/register 300f? It's lower because it's above the water/ice pan.
When set to 300 on the DLX yes, it's lower on the top rack because the water pan is suppressing temps. All good.
Would using a smoke tube provide more smoke flavor for the pellet grill brisket smoke?
Yes. 1 round of it is usually enough. 2+ tubes can make the brisket taste acrid
Not bad, thanks for the video. Could you try it with a electric gravity feed smoker next?
When OKJ makes one I will haha!
Nice presentation. Raise the water pan to about half a foot or around 152 millimeters for Canadian’s below the brisket. Then check the tenderness on the bottom side.
HAHA! We actually use imperial measurements for most stuff (or at least I do). Do you mean increase the gap between the brisket and WP or raise the WP from the grill grate so it's closer to the brisket? What's the theory there?
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ around 6” below meat, that way you get a heat sink & also allow smoke & steam if any to mingle to help smoke stick to bottom side.
Recently added a Camp Chef Woodwind pro to my arsenal. It does a great job and my reality is that I have used it more often than I expected to, or would have, if I had purchased an offset smoker.
Some people have the time, energy and inclination to manage and tend a fire to create a measurably better product, and good for them.
For me, if I was given the chance to do it over, I think I would purchase the same grill again except this time I might get the 36 inch version.
Thanks for sharing and please let us know when your rub becomes available😉
Thanks! I agree the more space the better!
i have been somking for a long time a pellet smoker is 10% of the work for 90% of the flavor i love my offset but i have 4 kids being able to put it on and go to sleep is amazing
They are convenient for sure
What about using a different thermal mass instead of the water pan? How about a large salt block? Or even fire bricks?
Great idea! The one challenge I could foresee is a salt block/fire bricks/pan full of sand/ metal plate etc. keep rising in temperature and shed alot of radiant heat of their own eventually. Water is kind of the magic heat sink because it has a maximum temp limit of 212.
Maybe I'm weird. I love the crunch of a good bark
I use my camp chef pellet smoker and smoke tube on rack for more smoke, 2 hours at 170° low smoke, 4 hours 225° high smoke, at 172° internal, wrap on butcher paper and tallow, put in oven at 275° till 200° or feels right by probing, let stay warm at 145° for 8 hours or so
I've had good luck with a smoke tube as well
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I also use the Oklahoma Bronco Drum, smoking a brisket as we speak
@@lyleswavel320 do you use a water pan?
@Smoke Trails BBQ I did today here in Northeast Texas which is pretty humid, I kept watch over it and it seems as if it steamed it, I have it in the warmer now and find out if I like it better, I'll be honest, at 175° it didn't have the normal bark I like, time will tell after I look at it later
Since you test ideas so we don't have to... I've yet to see anyone sear in the brisket juice and then add rub and smoke normally. Would that make the end result juicier?
Searing to lock in flavor is a bbq myth. But a seared or "reverse sear brisket" could be fun to see what kind of flavor it has
To do this comparison, you should've used one of the best pellet smokers like Lonestar Grillz Pellet Smokers. It produces more smoke than that entry level pellet smoker. Give it a try.
I'll check it out!
I have seen wood chips mixed in with pellets at a fifty fifty ratio volume not weight I would really like to see you try this
I've never heard of that! Sounds like it would be fun. It might jam up my auger though. Not that it would stop me haha
Sure he is talking about a tube mixed with chips and pellets. Maybe even use 2 tubes
@@gregwilliams2066 nope. There is a guy on here that uses a lone star grillz smoker and uses half small wood chips and pellets. Video just came out and he claimed it’s as good as his offset.
@@gregwilliams2066 no the wood chips are in with the pellets in the hopper
@@davidlynch5309 wonder if would be ok in centered burner campchef? Or look for even smaller sized chips?
Pellet smoker for convenience and offset smoker for enjoyment. Also bourbon is better with brisket. Scotch tastes and smells like iodine I'm guessing because of the peat moss.
Depends on the scotch!
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ well I have two buddy's that love scotch one has a lot of money and the other is Scottish. Every time I visit them they have me trying some real high end stuff with the whole eye dropper of water thing too. I can't get over the iodine taste. I think there were two that were okay out of all of them. One was so smoky it tasted like a camp fire which covered the peat taste. The other which was the best was actually a blend called johnny walker blue label. Now that was a good one. I tried to like scotch because of Ron burgundy but I couldn't do it.😂
How would i not notice the less smokiness but my guests will?
Personally, I go kind of smoke blind after inhaling it all day. It's harder to taste.
I have no space in my other grill for a water pan…. Don’t know how to deal with that one…
pellet or offset?
Glenmorangie goes with everything....
Oh yes!
If you’re taking the time to smoke overnight then hold for another 10 hours why would you ever bump up smoker to 300 degrees?
Render the fat cap
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I think you sacrifice the texture of the beef just to render the fat cap with the higher temp. I’d trim most of the fat cap, in fact many cooks are now removing the fat cap completely to get more smoke and seasoning on the beef. Unless pressed for time I try to avoid cooking above 250. I love my pellet smoker. For more smoke I use a smoke tube which gives me 4-5 hours of extra smoke. 👍
Steve, I appreciate this video but it does ring a bit redundant. All things being equal, I don’t think anyone being honest with themselves (pellet grill guys included) would disagree that a stick burner brisket is “better”.
For me, there are many factors that drive me to a pellet grill: I live in a townhome, and open flames are prohibited. My pellet grill gets the OK on a technicality.
Also, my wife really dislikes Smokey foods, but loves everything that comes off my pellet grill. Finally convenience is a huge factor, can’t say that I could take the time needed to watch a fire on a stick burner even if the first two factors weren’t an issue.
I’ve had plenty of high quality brisket, and for what I have access to, it isn’t so much better than what I can make at home that I don’t even bother.
For the record, I have a pitboss 1600, smoke at 180° until “wrap”. Render the trimmed fat in a water pan under the brisket for a thermal break, and I foil boat instead of wrap to help with fat render. Finally I wrap in foil when done and rest in a low oven until ready to eat, usually about 6 hours. All in I smoke overnight and it’s about 20 hours total. Fantastic results.
Love your content my man, learning a lot from you!
Nice! Do you just keep going at 160 the whole way? I think one day I need to put a pellet and offset brisket to a test panel and see if they can tell the difference.
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ No, once I foil boat I bump the heat like you said to about 275°-300° to push past the stall. Unlike you however, I don’t have a fancy holding chest-freezer-o-matic where I can hold indefinitely, so I use my oven on low set to 170°. Fluctuates wildly but it’s what I’ve got. My family and friends leave me little leftovers, and whatever flat doesn’t get eaten same day makes into chili or tacos. Can’t argue with that.
Offset purists wouldn't consider an Oklahoma Joes offset a fair comparison. Tiny firebox and stack, which is attached at the top of the cook chamber, thin steel, etc. Compare the pellet to a Workhorse 1975 or at least an Old Country Brazos and we'll see how the pellet does against it. There are also so many other factors that can go into this, like using the foil boat method, or even the steam injector. Think the water pan is debunked at this point.
I have a large trailer offset smoker as well. It's just easier to maintain temps. The flavor is the same as a smaller offset as long as you use a few tricks (large water pan, foil edges, rotate to cook more evenly etc.)
Pellet can do just as well, just use smoke mode or VST and Mesquite pellets and you can get a comparable result easy.
Close enough to use the pellet instead of an offset. I prefer to set and forget rather than baby sitting the offset!!!
I think your results are a little skewed as the test isn't exactly equal. The pellet brisket was rested for 2 hours till it got to 150F but then you're raising the temp to hold it at 170F, for 6 hours. In comparison, the offset brisket was pulled off at 190ish and then held at 150F for over 12 hours. That extra long hold is going to have a major effect on rendering the fat inside the brisket. In my opinion, the briskets should have both been held at the same temp for around the same amount of time. Would that have changed the smokiness of the brisket? Probably not, but I think it would have rendered the fat in the brisket to the same level as the offset one and may not have made the bottom of the brisket be drier.
I too am curious as to why the two briskets got different treatment during the hold. The different hold processes make the finer details of the results skewed. Ultimately he arrived at, both are good. But would it have been even closer if the pellet brisket had the benefit of the magical holding chest?!?
I did it to level the playing field. The best pellet grill method i know vs the best offset method i know. The 18 hour hold on the back end won't work for a pellet grill brisket that's already had a 10 hour super low smoke on the front end followed by a higher temp cook to finish it. It would turn it into a 3 day cook and overcook the brisket. Additionally, if I just cooked it like an offset brisket (12 hours with no overnight smoke), it wouldn't get any smoke flavor or dark color.
Smoke fat side down on pellet smoker next time
I personally don't like to, it ruins the bark (in my opinion!)
Real BBQ is supposed to be simple, not easy. I don't buy this "set and forget" approach on those Wi-Fi grills. Call me old-fashioned but I see the pit master as one of the most important ingredient on the cooking bbq process, not the electricity.
I agree the best results come from the skill of the guy manning the pit. Until I finish building my Aaron Franklin BBQ robot that is.
“Real” bbq? As opposed to what, fake bbq from a pellet smoker? Your comment is super silly. The only thing that matters is that people are getting into making their own bbq. Pellet smokers are a great way to make very delicious bbq without all the fuss of an offset.
@@bigscreenbird8198 real bbq as in “hand made.” Like a chair that’s hand carved with each curve being meticulously placed and smoothed out from years of experience. As opposed to buying a chair from ikea and just put together lol. Or a master brewer brewing his beer. Calling it Real BBQ isn’t saying pellet smoking isn’t real. Just saying the aspect of hands on, on that level, is a very REAL experience.
@@WontonRanger yeah those are not good analogies. BBQ is not handmade first of all. No one ever has said a chair from ikea and a handmade walnut Maloof rocker are comparable. I can make some “REAL” good bbq out of my pellet smoker.
Not necessarily cheap either. You get what you pay for. Most people who want to BBQ don't have $2k for a good offset.
The problem I have with pellet grills is obviously if they break you can't do nothing with them BUT the biggest problem I have is that on their advertisement they just say you set your temp and you place your meat on the grates and that's it but in reality all these BBQ CZcamsr went to the hassle of actually learning how to use their pellet smokers and just showing in reality how little of space you have in them because YOU HAVE TO USE A WATER PAN TO AVOID RUINING YOUR BRISKET BECAUSE OF THE RADIANT HEAT 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 exactly that's why pellet grills suck!!! You might pay for convinience but on the long run you have a subpar product because we haven't even mentioned smoke tubes and other gadgets to impart more smoke but once again when that auger jams while you're sleeping there goes your meat to the trash 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Or just cook fat cap down. I've done a water pan, 2 briskets, and a tray the size of his full of fat to render on my traeger pro series 34. Brisket always comes out good. Hard to compare it to offset quality though
The art of BBQ starts with tending the fire. Using a pellet smoker completely removes the art of BBQ. You’re just cooking if you aren’t tending a fire, not BBQing.
I have like 15 cookers including 3 offsets. I like em all!
This is total bullshit. Anything that gets people to start enjoying and making bbq is great. Quit sounding like an elitist snob and let people do what they want.
Off set.. it's not even close.
Huh?! WTF kind of question is this?! Offset cannot be beaten… unless you suck at offset smoking! PERIOD!
Yeah ok.
Thanks for watching!
Geez all these crybaby offset guys need to chill the F out. Offsets are not the ONLY way to get great bbq. Everyone needs to calm down and let people do what they want with their own food and their own time.