Have you ever tried a recipe that turned out to go horribly wrong, or maybe the end product, despite being good, just wasn’t worth the effort? What was that recipe, and what about it made you say “NEVER AGAIN”?
I ask this as I am actively trying to remove the stench of onions from my Instapot lid’s silicone ring after making French Onion Soup in it (so far steaming it with white vinegar on the steam setting, soaking the ring in a water/baking soda bath overnight, and baking it at 250 degrees F for 20 minutes have all done nothing, so I ordered a new one, I give up). And I realized that cutting all the onions and waiting hours for them to caramelize and now this damn smell issue just isn’t worth it. Plus I still have frozen soup in the freezer because I can only eat French Onion soup so many days in a row.
NEVER AGAIN.
Smoked brisket. I don’t have the proper smoker, but that didn’t stop me. I turned the thing and watched fuel and air and temperature every half hour for 12 hours. It was delicious. Never again.
I can get pretty much the same results just buying from the barbecue joint 3 miles away.
For me, brisket is more of an event than a meal. Usually I’ll make it when we have friends staying with us for the weekend, and it’s an excuse for us to have beers at 6am once the meat is in the smoker. We all take turns watching temps and fuel, and having the extra hands helps with wrapping and stuff.
Another option is smoked top sirloin roast aka picanha. It has a thick fat cap and lots of marbling into the meat. Traditionally, it’s cut into steaks and grilled on a skewer, but i also like to smoke it whole and sear off the fat cap at the end. Prep is fairly simple, remove some of the fat cap (down to about 1/2") score the rest almost to the meat, season the whole thing with salt and pepper, then in the smoker at 250F. I will then take the fat trimmings and cut them down into small pieces and put them in the smoker to render into tallow. After about an hour or when the meat is 130F, I’ll wrap in pink butcher paper using the tallow that I just rendered. From there, I just watch until it hits about 155F. At that point, you can let it rest and eat, but I like to throw it on a hot grill fat side down to get a good crispy sear on it. Slice it in thin strips like brisket, it melts in your mouth.
Oh, I’m Brazilian and I’m almost cursing at you and blessing you at the same time. I’ll have to try this.
Protip for grilling picanha: you’ll want the smallest piece you can find. They’re more tender. Not so relevant if you’re slow smoking.
Of course I’d find the Brazilian when I suggest improperly cooking a picanha :p
I’ve got an electric smoker so I can just set and forget. Only have to check in at the half way mark to apply the Texas crutch.