brisket in wood fire oven

[DelawarePizzaChef]

Hello all... I am brand new to the forum as well as briskets. Was looking for some help as I have a huge cook contest at work coming up and I have a vision for some brisket sliders with a carolina-esque bbq sauce as we are allowed to use the oven over night

First off let me tell you about where I work. It is a gourmet pizza restaurant with other amazing items on menu as well. We have a large brick oven which is wood fired on one side and gas flamed on the other side. The oven stays around 600 degrees all day and with fire door closed.it will stay between 200 and 225. So immediately bbq'd slow cooked deliciousness came to mind. I already have a few sauces and rubs in mind. I want something different, sweet, savory, spicy. Something that will destroy the competition!

My main concern is the moisture level of the meat. Once I close those doors end leave for through night around 11pm I won't be able to mess with it until 7am. Will it even be done by then? Will it be to dried.out? Any help or experience that someone can offer would be greatly appreciated!

[C5dad]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

Hey DPC

lower is better, though 225 would suffice. If it were me, I would make sure that you have a large pan of water in the oven to control the dehydration. since it is a WFO Hybrid, some smoking chips would be good as well - hickory or pecan.

When I do real bbq, My target temp is no higher than 200 (below the boiling point of water.) I use indirect heat (side fire chamber). Depending on the size of the brisket, 8 hours should be OK, but more is better - around 10 to 12.

If you cannot have a container of water in the oven, put the brisket on a bed of mirpoix and tightly cover during the baking. I see in some of the cooking shows that the chefs use a deep metal container for the meat, a layer of plastic film and an outer layer of aluminum foil.

Good luck!

[Tscarborough]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

Sear it on open flame, then wrap it tightly with tinfoil and make sure the temp is below 300 and you can let it cook for 10 hours. Dry rub is best for the WFO.

[ja1724]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

If you're doing a full packers cut brisket 8 hours will be no where near long enough. Most packer cuts tend to be near 14 lbs so figure if your doing just the flat roughly 7 lbs. When I smoke brisket (whether full cut or just the flat) it usually runs 1.5 hours per lb at 200-225 degrees F. So even going this route 8 hours will probably not be enough. Remember the most important part of the cooking of brisket is the final few hours where the collagen in the meat fibers breaks down turning the meat from tough to soft and moist. Man, I'm getting hungry over here!

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

Don't know how long you get the oven for, but you might try a combination of tscar's method and C5dad's. When smoking a full brisket I let it smoke at 225F to get the smoke ring and at 190F (internal) I wrap it in foil to keep the moisture in. (Collagen just begins to break down at 190F). At this point you could put it in a gas oven since it won't be absorbing any more smoke flavor, but 16 hours for a mouth-watering brisket is not unheard of.

[brickie in oz]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

OK guys, whats a brisket?

[Tscarborough]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

It is a crappy, stringy piece of meat that you can turn into Heaven if you cook it right.

[Tscarborough]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

[ja1724]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

It is a crappy, stringy piece of meat that you can turn into Heaven if you cook it right.

That's funny, but so true!!!

[buckeyebreadman]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

It is....a brick in a basket....ergo....brisket......
but after cooking it for half a day.....If God made anything better...He kept it for Himself!

[brickie in oz]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

It is a crappy, stringy piece of meat that you can turn into Heaven if you cook it right.

Like stone soup.....

[Gulf]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

I second all the above descriptions.
In the old south the poorer cuts of meat were left for the "less fortunate" ie: slave or the vast majority of the free population. Workers toiled in the fields during the day. Smoked meats BBQ, "brisket" etc. were cooked low and slow while everyone was at work. This was done outside mostly due to the extreme heat of the summers. When the work was finally over for the day, the workers retired to a feast which (the enjoyment of which) was kept as treasured secret from the "more fortunate"

[Tscarborough]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

Yep, same as skirt steak, which used to be dirt cheap. Now Fajitas cost as much as steak.

[logman]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

When I smoke a brisket, I put a pork butt on the shelf above, the fat coming off helps keep the brisket moist. I'm even newer to WFO, so i have no idea how to accomplish that here... but I will think about it. I generally smoke a whole brisket (14-16 lbs) at 200-205F and it goes about 20 hours.

[Tscarborough]

Re: brisket in wood fire oven

Cooking it in the WFO is more like sous-vide than smoking. I char it on the grill, then put it in a big lidded pot half full of liquid (fat up) starting it at 250-300 and letting it go all day. edit-I will leave the door off until it goes to 200 then door it back up.