You may have already read Robb Walsh's account of his Memorial Day BBQ with his slightly tongue-in-cheek title. Robb's lengthy smoking experience assured there would be no crisis on this federal holiday.
The so-called crisis was caused because a whole Kobe flank was mistaken for a brisket (seeing these similarly shaped cuts side by side helped me understand why), and was only discovered several hours after it was placed on the smoker. Robb quickly scrambled to the nearest HEB so he could make good on his invitation to let me have some of his smoked brisket. By lunchtime, it was all ready to eat.
First up was the Kobe flank. After smoking and braising, this cut was infinitely tender. The layer of fat was perfectly rendered, and as evidenced by the smokering, the smoke flavor was evident deep into this cut.
Robb chose to leave the brisket untrimmed, so the nicely smoked fat cap was there for the enjoying. Next to the Kobe beef, this cut wasn't as silky tender, but after trying fourteen different briskets in the past few days in and around Houston, this one ranked right up at the top. I'm glad I was lucky enough to be there to enjoy it.
All of this deliciousness came from the heavily used offset smoker sitting on the back deck. This bad boy has definitely churned out a heap of smoke in its time.
Luckily I was able to share these photos with you. After forgetting my camera at the Walsh house, Robb's wife was nice enough to bring the camera up to Dallas during a business trip, so it's my own stupid fault that I had to wait until now to post these great pics. Thanks to Robb and his family for taking us in for an afternoon and treating us like part of the family. The food wasn't half bad either. I can't wait until the next invitation.
- BBQ Snob
