
THE ALARM goes off at 6am. I need to eat the smoker fired up and brisket on if there’s gonna be any chance of ti being ready for our dinner guests tonight.
A slather with mustard and sprinkling of alt, pepper and garlic granules while the pit gets up to temperature and stabilised around 225 degrees and we’re good.
I make a coffee and go back to bed to check emails and deal with my socials before jumping in the shower.
The success of ‘doming’ yesterday’s batch of acrylic guitar earrings has a downside – Margaret thinks I should do to the existing stock as well. She takes the ‘hardware’ off and I set about the epoxy job.
Rather than heading tot he studio or out on a. wander I stay close to the smoker and spend some time dye-subbing some more cookies and testing a couple of stainless steel bar blades which turn out quite nice.
By early afternoon the brisket has hit 165 degrees. I wrap it in butcher paper and stick it back in the smoker. We’re only halfway through the cook!
I nip down to the village to get some bits and bobs then cast some more guitar pins and a another stylised guitar necklace for a multicolour fill.
Margaret’s made an apple pie, mac’n’cheese and some BBQ sauce for later. I make some cornbread.
Our guests – Duncan and Irene – arrive at 7.30pm. The brisket has only another few degrees to reach 203 degrees internal then it has to rest for a while.
Well worth the wait tho’ – this is easiest the best brisket I’ve done. A combination, I think, of a good piece of meat from Mathiesons in Edinburgh (see yesterday’s blog!) and strict attention to temperature in the pit…