So, a couple weeks ago, my friend did a charity bake sale to support a charity during this current COVID-19 situation we find ourselves, and I was inspired to help the only way I could think- a meat sale, instead of a bake sale.

I guess I should start with the pictures before I tell you too much about what I did.

I posted an "ad" to my friends and family on instagram, selling brisket and ribs. All the money other than the cost of the meat was going to charity. Trying to serve it hot seemed impossible and less desirable anyway. So I told them all it would be delivered vacuum packed. I got "maxed out" on orders in a day.

I've never tried to make so much meat "at once" (really, over most of a week). I had orders for 49 pounds of brisket and 29 racks of ribs. To end with 49 pounds of cooked brisket I had to start with 110 pounds of untrimmed brisket (this led to a little bit of leftovers, but not as much as I expected). The ribs were sourced from Costco Business center.

I did something which might be considered blasphemy here, but I sous vide cooked the brisket before I smoked it. I was inspired by this serious eats article and I must say, even when I'm not cooking for an army, I prefer this method- 30-36 hours in the sous vide, but only at 155. The time leads to it being very tender, the lower temp means it doesn't lose as much water. I then put it on the smoker @ 300 for 3 hours, and it gets nice bark and takes on a lot of smoke flavor.

Ribs are the only BBQ I put sauce on. But it's a homemade, Bourbon and Coffee sauce. Very vinegar-y. These I did unwrapped- used Memphis Dust and sauced for the last 45 minutes.

I told everyone who ordered over $50 of meat would get a free bottle of BBQ sauce. My friend is a graphic designer and made me a nice logo. Made everything look more legit.

Overall, I think it was a success. Also, made me realize I needed to upgrade my vacuum sealer... and if the wife would agree to it, get a bigger smoker.