Who are we?
Dani Goldblatt started Holy Smokes in Los Angeles as a fun instagram page that later turned into a business. Dani's passion in food came from always keeping kosher and wanting to recreate non-kosher food, but kosher. She started experimenting with meat in 2015 and the rest was history. From Sous Vide to BBQ to beef jerky and biltong, Dani is continuing to hone her craft. Holy Smokes Kosher BBQ has sold thousands of lbs of meat.
Dani is a full time Jewish Studies teacher but has pop-ups and is available for private events. All meat is Glatt Kosher. Feel free to reach out regarding Kashrut.
Our Process
While many kosher consumers have been cooking brisket for centuries, many don't know much about the cut. Brisket comes from the chest of the cow and there are two per cow. The brisket supports about 60% of the animals weight which is why it is such a tough cut. They are often braised in the oven for a long period of time on a lower temperature, around 325 degrees.
Briskets are usually divided into two cuts at kosher butchers: 1st cut (aka the flat on a whole brisket) and the 2nd cut (aka the point on a whole brisket). The 1st cut is leaner with less intramuscular marbling than the 2nd cut. When whole, a brisket can weight between 8 to 20 pounds. The 2nd cut sits on top of the 1st cut with the fat covering it all.
When we smoke briskets, we are smoking the whole packer. That means we are smoking the 1st and 2nd cut together. We trim the the fat to our specifications to help insulate and contain moisture. We use a smoker that burns a wood-only fire. We don't use anything else like propane or electrical heating elements to smoke our meat, so you are getting the fullest flavor possible.
Over the course of 18 hours, the brisket starts to build a bark. Bark is created due to a combination of smoke, rub, and heat. Part of what is occurring is the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction when heat is applied to amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and sugar. The result is beautifully browned food with new flavors and aromas.
Once the briskets reach a temperature between 160-175, each brisket is checked at regular intervals to see if the fat has rendered. Rendered fat is what melts in your mouth when you take a bite of a delicious piece of meat. If it is at all chewy, then it is not rendered.
We then wrap the briskets using butcher paper. This allows the brisket to steam and soften some of that bark that might have become tough during the cook and ensures no further moisture loss.
The briskets are finally ready when they reach a temperature of 200-205. The briskets then rest to redistribute juices as well as cool down. Once cool enough to handle, the brisket is then sliced.
And our process for the short ribs? The exact same! They just don't need the same amount of cook time.
If you ever want to get a brisket unsliced, we highly recommend you watch this video as there is a special way to cut the brisket once you get to where the 1st and 2nd cuts meet.
While many kosher consumers have been cooking brisket for centuries, many don't know much about the cut. Brisket comes from the chest of the cow and there are two per cow. The brisket supports about 60% of the animals weight which is why it is such a tough cut. They are often braised in the oven for a long period of time on a lower temperature, around 325 degrees.
Briskets are usually divided into two cuts at kosher butchers: 1st cut (aka the flat on a whole brisket) and the 2nd cut (aka the point on a whole brisket). The 1st cut is leaner with less intramuscular marbling than the 2nd cut. When whole, a brisket can weight between 8 to 20 pounds. The 2nd cut sits on top of the 1st cut with the fat covering it all.
When we smoke briskets, we are smoking the whole packer. That means we are smoking the 1st and 2nd cut together. We trim the the fat to our specifications to help insulate and contain moisture. We use a smoker that burns a wood-only fire. We don't use anything else like propane or electrical heating elements to smoke our meat, so you are getting the fullest flavor possible.
Over the course of 18 hours, the brisket starts to build a bark. Bark is created due to a combination of smoke, rub, and heat. Part of what is occurring is the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction when heat is applied to amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and sugar. The result is beautifully browned food with new flavors and aromas.
Once the briskets reach a temperature between 160-175, each brisket is checked at regular intervals to see if the fat has rendered. Rendered fat is what melts in your mouth when you take a bite of a delicious piece of meat. If it is at all chewy, then it is not rendered.
We then wrap the briskets using butcher paper. This allows the brisket to steam and soften some of that bark that might have become tough during the cook and ensures no further moisture loss.
The briskets are finally ready when they reach a temperature of 200-205. The briskets then rest to redistribute juices as well as cool down. Once cool enough to handle, the brisket is then sliced.
And our process for the short ribs? The exact same! They just don't need the same amount of cook time.
If you ever want to get a brisket unsliced, we highly recommend you watch this video as there is a special way to cut the brisket once you get to where the 1st and 2nd cuts meet.
Contact us at HolySmokesKosherBBQ@gmail.com