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Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6771366 05/22/17 04:47 PM
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so it came out a little dry but not bad for my first one. definitely learned some lessons for the next one.
i could write a long post with the lessons that i took away, but i will save you veterans from reading through it.


Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6771383 05/22/17 05:05 PM
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I'm all ears! It's good to figure out things you can do better next time. It took me MANY briskets to get it how I want it, and I still don't get it right sometimes. My brother, who has cooked for parties and large friend gatherings, has it down even better than me. He has a big trailer smoker, and knows it well.

Did you wrap your brisket, or just leave it smoking the whole time? If it's dry, that's usually why. Also, it takes some time to figure out your smoker and how the temp swings vary. The smoker has a lot to do with it, also.


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Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6771393 05/22/17 05:16 PM
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Originally Posted By: M Wilson
so it came out a little dry but not bad for my first one. definitely learned some lessons for the next one.
i could write a long post with the lessons that i took away, but i will save you veterans from reading through it.

go for it!!! although I have been associated with smoking meats for over 50 years, I am still always looking for good pointers of something I might have overlooked. I still learn on each cook!


"everyone that lives dies but not everyone who dies lived..."

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Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6771415 05/22/17 05:38 PM
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what i was struggling with was because of the wind keeping the temp at 225-250. i was barely holding 200-210. i think it was too low to really allow the fat to render properly. so i pulled off at hour 8 when the meat temp was 165 and i finished it in the oven in foil at 275 until it reached a meat temp of 200. this REALLY helped re-hydrate the meat.
Lessons:
1 - windy days are not thermal friends
2 - i think my next method will be 6-8 hours of smoke then finish in the oven. im not a purist and it seemed to save my meat
3 - dont over indulge in bourbon the night prior. its an unwanted headache if you need to be focusing on the smoker all day


Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6771430 05/22/17 05:48 PM
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Yes!! Smoking on windy or really cold days has you tending to the smoker a lot more for temp control. This is where knowing your smoker helps out.

Also, the meat will stall (stop rising in temperature) about 155-160 degrees. This is where most cooks freak out, because the meat won't increase in temperature after a good amount of time ( maybe 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours). Once you pass the stall, it will pick back up and begin rising again. It's good to know where you are in the cooking phase to plan your temps in the smoker.

Ah, the good ol hangover effect. You're not the first, and you won't be the last!!!


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Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6771436 05/22/17 05:58 PM
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Another note, if you have a lot of hot coals, it's easier to manage and control your temps with a large bed of hot coals. If you run a small bed of coals and have to add wood often, it's harder to keep a steady temp due to more or less fire. I find it much easier on long smokes (like a brisket), to have more coals than I will need, than to keep adding more and more wood every few hours. I smoke on a Primos XL smoker. It's generally pretty easy to control the temps on this smoker.


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Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6771636 05/22/17 09:15 PM
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as Chad pointed out, the stall happens 155-165* and can take a long time to break thru to get the temperature rising again. I smoke even cooler than you keeping my smoke chamber in the 170-190 range for smoking. At times, I am a purist but more often than not, time is not on my side where I have to take other measures to get thru the stall. I bounce between wrapping and moving to the hotter area of the pit (230-250) or take to the oven at 225-235. My wife hates it when I take things inside to finish as it tends to add the smoke aroma into the house (way to heavily for her likings!!!). It also depends on how much smoke you like in your meat, for me, you can't get too much smoke but I am not the norm compared to the rest of my family. So, 4-6 hours of smoke for a normal trimmed packer style is plenty for my crew but if everyone is gone (when I like to do most of my smoking), I'll go 8-14 hours smoke with the lower temps. It just takes playing around with your pit and getting into the groove of what it likes to get what you like. I almost ruined 3-4 briskets with my current pit trying to figure it out as it is a lot heavier steal than my previous one and is a bear to get up to the hotter temperatures, but once you do, it holds it very well for 4-5 hours without adding any more wood or charcoal and outside conditions don't have near the impact on it that a lighter weight pit can have. My old pit worked me to death trying to maintain constant temperature, having to add wood every hour or so.

it is an art and once you figure it out with your own preference of taste and operating your pit in it's sweet spot, you will be much happier with what you are getting out every time.


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Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6772093 05/23/17 03:36 AM
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[quote=M Wilson]what i was struggling with was because of the wind keeping the temp at 225-250. i was barely holding 200-210. i think it was too low to really allow the fat to render properly. so i pulled off at hour 8 when the meat temp was 165 and i finished it in the oven in foil at 275 until it reached a meat temp of 200. this REALLY helped re-hydrate the meat.
Lessons:
1 - windy days are not thermal friends
2 - i think my next method will be 6-8 hours of smoke then finish in the oven. im not a purist and it seemed to save my meat
3 - dont over indulge in bourbon the night prior. its an unwanted headache if you need to be focusing on the smoker all day [/quote


As dark as the bark is in the picture you posted...it seems dry. Did you spritz it all? also what type smoker you cook it on..offset? If so did you cook with the firebox door shut and dampers open or...open firebox door and let lots of air in?

Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6772574 05/23/17 05:27 PM
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If I use mesquite for either smoking or grilling, I make darn sure it has had the heck cured out of it. Mesquite that is any sort of green will do some really nasty things to your food. Same with pecan.

That said, if the mesquite has been properly cured, it can turn out some tasty food. For brisket, I typically prefer well-cured oak, possibly with a little hickory, but I usually use hickory for pork or chicken.


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Re: 1st brisket [Re: M Wilson] #6772591 05/23/17 05:45 PM
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I will finish with mesquite but I won't smoke with it any more. Just a stick or two right at the end of the process. Doesn't take long.


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