The comments above make me think a smoke ring is bad, if all it means you put a cold brisket on the smoker, which is what you should not do.

Good read here on smoke rings...does not say anything about cold brisket.

https://barbecuebible.com/2014/07/11/science-smoke-ring/

I don't know the science behind it, but I have cooked many a FINE brisket that when on the smoker fresh out of the fridge seasoned the night before. I think it is mostly personal preference. It may slightly speed the cooking time to let it warm to room temp etc. I don't know, but neither way is in any way detrimental to cooking a GOOD brisket.

It would take a few hours for a brisket to come to room temp prior to cooking it, I don't take mine out of the fridge until I am ready to get the fire going which happens to be usually early in the morning. So it's only out for an hour tops. Since you're cooking at a low temp it slowly comes up to temp anyway.

This says 1 hour brings to room temperature.

That looks like pork.

Probably because they didn’t throw it on cold.

It has worked out OK for me. This is for the brisket pictured above in the styrofoam box.

Scott I didn't know what caused smoke rings till this morning, but I learned a lot today on this subject per the link I gave above, and read some more during lunch.... I tried to google and find where it explained why putting cold brisket on the smoker made a better ring, the link below explains it, but I like the first sentence "Let me drop a hard truth-bomb on you: as an indicator of well-cooked barbecue, the smoke ring is useless."

https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/the-science-of-the-smoke-ring/

Thanks for the links. The only time I try to have a smoke ring is in a competition because people eat with their eyes and most of the judges are backyard BBQ people, not certified judges. We only do IBCA competitions, haven't done a KCBS competition which requires certified judges and also scores presentation.

Most of the time when I'm cooking, brisket takes the longest so as soon as the smoker is ready for it, it goes on. Last week it was 35 outside so the hour the meat was sitting out didn't allow it to warm up much from the cooler.

I agree that there's no flavor difference with a smoke ring vs no smoke ring. I don't wrap my briskets in foil or paper unless I just have to speed up the cook and then only in paper. With the internal temp I cook to, my briskets get lots of smoke and turn out very tender.

Again, thanks for the science lesson. It's very interesting.

This is a quote from the Texas monthly link I posted above..

"The smoke ring isn’t something Perkins chases in his restaurant’s cooking method. “We’re looking for tenderness and juiciness,” he told me. As part of achieving this, they let their briskets warm up a bit (but not above health department mandated temperatures) outside the cooler before they go on the smoker. This is a common tip for home barbecue cooks to help accelerate the cooking process (colder briskets take longer in the smoker). As it happens, it’s also the best way to kill the smoke ring before it has a chance to form."

Again, I'm not an expert, I didn't know anything about what causes a ring in a brisket till yesterday when I read your post about putting one on cold to get a better ring. Don't listen to me when it comes to science, I slept through science in high school.

But if red ring is what you are after, here is my redneck interpretation of the science I posted above...

* 2 things go on, 1) brisket will lose its red color as it warms/heats up. At 140, it loses its color. 2) when brisket is put on smoker, brisket molecules interact with smoke gases, magic happens, and the red color is locked in. So the colder the brisket is on the smoker the better, don't lose red color, give time for the magic to happen and lock in the red color. Once it reaches 140, red ring magic is all done.
* Keep brisket moist, with mop or spray, this helps magic work deeper into the meat for a thinker ring. But don't use acidity vinegar, red ring magic doesn't like that.
* Use green wood, produces stronger magic red ring gasses.

I might have to try all this.