First Brisket on 22.5 WSM

Been smoking briskets forever on offset stick burners. Always smoked briskets at 275*-300* and usually done in 8 hours. Never a problem, always turned out good...hardly ever stalled. But, I got to hearing so many people on here talking about low and slow with the WSM, I thought I'd try it on my new 22.5 WSM. So, I practiced for two weekends on a pork shoulder and a butt...and they both turned out great, so I was ready to give a brisket a shot. I had a 15 lb choice brisket, rubbed it up with salt and pepper only...normal stuff. Started the WSM at 9:00pm last Friday night, threw the brisket on at 10:00, after I finally got TBS...and the grate temp was 230*. I used about one and half of my normal post oak splits, cut up into smaller chunks...4 chunks on a bottom layer of Kingsford and 3 chunks on top. Then poured in about 1/3 chimney of lit coals.

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Went back out to check on it at 8:00 the next morning. It had been on the smoker for 11 hours, and the Auber had held it right at 230* all night. Yep, not only going from a stick burner to a WSM, but going high-tech as well, letting the Auber control the temps for me all night. And, I must say it does a fantastic job. But, at 8:00am Saturday, we were still in the stall, with an internal temp of 165*. I checked on the temp at 2:00am with the Maverick and it was 164* then...so, it had been in the stall for 6 hours already. I opened up the charcoal door and threw in about 7-8 double handfuls of charcoal, and left it alone. It wasn't but just a couple of minutes until the internal temp started creeping up from 165*...but to get from there to 200* internal, it took 7 more hours. I have actually smoked briskets from start to finish in 7 hours when going hot and fast. Anyway, it finally got to 200* internal at 3:00pm. The reason I have two grate temp probes in this pic is because I was ensuring the Maverick and the Auber were on the same page...and they were...never more than 2 degrees off either way. I knew when I picked up the brisket it was going to be good, as I had that good jiggly-jello feeling.

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Wrapped it up and put it in an ice chest to rest a couple of hours. It was really good...especially the point. I think it was a tad over-cooked though, as you can see below, it wanted to crumble a little when cutting it. It was still juicy and tender, and the point was amazing, but I'm thinking about removing from the WSM at about an internal of 195*-197* next time, just to see if that would fix that little issue. I'm thinking it's either take it off earlier, or wrap it in foil during the stall. Thoughts? I used to wrap it every time, but haven't done that in years. Of course, I'm used to cooking hot and fast on a stick burner, and it's a little different going low and slow on the WSM. I just never could get my old stick burners to run that low. And, I am still learning the WSM...but I do love it, as it's a lot less work than what I'm used to. Plus, it uses so much less wood, for the same smoky-taste, it's amazing. For example, on a 17 hour cook on my old stick burner, not only would I have been worn out from watching it, but it would've used anywhere from 25-30 splits of wood, instead of the 1 1/2 I used for this. I did use a little over a bag of charcoal though, whereas with the stick burner I would've only used about 1/2 chimney, just to get it started...the rest would've all been wood.

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Nice job, Mick !
It was probably 'just right' when you pulled it off. Let it cool off to approx 170 IT, then wrap. Otherwise it continues to cook...

Bob Bass said:

Nice job, Mick !It was probably 'just right' when you pulled it off. Let it cool off to approx 170 IT, then wrap. Otherwise it continues to cook...

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Thanks Bob! Makes sense! It did 'feel' just right, and it was really good...in fact, I thought the point was excellent. I just thought the flat was a little crumbly when cutting it...or my knife is getting dull. But, then again, I never eat the flat anyway...that's normally what all the women eat, since they're all watching their figures and hate fat. And, I just let them keep on thinking that! I actually wish I could find a butcher that sold just brisket points...save all those flats for people who want to stick 'em in the oven. Even when I eat at a barbecue joint, I always tell 'em "from the point". But, there was nothing left out of a 15 lb brisket, with 10 people...so, it must've been pretty good overall. I'm just my own worse critic, especially when it comes to brisket.

Totally understand !
During a contest, when the cooks are trying their level best to cook the 'perfect' brisket, we judges can only guarantee a less than perfect score

That looks really good! I think Bob is right on about venting it before you wrap. That was a pretty wicked stall you had there. Welcome to low and slow! 16 to 17 hours sounds right. I generally go though one of the 18 lb bags of kbb on a long cook like that and typically I could have gone a lot longer.

Dustin Dorsey said:

That looks really good! I think Bob is right on about venting it before you wrap. That was a pretty wicked stall you had there. Welcome to low and slow! 16 to 17 hours sounds right. I generally go though one of the 18 lb bags of kbb on a long cook like that and typically I could have gone a lot longer.

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Thanks Dustin...yeah, it tasted great! And yeah...that was a wicked stall, something I'm not used to at all, when using the Wrangler. However, I will keep playing with it, until I hit that sweet spot I'm looking for. I may even bump her up to 250* next time. It is nice to have those options though...and be able to just set it and leave it alone. I actually sold the Wrangler Saturday, a guy came by and picked it up while I was smoking the brisket on the WSM. So, now there's no turning back...and I have lot more room on my patio.

Mick
Tnx for shaing your setup.
Im still stuying wood amount but this is part of the fun.
Your brisket looks really good and I bet it taste better.
Complimenti.

Glad to see you enjoying your WSM and Auber!

I smoke briskets at 250 and get them done in about 7 hours (4 unwrapped, 3 wrapped). Maybe this could provide you the best of both worlds?

Either way it's personal preference and there is no wrong answer. That's why bbq is so fun.

Bob Bass said:

Nice job, Mick !
It was probably 'just right' when you pulled it off. Let it cool off to approx 170 IT, then wrap. Otherwise it continues to cook...

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This is after its all said and done? So for example, when I'm done with a brisket, I should open it up (from the foil wrap) and sit in a cooler (unwrapped)?

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Simply amazing looking brisket Mick!

Thanks Enrico, I think I got lucky and hit it just right for the amount of wood on my first pork shoulder. I've been using 7-8 chunks this size ever since. I seem to get a good smoke ring, and get just as good smoky taste as using 20 splits in my old offset.

Thanks Justin. I've been totally amazed at the WSM and the Auber. Anyone who starts off smoking meat with those two items is just cheating...and don't know what it's like to work hard to put out some quality meat. I wish I'd done this years ago. Yeah, I've already decided to smoke the next brisket at 250*. What size briskets do you smoke that fast at 250*? I could do a packer 14-15 lbs on my old stick burner in 7-8 hours at 300*, but would normally take me 12 hours if I got down to around 250*. And, a 12-14 hour smoke is about what I'm looking for. That 17 hours last weekend was due to the extra long stall, which I am not used to at all. I've done a lot of tests through the years, wrapping briskets in foil, and butcher paper, and just leaving them unwrapped. I prefer unwrapped, but may try wrapping in butcher paper next time. Foil seems to steam it too much for my taste.

Thanks Mac. What Bob was saying is, since I don't normally wrap my brisket when cooking, to bring it in from the smoker and let it cool down a bit, before wrapping and putting in the ice chest. Normally, I will let mine rest for an hour or so on the cabinet. But, if we have a lot of people over, and other things to cook, I will throw it directly in the cooler to rest for 3-4 hours, or just whenever everything else is ready. And, now that I think about it, those briskets that sit in the cooler directly from the smoker through the years have been the ones that have seemed over-cooked. So, I think Bob hit the nail on the head there.

MickHLR said:

Thanks Enrico, I think I got lucky and hit it just right for the amount of wood on my first pork shoulder. I've been using 7-8 chunks this size ever since. I seem to get a good smoke ring, and get just as good smoky taste as using 20 splits in my old offset.

Thanks Justin. I've been totally amazed at the WSM and the Auber. Anyone who starts off smoking meat with those two items is just cheating...and don't know what it's like to work hard to put out some quality meat. I wish I'd done this years ago. Yeah, I've already decided to smoke the next brisket at 250*. What size briskets do you smoke that fast at 250*? I could do a packer 14-15 lbs on my old stick burner in 7-8 hours at 300*, but would normally take me 12 hours if I got down to around 250*. And, a 12-14 hour smoke is about what I'm looking for. That 17 hours last weekend was due to the extra long stall, which I am not used to at all. I've done a lot of tests through the years, wrapping briskets in foil, and butcher paper, and just leaving them unwrapped. I prefer unwrapped, but may try wrapping in butcher paper next time. Foil seems to steam it too much for my taste.

Thanks Mac. What Bob was saying is, since I don't normally wrap my brisket when cooking, to bring it in from the smoker and let it cool down a bit, before wrapping and putting in the ice chest. Normally, I will let mine rest for an hour or so on the cabinet. But, if we have a lot of people over, and other things to cook, I will throw it directly in the cooler to rest for 3-4 hours, or just whenever everything else is ready. And, now that I think about it, those briskets that sit in the cooler directly from the smoker through the years have been the ones that have seemed over-cooked. So, I think Bob hit the nail on the head there.

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Good info Mick; thank you!!!

Dropping the temperature to "about" 170 seems to stop the cooking process, based on information from other well-known sources.

Your Brisky looks awesome!!! I think it was perfectly smoked here in my opinion! Nice smoke ring!!! I enjoy doing my low and slow Brisket on my WSM 18. Works great!!!! ps. my family lives in Texas. Denton, Sanger and Lewisville, I know all about Texas brisket . Texans knows how to properly smoke brisket!!!!!

Mick brisket looks awesome. Did you happen to use water on this cook?

Mick, that is outstanding and I love the bark done just right. Awesome job for sure.

Mick,

I usually smoke 12-14 lb briskets and get them done in around 7 hours when wrapping. Something to note is that I trim out most of the deckle between the point and the flat which helps speed up the cooking process.

The longer I smoker the hotter and faster I want to go.

MickHLR said:

I knew when I picked up the brisket it was going to be good, as I had that good jiggly-jello feeling.

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Oh yeah!! Tremendous cook Mick. Love that second to last shot!

Looks like you got right up on that new pony, with your experience you will have that WSM dialed in shortly.

Mick, why give up on the stick burner all together for the WSM? Most people go from the WSM to the bigger badder stick burner and keep them BOTH for different size cooks.

Just curious why you didnt hold onto the big offset?

rb

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I appreciate it.

Hey Rusty, yeah...I probably did it backwards. I've always considered myself a purest when it came to smoking meat. And, for the most part, I've always enjoyed sitting out there drinking whiskey and watching that stick burner, adjusting vents, adding wood, keeping TBS, etc., etc., etc. And, I got to where, as I've gotten older, "for the most part" has gotten to be hardly never, as I could always think of something else I needed to be doing. And, I've been debating on buying a 22.5 WSM or an XL BGE for years...I just never would do it, as it just felt more manly to barbecue on that big old heavy stick burner. Finally, after getting tired of spending so much time and working so hard to smoke anything, I said I was going to buy the WSM, the XL BGE, or I was going to spend a lot of money and go for a reverse flow Lang. And, my wife said I'd try the WSM or BGE first...and I still haven't given up on the Lang. So, once I saw how great the WSM is, and how easy it is to use, I didn't think I'd ever use that stick burner again. And, if I ever do go back to a stick burner, it will be either a Lang, Klose, Horizon, or East Texas Smoker Co smoker...all in the $2500-$3500 range. And, I can buy a heckuva lot of WSMs for that. And, another reason is I wanted to get that beast off my patio. BTW...I also just sold my Weber Genesis 330. After buying the 26.75" Weber kettle last year, I never used the propane Genesis, so I got it off my patio as well.