First High Heat Brisket


 
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Dennis Lubertozzi

TVWBB Member
Well, I'm giving it a shot. I fired up the WSM about an hour ago for my first high heat brisket that (hopefully) my friends and I will be eating tomorrow morning as we're tailgating for the Bears vs. Lions game.

So far it's been nothing short of a temperature roller coaster. For the most part I've been able to keep the temperature between 350 and 385 or so, but it's not as easy going as I'm used to with the WSM on a more traditional low and slow approach.

Any hints on keeping these higher temperatures steady would be greatly appreciated!

Also, anyone have any thoughts on brisket breakfast burritos? I'm going to give them a try tomorrow at the tailgate. Have some egg beaters I'm going to scramble, and will toss the egg in a tortilla with a slice of brisket, a spoonful of Ro-Tel, and some cheese.
 
Got the temperatures under controller and about 45 min after my last post the cooker settled in at 360 or so. I just hit an internal temperature in the brisket of 168 and decided it was time to foil it up. It looked and smelled pretty great, so I'm anxious to give this thing a try in a few short hours. Back to sleep now.
 
I find that with high heat target temps you need to light more coals to start with. Sometimes proping the door or lid a bit will help you get there if you are having issues with all the vents wide open.I hope it has turned out well for you. I wish I could say go bears.......but you better beat the lions!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dennis Lubertozzi:

So far it's been nothing short of a temperature roller coaster. For the most part I've been able to keep the temperature between 350 and 385 or so, but it's not as easy going as I'm used to with the WSM on a more traditional low and slow approach.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I had that problem the first time I did high heat, plus I didn't have anything to prop the door open with that fit just right. I did the simple mod that Chris has on the modifications page to add the machine screws to the door and use it upside down. Did my second high heat brisket yesterday and it was really easy to control the temp. It was up to about 325 within 10 minutes of assembly, and stayed between 350 and 375 for most of the cook, depending on how I adjusted the door. I'd recommend it.
 
Well - I'm another high-heat convert. The brisket turned out more moist than any brisket I've cooked using a traditional method. It was a huge hit at the tailgate, and being able to knock out a brisket in 5 hours is pretty amazing.

I did find that my coals were pretty spent by the 4th hour or so, so I ended up finishing in the oven. I think next time (I already have a 2nd brisket sitting in the fridge that I plan on smoking next weekend) I think I'll just do the first half of the cook in the WSM and then move the foiled brisket to the oven to finish it. Obviously much easier to control the temperature and it just seems more convenient.
 
Also, just to clarify, my temperature difficulties came more from not being able to get the cooker to settle at any temperature in the 340-375 range. The cooker was either constantly climbing or nose diving, so a lot of adjustments were needed. I'm not someone who constantly fusses with the WSM during a smoke, so I'm not sure why I had such a tough time controlling things.
 
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