Recent content by Mike Graef

Thanks for the info gents. Dan H., where are you located? I am in down town Denver

I am thinking about a packer brisket the weekend and trying for high heat. Any tips for getting to the proper fire temps would be appreciated, I have always struggled with raising temps when doing a minion which I always do, but I usually go low and slow so it has never mattered. I am also...

I started a full cut last night - went on at 1 am, have two probes in now - 8:30 am, flat is showing 172, point at 182. I am not planning to serve until 4 pm. If I keep the fire low - say 200 - is this a good approach to slow this down? All my temp checks at the lid at 3 am - 225, 6:30 -250...

Hi all, any estimate as to how much brisket would be needed to serve around 15 people. I figured a packer and cooking some chicken on the gasser would suffice. Thanks,

Thanks all, I was not sure if a brisket held like a pork butt which I have done numerous times, just ready to branch out a little here and the advice is appreciated.

Is there a recommended strategy for keeping a brisket until serving time? I was thinking using an oven at a low temp wrapped in foil but I am concerned about drying it out. I am planning a packer this weekend, but am well aware of varying finish times, so I plan to finish early and hold...

I had been wondering the same things about a brisket I cooked a couple of weeks ago. I was disappointed with the initial cook, but the week following was full of tasty leftovers.

I cooked some butts over the 4th and was wondering why it took so long for my temps to come up. I used fireking lump, full ring with a full chimney added to the ring, packed pretty tight, vents 100% open, no obstructions, no wind outside, temps in 70s. My temps hovered at about 170 without...

I began on K bricks and recently bought enough lump to keep me going for a while. I have only done one cook which was a butt overnighter. I had reservations about this from what I had read, but it went really smooth, and lit really fast. I packed the ring snuggly and it held temp for close to...

Kevin, I am in Denver and my biggest issue is getting the temps up when not directly in the sun. As far as time, I do Costco loin backs in around 5-6 hours usually. Maybe longer. I will foil during the 4th hour for 45 minutes and then cook the rest of the way at a hotter temp after the lid...

Thanks, I will check in on wal-mart, have only been once (if you can believe that). Clark, thanks for the Minion advice, I have done numerous briquet Minion smokes, but was wondering about the lump difference. Appreciate it.

Has any one cooked with Kingsford lump? I have been having a tough time finding lump of any kind in Denver and came across this at Target so I bought 40 lbs. Also, this will be my first lump cook, overnighter with about 14 lbs of Butts. Any advice, or should I just minion the same way as I do...

I have been a concrete starter myself - that was really cool. And those butts got my mouth watering.

Looks tasty - nice job!! Getting ready to take the wsm out of hibernation this weekend.

I did my first minion cook for ribs last week in the cold of Denver and it was the best fire I have had - used to light up and bring down the temp, but this was so much easier, six hours, very little maintenance of the fire. Peace,