July 4th Brisket: 26.75 or 18.5 WSM?


 
Hey all,

So after not having done a whole packer brisket in probably 12 years, I am going to attempt one on July 4th (or maybe a few days prior...depending on who is heading over to help me eat it).

Anyway, I wanted to get an opinion on which cooker to use? I could either use my newly acquired 26.75" kettle with a fuse burn or the 18.5" WSM with the good ol' minion method.

I am somewhat leaning toward the WSM just because I know I would probably need to add to the 26's fuse after it went all the way around. I checked the USDA Prime packer's at Costco and they range from 11.5-15lbs untrimmed. A smaller packer, all trimmed, should easily fit on the 18.5. However, if I get there next week and all they have are big ones...I may have to cut it, curve it, or use the 26."

One thing to note is, I tried a low and slow fuse with the 26" and could only really get the temp to stay firmly at 250 with a 2-1 charcoal fuse/stack and the bottom vents nearly choked. Now I have never really experimented with the stack so I started with 2-1. I could try a 1-1, but that seems it could potentially burn awfully low or snuff itself out overnight. With the WSM, I know I can run it pretty much at 215-225 for hours on end with the minion method...no issues.

Just curious as to what some of you would do?
 
Just a comment on the Costco Packers. I have an 18.5 WSM and have cooked several of the big packers from Costco on it and have never had trouble squeezing them on. Some times they might have to be wedged in a bit but they shrink up soon enough.
 
I've only done 1 full packer (14.8lb.) I tucked the ends under the grate handles on the 18.5 WSM and it shrunk up just fine.
I'm not doing a big piece for the fourth but, I will be doing another later in the summer. I went about fourteen hours and it was delightful so, there's one opinion. Use the WSM.
 
Hey all,

So after not having done a whole packer brisket in probably 12 years, I am going to attempt one on July 4th (or maybe a few days prior...depending on who is heading over to help me eat it).

Anyway, I wanted to get an opinion on which cooker to use? I could either use my newly acquired 26.75" kettle with a fuse burn or the 18.5" WSM with the good ol' minion method.

WSM will give you a lot less aggravation and likely a better result. Big factor for me is that I can do an overnight cook with little worry of wild temperature excursions or of the fire dying.

Jeff
 
My 26" kettle tends to be a charcoal pig (much like my 22" WSM) If room allows, I'd cook the brisket in a WSM just for simplicity sake and because Brisket is expensive and somewhat risky in a kettle because of the time requirement
 
Alrighty guys! WSM it is!

Tell you the truth, I was really leaning that way. Just needed a nudge. My WSM holds temp incredibly well and is great on fuel.

Ok...so next question...what temp to cook it at? 225?
 
Ok...so next question...what temp to cook it at? 225?
The Thermoworks folks recently put up a recipe from Diva Q that recommended 5 hours at 180F, spritzing every hour with a combination of beef broth and Worcestershire. Then raise the temp to 275F for 2-3 hours, until the bark has set. Then wrap in foil along with some beef stock and sweet onions. Continue at 275F another 2-3 hours, until 203F internal.

I've not tried this but it sounded interesting. If Costco has a nice prime brisket next time I'm in I may give it a shot.
 
The Thermoworks folks recently put up a recipe from Diva Q that recommended 5 hours at 180F, spritzing every hour with a combination of beef broth and Worcestershire. Then raise the temp to 275F for 2-3 hours, until the bark has set. Then wrap in foil along with some beef stock and sweet onions. Continue at 275F another 2-3 hours, until 203F internal.

Sounds like a recipe for pot roast. :)
 
Use the 26 chicken. I have gotten 18 hours with a full chimney of kbb. 235 -250° the whole time. On that grill. It's easier on the wsm. Don't take easy. Have fun with it. Cook a butt this weekend before you do your brisket.
 
Sounds like a recipe for pot roast. :)
Apparently it was pot roast that garnered a perfect 180 at some competition.

I was curious as to whether the very gentle 180F at the beginning would impact the rendering of the collagen. I recall Alton Brown talking about very gentle heat being necessary to properly render the collagen from chicken bones when making stock. Obviously, brisket isn't chicken and doesn't have bones, but the brisket might benefit from the same approach to the collagen.
 
Use the 26 chicken. I have gotten 18 hours with a full chimney of kbb. 235 -250° the whole time. On that grill. It's easier on the wsm. Don't take easy. Have fun with it. Cook a butt this weekend before you do your brisket.

LOL! :p Mmmm...I love chicken.

Thanks Gus...and yes I remember you saying that. The 26 did hold the temp really nicely for those ribs. My only concern is it dropping off at some point overnight and me not catching it in time. Would you suggest putting the charcoal in the baskets rather than doing a fuse? Or light a whole chimney off to one side?

I did two pork butts last weekend on the WSM. Lots of vacuum sealed leftovers, so I doubt i'll get the green light for pork butt or ribs until after the brisket cook.

Oh, did you forget I have a newborn... and a toddler? Sometimes I NEED easy. ;)
 
Just remember,
"Success or failure, it all ends up in the same place."

I don't remember who said that but it was some well respected chef, like James Beard or Escoffier.
 
I did a brisket on an old 22" kettle at a relative's house a few years ago. Even though I had a foil pan to catch the drippings, that pan was next to some of the charcoal and got hot enough that every time I opened the lid, the grease would catch fire. I ended up finishing it in an oven.

I'd recommend the WSM. I've done briskets up to 17 lb in the 18.5" without any problems. For the biggest one, I put an empty coke can under the middle to curve it, but within a few hours it had shrunk enough to remove that.
 
So I did the 13lb USDA Prime packer (maybe closer to 11-11.5 lbs trimmed) in the 18 WSM today. 10 hours. Its resting now...and so am I. So we shall see how the end result turns out.

A few takeaways:

-I left the lid off when I pulled the brisket to wrap in pink butcher paper. Since I brought it inside to do it...the lid was off for maybe 3-5 minutes. This caused a spike at the 5 hour mark that gave me a nice 30 minute headache. After closing all the vents, I eventually had to spritz the coals down with water to get the temp under control. Lesson? Leave the lid closed as much as possible (which I have always done before)...but also have a spray bottle or some water handy to get the heat down. Yeah this can make your food ashy, but the brisket was wrapped in butcher paper...so no worries there.

-Maiden voyage of my new Thermoworks Smoke. I love it...and kind of hate it a little. I have never worried so much about a piece of meat on the fire before today. Its very sensitive...almost too much. The 15 second updates are great, but make me want run out and check every so often if it starts climbing/falling more than I think it should. I definitely played with the vents more today than the last half a dozen cooks combined. I have never had anything come off a grill/smoker that wasn't good or edible. Its a blessing and a curse I suppose. During the "spike fiasco" the temps kept going from 225 to 325 (sometimes fluctuating 30 degrees with the breeze). I like how once I got it nice and steady again, the Thermoworks Smoke really shined for hours; allowing me to take a little nap. I awoke an hour and half later with a 5 degree drop in pit temp and 5 degree rise in meat temp. I was pretty happy!

-Aaron Franklin's pink butcher paper wrapping job for brisket. Pulled the meat at 165 and wrapped it until 202. Oh, I really want this to be awesome (so I will report on the results later today or tomorrow). I may use the butcher paper again (perhaps for brisket)... but my advice if you are rocking a WSM: you may be best to cook a brisket naked and just leave the lid shut as much as possible (spritzing every few hours). If I only do a big brisket once or twice a year...I figure this roll of paper will last me a decade or more. Again, the temp spike seemed troublesome. But if the final product is amazing...then there are no worries. I'll find out in about an hour.

Stay tuned!
 
Update:

So I sliced into the flat and it was just a touch dry. I mean...not much, but it didn't really pass the optimum 1/4" slice pull test. Most people wouldn't care or notice (my wife didn't)...but it was a little over on the flat side. The point however, was dead on and perfect. Perfectly rendered. Juicy and tender as could be!

Flavor was excellent. Simple 1:1 salt and pepper with a handful of Mike Mills "Holy Cow" rub added in ( I was originally going to use all of the Holy Cow...but the Cayenne brought a good bit of heat my kids probably would not enjoy...so in usual fashion--I called an audible.

I mixed some point and flat meat, chopped, and vacuum sealed it for the freezer.

I guess for the next time...I have to re-lid, wrap fast, and replace immediately.

Not bad for the first brisket in a decade...but now I am probably going to do at least 1-2 packer's each year. Going to learn from this long WSM cook and move forward!
 
Put it on top of a well-oiled (Pam spray, etc.) box cheese grater that you can buy cheap at any kitchen supply store.

 
Good Morning Everyone, I just took a brisket off 22" WSM after 16hr smoke. My question is when you place the wrapped brisket in a cooler to "rest", do you ice it????
 
Good Morning Everyone, I just took a brisket off 22" WSM after 16hr smoke. My question is when you place the wrapped brisket in a cooler to "rest", do you ice it????
No, just the opposite. I give it 5-10 minutes on the counter to make sure it stops "cooking" and then wrap it in an old towel and put it in the cooler. The purpose of putting it in a cooler is not so it can "rest", it's so you can keep it warm for hours until you are ready to cut it up and eat it.
 

 

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