Basting Brisket

[Doug D]

It will be a judgement call. If a fork goes into it with virtually no resistance at 180* you could consider it done. If you have the fuel and patience to go to 190, that's an alternative. Some people take briskets up to 205*, but I would hesitate to go that long on a flat.

The temp I didn't understand was the 140*.

 

[Mikey F]

That was the internal temp of the meat at the time of the post.

 

[Doug D]

Then what was at 161*?

 

[Mikey F]

That was the internal meat temp at that particular post.

 

[Mikey F]

So the meat temp is as follows

0954 100

1331 141

1427 161

1508 171


I made a mistake on that particular post which posted 141 and 161

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>LOL, this is like virtual cooking. Now the temp is at 161, and the temp of the grill is at 140. How often should I baste the meat? Plus when the meat gets to 180 should I take it out and do what with it?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>The 140 should have been 240 my mistake. /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

 

[Doug D]

OK

 

[Tom Raveret]

So how was it?

Doug, what is your opinon on optimal temprature for cooking Butts and brisket and what is the range you feel is acceptable?

 

[Doug D]

As to brisket, most frequent brisket cookers-- of which I am not one-- will tell you every brisket is different and that temp alone does not determine the finished product. I have pulled them as low as 180* with good results. Two of Chris' cooks described on the website detail taking them to 205*, but both cooks also entail foil-wrapping and oven finishing, which would tend to preserve moisture. His third cook describes pulling at 185*. I prefer to split the difference and use 185-188* as an average guide.

As to butts, most know that sticking an instant-read thermometer in five different places will most likely yield five notably different readings. I typically pull them off when I get a reading of 190* in at least one place, but you could probably take them further without harm, if you're planning on pulled pork.

And if I missed your meaning as to temperature, I usually run 235-250* measured at the top grate on everything except poultry.

 

[Mikey F]

I am sorry for not responding earlier, but I was gone. Anyway the meat came out dry but it was still tasty. I do not know what I did wrong, I will try again soon. the meat never got above 190, I took it out and it was just dry. THe meat came apart easy enough but it felt hard when pressed with a finger.

 

[Jerry N.]

Mikey,
I don't want to sound critical so please take this the way I intend it - to help you eat better Q. You have to plan your cook better. You need to spend more time prior to the cook reading this web site. Many of the questions and problems you were having have their answers right here. Then, you have to basically stick to a plan. I'm no expert, but I don't think you should start a cook with a target temp in mine and then wonder if you should be changing it. Lastly - take some notes. Once you get some reasonably good food coming off the WSM, then experimenting is half the fun, but you have to remember what worked and what didn't.

I've done three cooks on my WSM and a couple others on the smoker I had (and did not like) prior to this one. All have come out pretty good, but I've done a lot of reading. In my opinion, you should start with something a little easier than brisket (ribs work for me) to get use to the WSM.

Go ahead and send that Sam Adams to me - BBQ and Beer would have to be pretty bad for me to not consume either of them!!

Good luck on your next cook.