Brisket on Genesis tips?


 
J

Jim C in Denver

TVWBB All-Star
As a Covid timekiller, I'm going to attempt my first ever smoked brisket on my Silver B this weekend. Would appreciate any tips on set up and method.

I'm starting simple, with just a 5 pound flat from Costco. To get a brisket baseline, I plan on low/slow (not HH) and simple dalmation rub. Also plan to wrap once I hit the stall.

Looks like any one east/west burner on low/med will put me in the 225-250 zone. For smoke, I plan to use pellets (oak, hickory, mesquite mix) in my Amaze Maze. Questions:

Water pan or no? If yes, where to put it?

Where to place the brisket? Left or right side? Front, middle or back?

Which burner should I use for heat?

Pellet maze up on the grate or down on the flav bars? And where situated in relation to the brisket?

My intital thoughts were to use the back burner for the heat, covered with a water pan. Brisket goes above that in the middle back. Maze goes in the cooler front portion to keep it from bursting into flame. Maze is supposed to be able to smolder all on its own with no heat needed from the grill, so I think I need to avoid it getting too hot.

Since the exit is the back of the lid, I figure the smoke would have to flow over the brisket on its way out. Was planning on lighting both ends of the pellet maze at the beginning, which should provide a lot of smoke until the stall and wrap -- like five hours. Since gassers are leaky as compared to smokers, I was worrying about not having enough smoke. But I don't want to overdo the smoke either. What about blocking off a portion of the back exit with a wad of foil?

Please enlighten me on how to do this best.

Thanks.
 
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I don't know how pellets or your smoker system works, but I use a V-shaped smoker with wood chips and I place it between flavorizer bar one and two. I have the front burner on low. It is tough to keep it anywhere near 200 even on low. I place a pan of water basically under the meat. I personally only smoke the first hour or so. Maybe two fresh loads of chips in the smoker.
 
front burner only, smoke source there as well under the grate and meat in the back. I doubt though your Silver B will run cool enough. But it may still work out
 
If you have to, you can prop the lid open a little bit to keep the temps down where you want them.
 
"front burner only, smoke source there as well under the grate and meat in the back. I doubt though your Silver B will run cool enough. But it may still work out"

Thanks Larry. Similar to what I was thinking.

What do you use for smoke? Lumps down on the flav bar? Chips in a tray/pouch on the flav bar? Do you get enough smoke from those? Do they stay lit for 4-5 hours? Given that my pellet tray has to stay a bit cooler, in my set up the smoke may have to go up on the grate.

I did a test with a couple oven thermometers on the grate. Front burner on low (no water tray) gives me 275 in the front, 240 in the middle, 230 in the back, and 250 on the lid thermometer. Those may not be quite as accurate as digital measurements, but in the ballpark. Suspect, though, that the high heat brisket method is a better fit for a gasser.
 
I just make foil packets. I enjoy either hickory or cherry but not mesquite. I find it too assertive and with an almost "sooty" taste
 
I want to try this with my Silver B tomorrow. I have the little V shaped smoker box and hickory chips. My plan is to put it between bars 1 and 2 as Bruce suggested. I have seen mine run with weather in the 50's at 240 with the front burner on low. I would put a water tray beneath the brisket. Is there any method to counter the problem of the B running 15 degrees hotter than optimal. I've smoked ribs on my 22" which somehow I manage to keep running at 220 for many hours. The kettle is on loan and I've always wanted to see if there was some way to make this work with the Silver B.
 
For some reason my grill is running at 220 grate temperature with the front burner on medium. Air temperature is 60 degrees but there's a light breeze. It's been steady like that for the last two hours. I'm just now noticing Bruce wrote in this thread that he smokes the brisket only the first couple of hours using a gas grill. That makes sense after lots of reading different opinions and ideas shared online. I should probably buy or build a smoker.

Question for Bruce - do you leave the v shaped smoker box open? Otherwise it's going to be tough to refill. I've been thinking maybe just an aluminum 9x5x1 pan for the chips might make more sense for this.
 
D: I leave it closed. But either will probably work. Also, you can get by with an aluminum pan as well. I would look for a longer and skinnier one though. That way the wood will be mostly over the direct heat. The pieces further back in the wider pan will not get enough heat to get them "smoking".
 
I squished two round tins our Indian take out place puts rice in and just filled the centers - the v shaped smoker is still the center - the tins on the ends. It's smoking ok
 
In the past I've used the v shaped smoker box just to lend some flavor to higher heat indirect cooks. Since those would rarely be longer than 1-1/2 hours I would just fill it once. I was surprised how quickly during this smoking experiment that the soaked chips burned through in it. I came up with a routine to get the grills lifted so I can refill it.
 
BTW, I creased the center of the 8" round tins and placed them into the V between bar one and two. They're working ok - there's just a small air gap at the top. Will post a photo of that.
 
Your heads up that I would be refilling the chips several times was probably the key. Also not trying to do the whole cook on the grill was also key. Basically couldn't do it without your help - you're invited!
 
I do stuff like this but simply make a few packages of chips in foil. When smoke stops I lift grate, remove one pack and drop in another. No fancy V things. Simple, cheap, foil packs. Pre-made and EZPZ
 
I totally understand that approach Larry. It is a b.... trying to refill a smoker box mid cook.
 
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