I bought a 15lb brisket from Restaurant Depot for my first ever beef smoke. I wanted to go low and slow and start at midnight last night so it would be ready around NFL halftime on the East Coast. Unfortunately I lost power yesterday from an intense 15 minutes t-storm at 4pm for 22 hours. I had way too many DogFish 90 IPAs with the neighbors last night and woke up too tired to smoke.
I used the Steven Raichlen rub and mop recipes. After trimming and rubbing, it hit the grill at 1330 today. I used the Minion method with 20 lit briquettes, 3 pieces each of cherry/apple, all vents wide open and 4L of water; clear and sunny day, 79F degrees. First hour lid temp was 280F, int temp 106F. I mopped 2x and added 1L of water. Because of the afternoon sun, lid temps hit 330-350F before I pulled it, put it in a foil wrapped pan in a 325F oven. Int temp at 4:30 mark is 190F. I will stop at 205F, rest it then pull the cap and make burnt ends. It looks like it will take one more hour of cooking.
I had a good sharp knife which made trimming easy. I'm still a bit confused on separating the flat from the cap but now that power is restored, I can re-read about brisket cutting. I also forgot to flip it when I panned it but I could not remember if I placed it initially fat-side up or down. I guess I could have kept the brisket on the smoker but I'm more anxious to taste and share with my neighbors later this evening.
I hope it works out.
I used the Steven Raichlen rub and mop recipes. After trimming and rubbing, it hit the grill at 1330 today. I used the Minion method with 20 lit briquettes, 3 pieces each of cherry/apple, all vents wide open and 4L of water; clear and sunny day, 79F degrees. First hour lid temp was 280F, int temp 106F. I mopped 2x and added 1L of water. Because of the afternoon sun, lid temps hit 330-350F before I pulled it, put it in a foil wrapped pan in a 325F oven. Int temp at 4:30 mark is 190F. I will stop at 205F, rest it then pull the cap and make burnt ends. It looks like it will take one more hour of cooking.
I had a good sharp knife which made trimming easy. I'm still a bit confused on separating the flat from the cap but now that power is restored, I can re-read about brisket cutting. I also forgot to flip it when I panned it but I could not remember if I placed it initially fat-side up or down. I guess I could have kept the brisket on the smoker but I'm more anxious to taste and share with my neighbors later this evening.
I hope it works out.
