First Brisket Results and Questions


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Daniel Israel

TVWBB Member
Hi Gang,

Thanks for all the tips here! I tried my first brisket on a midnight run. I used the Minion method of starting the smoker and put the brisket right on (I had trimmed and rubbed it the night before) with a thermometer in it (wireless). Brisket temp was about 50. I waited until the temp hit 250, then I closed the bottom vents to about 25% and went to bed (It was 2:30). I got up at 6:30 to check the brisket. The brisket's temp was 161 and I'll be damned if the smoker was still at 250! I basted and turned the brisket, added hot water to the pan and went back to bed. 3 hours later, I awoke. The brisket was at 163 (only 2 degrees, this kind of bugged me...). The smoker temp had dropped to about 220 (keep in mind, I had a candy thermometer stuck through the lid, so it was probably a little less on the top grate (where the brisket was)). The water was almost gone, so I boiled water and added it. I also shook up the coals to get rid of some ash. The smoker dropped in temp (AGAIN!) to about 200-210. I waited 2 hours, but it never warmed up and the brisket went *DOWN* in temperature!! I took the brisket out and finished it in the oven to 200 degrees. My wife (who was very skeptical... she thinks brisket is just too tough) loved it! Thank god, I see lots of brisket in my future!

The smoker then kept the temperature at the 200 mark for EIGHT MORE HOURS!!!

What should I have done to keep the temperature up? Should I have waited longer before turning the brisket? Any suggestions on making this better the next time? Any help is appreciated! Thanks a lot guys!
 
Hard to say. Could have been a number of factors, total amount of fuel to start, what was left about the time you stirred the coals a little. bottom vent positions.

I generally on a long cook when i must stir the coals, will gently without stirring up ash, pile the coals up as best as I can toward the center of the chamber.

I probably would have cracked the bottom vents open a little more too when you were stuck at 200.

You shouldnt be affraid to place some more fuel in the chamber either. If you do, all you need is a little.

I light my coals in a slightly modified Minion method and get 14 or more hours of constant 235 degrees never having to mess with the coals at all.

Also if your shooting for an internal temp of 190 or whatever, all you need to be is 25 or 30 degrees over your internal temp in the cooker and just ride it out if you have the time of course.

Figuring it all out is half the fun huh?
 
Another way to bring the temps up is to open the door on the WSM and leave it off for a while. The added air will quickly ignite the coals.
sam
 
I assume you had all the vents wide open when you where trying to get the temp up. Was it windy? To repeat a previous question, how much fuel was left? If all else fails fire up another half or even a full chimney of charcoal and add it in. I did that just the other day after a 10 hour cook I was running out of fuel and needed about another 2 hours on my pork shoulder so I got another half chimney going and added it. The temp shot right up from 210 to about 270.
 
The top vent was open 100% the entire time. When I was heating the smoker, I had the bottom vents all open. I then (as noted) reduced the bottom vents to 25%. I never touched them after that.

After listening to you guys, I'm thinking I should have opened them more when I added water.

When I pulled the brisket off, there was plenty of fuel left, as I noted it stay around 200 another 8 hours. I'm beginning to think I just didn't heat it back up properly...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top