First Brisket Underway!


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
E

Erik H.

TVWBB Fan
I put it on at 9:50 EST. Using Minion method to try and last me the whole cook. One of my coworkers had an old Brinkman smoker she no longer wanted so I have an extra-large water pan in there as well. Going to go keep an eye on temps and smoke me some brisket!

Thanks for hosting this great resource -- it made starting out so much easier!

--Erik
 
OK, just did the 2 hour, 10 minute check. Smoker has been running hot all night, but this is the first time I've used it. Right now it's at 262; it had been in the 270s, so it's starting to slow a bit. I have all the vents closed right now (except the top, of course); I may crack one in an hour or so.

One point of concern -- after only a little over 2 hours, the brisket is at 141? Is this normal? I thought I put the thermometer in the fattest part of the flat, but maybe it is close to the surface on the one side. Should I be concerned?

It's already starting to smell great outside the smoker, though. :)

--Erik
 
Your ok, you may to flip it in the next hour or two, because of the higher pit temps you have had. Flip again later in the cook.
Jim
 
Oops.

Around 5 AM the temp of the cooker was starting to come down (it was at 198), so I opened the vents and moved the coals around. I fell asleep before I could check it again, though, and I completely forgot to check the water pan. At 9 AM the pan was empty and the temp was 327! The brisket was at 180. I poured water in the pan and let the brisket sit for one hour. Temp came down to 250. Took the brisket off in the 190s; sitting in a cooler now.

So, a 13 lbs (trimmed) brisket cooked is 12 hours.... It smelled damn good, but it probably won't be as good as I hoped. Live and learn!

--Erik
 
Erik,

Have confidence...it will be fine. If it got to the 190's it will be tender and should be great. Did you use a dry rub? Sorry about the Steelers yesterday!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif
 
Hi Erik!

Your story reminds me of my very first brisket cook with the WSM. A whole 12 pound brisket took just 8 hours to complete!!

Fell asleep and the cooker was near 350? for most of the night...I am assuming this. The brisket was NOT salvageable as it was pretty much burnt to a crisp. We got a few pickins from the point, but the flat was hard as a rock. The water pan was completey fried and has never recovered! LOL

Yours will probably be OK...I couldn't get a thermo in mine to check! LOL

Let us know how it turned out.
 
Has anyone tried sand in the pan for brisket? I was thinking I'd rather have the moisture for the long cook of a brisket but just curious.
Erik let us know how it turned out.
Dave
 
Believe it or not, success! The brisket came out great. The flat was a little too tender so I had to make the slices thicker than I would have preferred, but it was still wonderful. I shredded the point for sandwiches (not enough fuel left for burnt ends, and I didn't feel like starting a new chimney). I learned a lot from this one and can't wait to do my next!

A 13 pound brisket in 12 hours -- wow!

--Erik
 
I'd love to hear an answer to this one too. Any reason NOT to use sand?

-Matt

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dave:
[qb]Has anyone tried sand in the pan for brisket? I was thinking I'd rather have the moisture for the long cook of a brisket but just curious.
Erik let us know how it turned out.
Dave[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
All my cooks this winter have been using the sand. No matter the type of meat, no matter how long I have to cook it. I have cooked the Big 3....ribs, brisket and butt...all using sand with no significant differences.

Keep in mind....I use foil on my ribs and on my brisket, so the moisture levels inside my cooker are not really a factor.

I will be cooking 2 brisket flats for our Super Bowl party next weekend and plan on trying 2 different techniques and then having my guests judge them. Never too early to start prepping for the upcoming season!
 
Erik: Awwwwww, what a problem to have. Your first brisket was "too tender".
Congrats on having your first brisket come out so, um, "disastrous". :)

-- Ken
 
Like Stogie, I have switched to using sand in the water pan.

I do not foil and have noticed no appreciable difference in moisture. My last cook over the sand was an eight-pound butt that took over 19 hours to cook. The meat was tender, moist, and smoked to perfection using straight hickory.

So far, I see no reason to use water again, but that may change.
 
Richard C.:
Please expound just a bit. You made reference to using "straight hickory" in a 19-hour cook. My (limited) understanding was that the WSM, and certainly those long cooks, needed charcoal. But my interpretation is that you used hickory wood, only. How much babysitting did this require? Any advice you can give??

-- Ken
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top