First brisket's on 22.5 WSM advice please


 
John_Goebel

John_Goebel

New member
The title pretty much covers it.

Plan as of now, 2 packers 14 to 15 lbs, one on each grate.

I really like the Trader Joe's charcoal and am planning on using that. Did a first cook last night about a 2/3 full load of charcoal minion style. Took about 40 minutes to settle at 270 with bottom vents 3/4 open. Played with temp/vent's for 3 hours or so, got it above 300 for an hour then damped down to 260 and smoke 2 whole Amish chickens for a test run. Birds took about 2 hours.

So at that point temp was still holding steady, in fact I opened it up full for the last 20 minutes got back to 300 and crisped the skin a bit. Closed it down and this morning I had some re-usable coal left, good sign I think.

The questions are...

1. Should I dare do an overnighter for my first go on this cooker, I've done it with plenty of briskets before just not on this style cooker. I'm pretty confident that if I set an alarm 6 hours in I'll be safe?

2. Temp/time differences from top to bottom grate?

3. Your choice of fuel for a cook like this, just no blue bag.

4. Wish me luck, I'm cooking for my neighbors as well...

Thanks in advance,
John Goebel
 
John,

From your description, you should be just fine. Just start with a completely full, almost to overflowing, charcoal ring. Should still have 1/2 worth left after the cook.

While there is a grate temperature difference between the two, it really doesn't matter. Especially since your 2 briskets will likely get to tender at different times, even if cooked at exactly the same grate temperature. Now if you could know for certain which of your 2 briskets will be tender first, you could place it on the grate with the lower grate temperature... ;)

Haven't used Trader Joe's, but if its working well for you, stay with it.

Wishing you a Delightfully Enjoyable cook ! :wsm:

Bob
 
Ditto what Bob said...
I think you have everything under control. Don't forget to post pics of your cook.
 
From my experience, there is not a lot of difference in grate level temps. When I'm doing 2 briskets, after trimming them both I take a look at them and decide which one is smaller and I'll put that one on top. Normally that one will be done first. I use blue bag all the time because it's inexpensive and works for me. Once you get used to the WSM, she'll run steady temps for 10-12 hours easily without touching her. Best of luck on your cook!
 
Personally, I wouldn't go for two briskets as your first overnight cook. My second cook on my 22.5 was an overnight brisket and put nicely, it was a crappy night of nearly no sleep.

Since you've only used it once, you prob don't have the greatest feel for it. You have a ton of elements to concern yourself with..., weather, WSM going too hot, your WSM going too cold, temps of brisket 1, temp of brisket 2, the smoker not burning cleanly, etc.

magnify this with the fact that you grill is new and is prob going to run extra hot due to a lack of creosote burnt into it. Maybe you try to compensate for this by shutting down the dampers more to lower the temp... 4am your fire could be out... 7am when you wake up, the temp of your two meats are sitting at 125 and you now have $70-100 worth of meat sitting in your garbage pail.

So not that I disagree w the second poster, I just wanted to make you look at it from the non-sunshine and kittens pov that is often prevelant in this great community here. I value my piece of mind and when I started a few years back, I wish someone would have advised me to be smart about my cooks and not just go balls deep right from the get go. I wound up half asleep during a BBQ due to thinking I was master of the smoker after using it for a week.

If you go for it, good luck. I look forward to hearing how things turn out
 
Scott B (nj) said:
Personally, I wouldn't go for two briskets as your first overnight cook. My second cook on my 22.5 was an overnight brisket and put nicely, it was a crappy night of nearly no sleep.

Since you've only used it once, you prob don't have the greatest feel for it. You have a ton of elements to concern yourself with..., weather, WSM going too hot, your WSM going too cold, temps of brisket 1, temp of brisket 2, the smoker not burning cleanly, etc. ...
Click to expand...

I agree with Scott B. Granted I have not done either an overnight cook nor a brisket yet, but I'm still pretty new to my WSM and am not comfortable with the possibility of ruining a cook because I got too cocky and my temps got away from me while I was sleeping. Plus I still don't have a good probe-type thermometer and my gut (and everything I've read here) tells me it's better to wait 'till I get one before attempting an all nighter.

That said, if you do go ahead with the overnight cook, good luck to you! And don't forget to update us as to how it goes.
 
You make an excellent point Scott. My WSM is a couple years old and I've done dozens of large cooks with it.
 
Jimmy from what i have seen so far if you have that WSM seasoned already you should be fine. I would put the smaller one on top as suggested. If it were me I would sleep on the couch so as not to wake the house up, get up about six to seven hours into the cook and make any adjustments needed. Use a flashlight get a good quick peek at the coal bed, temps, weather or wind changes and then after twenty minutes or so and every thing is going well back in the sack.
That is me because I don't trust my skills and my smoker for that long of a cook yet. Have not done it.
 
Thank you all for the replies, I'm gonna' go for it, did 2 rack of spareribs St. Louis trimmed + all trimmings yesterday and all went fine again. This time I did a FULL load and was still steady at 250 on the top grate after 9 1/2 hours.

I just got done doing the grinder/notch mod this morning for all the probe wires, thanks to Dwain for that bit of genius!!!

All my receivers/transmitters just got new Duracell's I'll use all 4 and I'll definitely be snoozing on the couch, pre-loaded chimney ready just in case, water, spritzer, flashlight...

sleeping bag out back:rolleyes:

1 more question if I may, the coffee can/minion thing? does it give any real advantage over a dug out center or a scatter of the hot briquets?

Thanks again, pics will be up on Sunday
John Goebel
 
It is my belief that using the minion method will get you a longer burn for your money, or from your charcoal.
 
Hi John,

First off, I'm staying with my original post! Your post had a few very important indicators - not your first time bbq'ing briskets, logical questions regarding grate temperatures, knowledge of proper temperature control technique on the wsm, and (most importantly) your tone was one of low stress. Had those indicators not been there, or this if was going to be your first ever brisket, my reply would have been totally different.

As for the Minion method, if you read Jim Minion's posts from times past, he started out with the center loading but moved to just scattering the coals on top. I'm sure someone, somewhere, has done comparison tests... Personally, I started with the center method then moved to the scatter method which has work well for me. As they say... YMMV (lol)

Wishing you the Very Best Cook ever !

Bob
 
the story so far...

Pic's speak volumes...

ACkZ6zB.jpg


Rubbed up after my standard non competition prep which is...

Jaccard lightly non fat cap side.

Inject W/phosphate and a really light mix of Johnny's Au Jus under fat cap.

Toss in a good plastic bag along with 2 bottles of Mexican Coca Cola, Marinade for 8 hours.


Zxo9e1B.jpg


Cooker temp at 9:15 PM
sy00PAH.jpg


Bottom grate at 9:30 PM
QEGtNb1.jpg


Top grate at 9:30 PM
LLa4Hwx.jpg


Cooker temp at 10 PM
pesbNHB.jpg


Sleep, got a good 5 solid hours:)


Cooker temp at 6:00 AM
UULLJSU.jpg


Top grate at 6:30 AM
Gt2Xh6R.jpg


Here you can see a bit of the bottom grate
spPlfV6.jpg


Internal temp's top = 174 bottom = 171?

It rained quite a bit, and was gusty. Had the Maverick set to go off at 283F never a beep...

I love my new cooker!!!!

That's it for now, planning to pull at 11 AM and eat at 3 or so.

John Goebel
 
Nap Time...

Bunt Ends...
I stashed a few or they'll be gone after my nap.
r5rpBZO.jpg


Flat...
204 and 207 F when done. Temped down and ready for a rest, like me.
CKmi3n4.jpg


Rub has both instant espresso and cocoa powder, these ones get BLACK!!!

Time to pretend I'm watching golf while snoring at the same time.

Slice at 3:00 PM

Tastes pretty good...

Thanks All and really, have a great day it's a special one:D

John Goebel
 
John,

Great looking Brisket, my friend !!!
Only problem with that delicious brisket ... I'm here in So Calif and it's in Detroit ! :wsm:

Bob
 
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Bob Bass said:
John,

Great looking Brisket, my friend !!!
Only problem with that delicious brisket ... I'm here in So Calif and it's in Detroit ! :wsm:

Bob
Click to expand...

Ahh,

So Cal, I lived at the foot of Point Loma Ave, in beautiful South Ocean Beach/O.B. for 8 years. Great time of my life, did a lot of BBQ/Grilling on the roof of the apartment building I was managing then. We really had it made, I chose who to rent to and had a great group there.

Nothing or should I sat NOTHING beats a sunset dinner On the roof with the Santa Ana's blowing:cool:. With your beverage of choice, great friends, Great Food, god I miss it...

Siesel's Meats, Is such a great meat shop, don't know if you have been there but call ahead and have em' set aside some of the prime grade, vacuum tumbled butter garlic porterhouse's and make a day of it. You can thank me later.

Peace,
John Goebel
 
John,

Beautiful area and view ! Was it the place on the south side of Point Loma Ave (at Sunset Cliffs Blvd.) ?
My eldest son had an apartment/rental this past year roughly 1 1/2 miles (as the crow flys) north in Mission Beach right up against the boardwalk. Great views of the ocean, amongst other things (grin).
Santa Ana's... tell me about them (chuckle). Does create clear sky afterwards, but during... :rolleyes: (we're just east of the mouth of the San Ana Canyon).

Thanks for the tip on Siesel's. Looks like a kewl place for some good eats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGWE3G9miHU Will check them out next time were down in that area. Up here, our normal go-to butcher is Hottinger Family Meats. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToN7HrqypUA

;)

Bob
 
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