First burn with lump


 
B

Brian H.

TVWBB Member
I am 10 1/2 hours in with my first burn using lump - Royal Oak. All I can say is wow. Using the minion method, after it reached 200 degrees I closed all three vents to 25 % it reached temp and held. I did make two more adjustments about and hour and and hour and half later, but I shouldn't have - I was anticipating where I thought the temp was going which was up so I opened the vents a little and then a half hour later closed them back to 25%. Went to bed a couple of hours later with the temp holding. Woke up several times throughout the night and the temp was holding. Temp dropped this morning, so I stirred the coals and it is back up. (There was less ash than kingsford, but there was still ash).

I am now a convert to lump. (Going to have to try Wicked Good and some others) No temp spikes, and held and held and held. With Kingsford (and I am relatively new to the WSM) it seemed I just had more temp fluctuations. Never have I been able too set the vent position and leave it for so long.

Hope the brisket turns out as good as it smells....
 
Temperature spikes usually trace back to the fire ring. Good practice is to carefully pack and tamp the fuel load to ensure even ignition and burn. Gaps and uneven charcoal size can be problematic.

Looking into a burning ring of lump may show a bunch of ash, but it is much less dense than kingsford, and a little rap should settle it out. Even after 30+ hour burns, I'll still have less than half a bowl of ash.

Haven't visited the whiz lately, but i remember royal oak is well considered. If you like to splurge, mailorder a couple of bags of Mapleleaf, it's a real treasure- you don't even need smoke wood with it in the ring]!
 
I am going to order some wicked Lump. Wouldn't mind ordering some maple leaf too (read about it on naked whiz). Any suggestions on where to order the Maple Leaf?

The Royal Oak was great, but the fire did not last as long as Kingsford. Of course this was probably my fault (Someone posted they normally get 22+ hours with Royal Oak). There may have been empty spots (like you had mentioned), but there were generally no temp spikes (more steady than Kingsford). Naked Whiz says The Wicked Good burns very long and the Royal Oak is Average.

When using lump, do you load the ring a different way. I am assuming I should have gone through and made sure there were no big empty spots.

Anyway, it looks like my garage is going to start filling up with different types of lump.
 
Brian--

With WG it's helpful to dump in a third of a ring, mess around with it a bit to level it out and fill in where needed, then repeat twice more. There are some huge pieces in WG that can take up lots of available space if the lump's just dumped in any which way. You'll see what I mean when you get some. Glad your first lump cook went so well.
 
Thanks for the advice Kevin. As far as the cook going so well - it did, I was very impressed by the lack of any fluctuations, but my first attempt at brisket turned out a little dry - tasted great but dry. I may try to foil around 170 to 175 next time (will probably be next weekend). Or I may try it w/out the foil again.....

It may have been dry because the fire dropped at the end. By the time I realized I needed to add more hot coals - there was not enough left to really get what I added going. So I had to get them started in the chimney, and because it took awhile to get more started, the temp had stayed in the 190s for an hour near the end. Probably wouldn't have been a problem but

Earlier in the cook, I measured the temp in the flat and it measured 188. I got the foil ready, cooler out etc and went to remeasure the temp. (I need to get another remote for the meat temp) I poked around in a few places in the flat - and probably shouldn't have, but I got some temps around 180 - so I left it on, then I had the fuel problems. After everything with my fire was going as it should, it seemed the brisket temp actually dropped a little (probably because I was messing with the WSM). In other words, I think I overcooked it.

It tasted great even though it was dry and I learned some more. Can't wait for next weekend to have another go at it. Hopefully my Guru will be here by then.
 
Brian,
When i ordered the mapleleaf lump there were only two US distributers, and one was outa stock.
I pack larger flat pieces on the bottom of the ring to keep the smaller shards from falling right thru. (you are aware of the double grate mod?) I reserve the largest chunks for adding during the cook, as they are easier to place. Long thin strips can be broken into smaller nuggets. Most of the smallest detritus can be poured around your wood chunks for maximum density and efficiency. You can also save those largest hunks for your weber grill and special steaks.
Don't be so worried about finishing temp's, learn the physical signs of desirable doneness, such as the skewer or jiggle test's.
The flat is always the greatest challenge. Whether whole or trimmed, the critical balance between tenderness and moisture is difficult to maintain. You might want to try liquid foil- render your trimmings and baste once or twice after the smoke has done it's work. This effectively seals the meat from transpiring moisture as it renders.
Congratulations on the Guru, highly reccomended product and company.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">
Don't be so worried about finishing temp's, learn the physical signs of desirable doneness, such as the skewer... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Right.

Brian--Do you recall how the meat felt (how easily, or not, the probe went in) when you were getting the various temp readings?
 
Kevin, the probe went in pretty easy the first time I put it in. Of course it is hard to learn the physical signs of doneness when it is your first brisket. That will take time and practice and any advice would be appreciated.
 
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