Cooked two briskets and they were great but had one issue. I used a full ring of Kingsford and 20 lit bricks for a Minion method and had all vents wide open. I also used a full pan of hot water. I started it up thinking it would get to 225 within an hour but it would never get over 175. I finally put the meat on at that temp. but it took some 8 hours before it got up to the 225 range. Did I have too much water in the pan?
First cook a success but question
- Thread starter Jay C.
- Start date
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Hard to say. Where are you located, specifically?
Though some do it differently, I see no need to wait to load in the meat. Load it in when you dump on the lit and assemble the cooker. (I actually think this is one of the best points of a Minion start.)
All vents stayed open the whole time?
Where were you temping?
What size briskets and how long start to finish?
Though some do it differently, I see no need to wait to load in the meat. Load it in when you dump on the lit and assemble the cooker. (I actually think this is one of the best points of a Minion start.)
All vents stayed open the whole time?
Where were you temping?
What size briskets and how long start to finish?
Guy Wallace
TVWBB Super Fan
Being a newbie also with a wsm ! Anything I say can easily be wrong . having said that IMHO you should of been able to move the temp with the vents at 100%. Maybe you shut them back to soon or 2 you used cold water or 3 not enough coal to get the minon going . But I did ribs last night and my grate temp was at 245 and my hood was at 205 for 3 hrs . my ribs came out great .
You might try starting with warm water next time hot as you can get from the tap that should help the temps rise faster I am assuming you started with a full load a coal also .
You might try starting with warm water next time hot as you can get from the tap that should help the temps rise faster I am assuming you started with a full load a coal also .
Cooking in Missouri. The air temp was never lower than 70. It was a still night so no breeze; perhaps that kept the coals from heating. Briskets were 10 lbs. and 8 lbs. Put the meat on at 10:45 pm and they ended up fully cooked by 11:00 am. Cooker never got into the 225 range until 8:00 am. There was a breeze in the morning.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Elevation isn't an issue then.
No breeze is an advantage.
The thermometer or its location (or both) is the problem. No way the temps you note were correct. At typical low/slow brisket temps (~235, give or take 10?) a 9 or 10-pound brisket will take ~11 to 13 hours or so, an 8-pounder should come in at ~10 to 12 hours. At cooktemps significantly lower than that the times would be dramatically longer, especially if the temps were lower than 212.
You were cooking at higher temps than you thought.
No breeze is an advantage.
The thermometer or its location (or both) is the problem. No way the temps you note were correct. At typical low/slow brisket temps (~235, give or take 10?) a 9 or 10-pound brisket will take ~11 to 13 hours or so, an 8-pounder should come in at ~10 to 12 hours. At cooktemps significantly lower than that the times would be dramatically longer, especially if the temps were lower than 212.
You were cooking at higher temps than you thought.
Guy Wallace
TVWBB Super Fan
I did a 10 lb 8 oz brisket Saturday and it took 16 hrs if I remember corect we just rewarmed it with ribs and all the trimings and itwas great ! I was surprised at how moist and tender the brisket was . I wish my brisket had a gotten done 5 hrs sooner like yours maybe I could got more sleep this weekend but I gotta belive the temps were higher than you were seeing a LOT higher
After sitting here thinking about your lower temps I personaly would of added a dozen more hot coals to my fire if it had been me to jump start things more. The water AND meat are a giant heat sink !
But If I were in your place the first thing I would do is make sure my temp gauge is reading corect . But like I said I had a a 35 or 40 degree diffrence in top grate temp yesterday and the cover temp . So your grate temp may of been much higher duno Iam NO EXPERT.
After sitting here thinking about your lower temps I personaly would of added a dozen more hot coals to my fire if it had been me to jump start things more. The water AND meat are a giant heat sink !
But If I were in your place the first thing I would do is make sure my temp gauge is reading corect . But like I said I had a a 35 or 40 degree diffrence in top grate temp yesterday and the cover temp . So your grate temp may of been much higher duno Iam NO EXPERT.
Thanks for all the comments. Will check the thermometer next time! Sorry-no pics-but used 4 chunks of hickory and got a decent smoke ring. Did measure the internal temp and had 160 in the middle of the point-hated seeing all that juice run out after the thermometer was removed. Anyway, got good reviews from the guests and the few leftovers have been quite tasty.
yeah i'd blame the thermometer as well. on my first cook i used a maverick thermometer in addition to the weber mounted therm. and there was a difference of 30 degrees between the two. the weber was reading 200 and the mav was reading 230-240. on subsequent cooks they mimicked each other pretty closely not too sure if that helps any but its what happened to me.