First crack - 50/50 success/failure


 
K

Ken Koski

New member
Thought I'd give the WSM a shot last weekend. I decided to cook 2 whole chicken and a smallish brisket at the same time. Started out by using the Minion Method. Got perfect temp control of 225 pretty much throughout the cooking period. Guess I got lucky there.

Everything was in the cooker by 0900. At 1200, I removed the 2 birds which were on the top grill. At 1400, I removed the brisket.
I had the following problems. I used a whole bag of briquettes impregnated with mesquite (17 lbs). In my opinion, this was a big mistake. This created a very strong smoke flavor which I dislike. I much prefer a subtle smoke flavor.

The chickens were properly cooked, not dry at all but too smoky. The brisket had a beautiful smokey red ring about 1/8 inch in size. The excessive smoke did not affect the brisket as much as it did the chickens. My mistake with the brisket was I left it in too long. It was quite dry but had a very nice flavor. I have a good thermometer but I simply neglected to check the brisket temp often enough.
We ate one of the chickens but threw out the other. To salvage the brisket, I sliced it all up and added it to a dish of sliced onions in about 2 cups of beef broth. I baked it in the oven for about an hour at 350 and this re-hydrated the brisket to the point where we really enjoyed it.

From now on, I will use plain charcoal briquettes and add a few chunks of wood for smoking where I am in control of how much smoke is to be used. Secondly, I will pay closer attention to doneness temps as opposed to suggested cooking times.

I look forward to receiving some advice/suggestions/criticisms from you more experienced WSM owners. All in all, I was fairly pleased with how it all turned out. I do want to learn from my mistakes.
 
It would seem you've reached the downward slope of the learning curve.
This forum is a compendium of every mistake or mishap available.
It is also a reservoir of advice and proven techniques beyond any one book or system.
Just about any topic, recipe, or method can be found here.
So, welcome aboard and I look forward to your future successes.
 
Ken, use the blue K, can't go wrong with that. Also only add 2 chunks of smoke wood, preferibly fruit wood if you can get it, then gradually add more for your next cook, it is always better to have less smoke flavour than too much
 
I'm not a fan of mesquite for long cooks, nor low/slow chicken in most cases, but these are personal preferences.

It is unlikely you left the brisket on too long; far more likely it was undercooked. It would not have 'rehydrated' in the broth. If the brisket was tender and had a pleasant mouthfeel after its time in the broth then it was undercooked at the outset and its time sliced and cooking in the broth actually finished the cooking and brought it to done/tender.
 
Ken, what size brisket did you cook. At those temps you can figure about 1-1.5 hrs /lb. I agree with Kevin about undercooked. At low temps it's harder to over cook if you are paying attention occasionally. Did you test for doneness along the way?

Oh, by the way, Welcome.

Mark
 
It was a small brisket, more like a piece of brisket, no more than 4 lbs. I eat my grilled steaks rare. This meat was definitely overdone, it was not red, not pink but gray and dry, no juices running. It was most likely ready when I removed the chickens. I will pay closer attention to internal temps next time.

Kingsford briquettes are available here but I have never seen blue k. I just bought a couple bags of plain Frontier briquettes but they are expensive. ($19.99/17lbs)

Thank you for the welcome everyone. I really do want to learn. I did not want to buy an electric smoker such as the Bradley or other same types because to me, there is no science involved. Turn a dial, put your food in, drop your pellets or biscuits in and walk away. I would like the satisfaction in knowing I cooked something delicious that was totally under my control.

Again, thanks for everything.
 
I'm surprised, then, you enjoyed it in the broth and onions. If overdone prior it would be very much like stringy dry meat in broth. Overdone meat will not absorb moisture and become juicy. It stays overdone and feels overdone, even in liquid. (It's science.) So, the way to judge overdone in this case is how the meat felt when you ate it after its time in the broth. Only you can answer that. I'm going by your comment that you 'really enjoyed it'.

Internal temps won't tell you 'done' as it relates to barbecue. They can tell you when the meat is likely rare or medium, they can tell you when the meat has reached a safe internal temp, as for, say, chicken, but they won't tell you when then a tough meat, especially brisket, is tender and juicy. For that you have to feel the meat.

For small pieces of brisket (especially if trimmed and/or on the thin side) results are usually better if you foil the meat when it hits 160. You can then use internal temp as a guide to determine when to check for tenderness. Because internal temp might only correlate with tender (it does not cause it) what the temp will be when the meat is tender can vary. For brisket especially, larger cuts are usually easier to work with, tenderness-wise, than smaller; thicker cuts easier than thin.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ken Koski:
It was a small brisket, more like a piece of brisket, no more than 4 lbs. I eat my grilled steaks rare. This meat was definitely overdone, it was not red, not pink but gray and dry, no juices running. It was most likely ready when I removed the chickens. I will pay closer attention to internal temps next time.

Again, thanks for everything. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ken, I am wondering if you have cooked brisket before. Your description above relates to steak or other cuts of beef but not brisket. When brisket is tender and juicy, it is not pink. Most folks cook to around 200 but as Kevin states, temp should only be a guide, not an end point. Brisket is done when your probe goes in without resistance. Next time you may want to cook a full sized packer.

Good luck!

Mark
 
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