How much fuel to put in the smoker for a 12 hour smoke? (w/o reloading if possible)


 
A

AlanWhitehurst

New member
I have cooked a couple of brisket flats only because none of my local stores sell the entire brisket. Well, I went to Raleigh and picked up a whole brisket to smoke this coming Friday. Its a shade over 13 lbs. untrimmed. I did a couple shoulders on my old smoker which turned into a "no rest" 13 hour smoke because of the cheap quality of the smoker.

I would like to put enough fuel in the smoker to keep it going almost the entire time if not the whole time. I would like to run my temp around 275 degrees. So, how many full chimneys should i put in the smoker to keep me going? I am not using any temp assist like DigiQ, just keeping a probe in the smoker to get an accurate temp read.
 
Unless I'm doing something unusual I always pack the charcoal ring. When your done with the cook close all the vents and the fire will extinguish. Whatever is left will be reusable for your next cook. Beats having to add fuel.
 
Always a full (packed) ring of unlit and add 15-20 lit........I have a 22 WSM and it gets me a solid 8-10 hours without a lot of fuss; around the 8 hour mark I usually have to stir the coals a bit. Between the 8-10 hour mark, I sometimes have to add some more unlit to keep it running sweet.

Once it gets running in the 225 range, I shut down the lower vents completely or 95% depending on the weather and leave the top vent 100% open, no worries.
 
Sounds good. This will be a good test for me on the WSM. I am doing a brisket and some baby backs for my family that is coming into town this Friday. We plan to eat between 6 and 630 so my timing will be key here. My rib recipe is on point but this is my first whole brisket with the point. I look forward to trying some burnt ends!!
 
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