Lost Temp control while doing a brisket


 
L

LynnH

New member
Did my first brisket, 8 pounds, last Sunday and everything went well for the first 6 hours. Temp was nice and steady at around 255.

I read a recipe that suggested putting the brisket in a foil pan with a cup of beef broth in it and cover with foil until done. After
doing this the temp did a steady rise. I ended up closing all the vents top and bottom and the temp finally stopped rising at
335. The brisket went from about 160 to 200 in an hour and half at this temperature. It was still very good but could have been
even better with lower temp.

I am trying to figure out what caused the increase in temp and even after taking the brisket off the smoker stayed at 335 for
another 4 hours before it started to drop with all vents closed. It is an 18.5 WSM that I got for $85.00 on ebay due to damage.
It is not perfectly round but a very good seal and I have done many butts for pulled pork and not had this problem before.

Any ideas on what may have gone wrong would be appreciated. The brisket was so delicious I am going to do another in two
weeks and would like to avoid a repeat. I do have some gasket I ordered for the smoker and door and am planning to put it
on before the next smoke.
 
Very curious indeed. Whee you using chunks of wood? Wonder if one of those flared up while you had the lid off wrapping? Did you check the coal ring at all during the flare up?
 
Were you using water and the pan went dry? Running out of water will def cause a spike like that. Using about a gallon of hot water should last 6 hours or so...
 
I agree with Myk and Brian. Don't leave the lid off while you are messing with the pan and make sure you have plenty of water in the water pan.
 
Still, that's one hell of a spike for an 18.5 model.

I've owned mine for 4 years (just got a 22 the other day) and have NEVER had it reach 300+ unless I really intentionally wanted it to, by opening all the vents wide open and having a good number of hot coals going. Hell, I did brisket this past weekend (14lb packer) and had the lid off for a solid 2-3 minutes mid-cook (to remove top grate, add pan under it, and once again later to shuffle around again for room for ABTs) and still never got above 270F. My setpoint was 250 and I stayed around there for almost the entire cook. And this was with 2/3 lump, 1/3 briquettes.

OP, more questions for you:

1. What kind of coal did you use?
2. How did you configure the coal for the burn? If "minion method", specify how -- there are many "minion" methods that differ
3. How did you have your vents configured before the spike?

These 3 questions are pretty critical to making any sort of educated guess as to why you experienced such high temps on the 18.5 model. The smaller WSM is renowned for its ability to stay low and slow.
 
I've made the mistake of putting the lid on crooked while in a hurry trying to wrap or whatever. Generally that will cause a huge spike. Once you get all that charcoal lit its hard to get the temp back down on a vertical smoker. You absolutely cannot leave the lid off very long is what I've found. Still you should have been able to get the temps down if you closed top vent too.
 
I use BBQ GURU but I found that leaving lid open while doing wrapp or something else is a GREAT ERROR! It takes 30/40 mins to get back to 250F with BBQGURU.
I do not leave open the lid more!
 
Thanks for the responses and questions.

Thank you for the many responses and suggestions to look at.

I use Kingsford Charcoal in the blue bag. I figure the best is to always use the same charcoal to eliminate that variable. I used the same method I always do for lighting when doing my boston butts or long cooks. I fill the ring with charcoal and then make an indentation in the center, fill the charcoal starter 3/4 full and when ready dump those coals onto into the indentatation. I have apple trees at home so always use a combination of hickory and apple. Before removing the lid there was one lower vent open about 1/4 and the other 2 were closed. The top vent was just under 50% open. I use a brinkman water pan and it started full of cold water and when I foiled the brisket there was about 1/3 to 1/4 of the pan still full of (boiling liquid). I put the lid back on in exactly the position it came off of and was able to monitor the temps as I purchased a maverick et 732 and it was the first time I used it. Good thing or I would have completely ruined the brisket.

Upon examining the grill today the smoker section was not completely set on the bottom piece so that may have affected being able to monitor the airflow but there was no change in the set up between running at a constant temp for 5 1/2 hours and the increased temp after putting the brisket in the foil pan. It's quite possible I should have added more water or that a chunk of wood started on fire and lit more charcoal. This was also my first attempt at smoking in non winter temperatures and the day was calm with almost no breeze. (a rarity her in North Dakota)

I am going to add the gaskets to the lid section, bottom section, and door this week and am going to do another brisket in 10 days. I appreciate all the responses and will try to control those that I can on the next try. I will also remove the brisket and foil it keeping the lid on as much as possible.

Thank you.
 
I respectfully disagree with this: "It was still very good but could have been even better with lower temp."

I cook brisket at 325-350*F and turn out what some have said is the best brisket they've ever eaten.

YMMV
 
LynnH, I highly recommend that you check out the UnknownBBQ hinge for the WSM, in addition to the gasket. Though my 18WSM that's being sold has only had its hinge on it for about a month, I cannot quantify just how much you're missing out on by not having it. I've gotta get another one ordered ASAP. It makes life so much easier.

Also, consider a Cajun Bandit door, but I think that's much more important for 22WSM folks than it is for 18WSM users. And finally, I was interested to find that the gasket installed on the top of the cooking section did practically nothing for smoke leaks between the lid and cooking section. Weird huh?!? Will find out soon if the same happens for my new 22. I know I didn't install it wrong on my 18.....it's pretty much impossible to, unless you don't glue it or something.


Good luck on the next cook!
 
Last edited:
I'm not sure I understand what effect a hinge for the lid would have to do with the temperature change. Nor can I fathom what I am missing out on not having one.
What affect does it have on the taste of the item I am cooking? For now I just set the lid on the ground and it seems easier to have it out of the way.
 
I wasn't trying to do some shameless plug or left-field recommendation. Seems from your feedback that you may be scoffing at the idea of the hinge.

One of the more popular WSM accessories is a combo kit of a hinge and a gasket along with RTV adhesive. That's where the recommendation came from. I ordered one, and I found the gasket for the top ineffective, but found the hinge very handy. I felt I'd offer a friendly recommendation as it's easily the most valuable accessory I've ever bought for the thing.

Good luck with your new cooker.
 
LynnH said:
Thanks for the responses and questions.

Thank you for the many responses and suggestions to look at.

I use Kingsford Charcoal in the blue bag. I figure the best is to always use the same charcoal to eliminate that variable. I used the same method I always do for lighting when doing my boston butts or long cooks. I fill the ring with charcoal and then make an indentation in the center, fill the charcoal starter 3/4 full and when ready dump those coals onto into the indentatation. I have apple trees at home so always use a combination of hickory and apple. Before removing the lid there was one lower vent open about 1/4 and the other 2 were closed. The top vent was just under 50% open. I use a brinkman water pan and it started full of cold water and when I foiled the brisket there was about 1/3 to 1/4 of the pan still full of (boiling liquid). I put the lid back on in exactly the position it came off of and was able to monitor the temps as I purchased a maverick et 732 and it was the first time I used it. Good thing or I would have completely ruined the brisket.

Upon examining the grill today the smoker section was not completely set on the bottom piece so that may have affected being able to monitor the airflow but there was no change in the set up between running at a constant temp for 5 1/2 hours and the increased temp after putting the brisket in the foil pan. It's quite possible I should have added more water or that a chunk of wood started on fire and lit more charcoal. This was also my first attempt at smoking in non winter temperatures and the day was calm with almost no breeze. (a rarity her in North Dakota)

I am going to add the gaskets to the lid section, bottom section, and door this week and am going to do another brisket in 10 days. I appreciate all the responses and will try to control those that I can on the next try. I will also remove the brisket and foil it keeping the lid on as much as possible.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Very strong possibility the incorrect seating was the problem. This, along with the gasket, should solve the temp control problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top