Aaron Meier
New member
Hi all! I'm brand new to the group, though I have popped by to read an article or two now and again over the years. I'm also a brand new WSM 22.5" owner. My previous smoker was a side box model with more holes than cheese grater, so needless to say, smoking on it was a hassle. So much so that I almost never did it. I got tired of having to run outside every 15 minutes because my temps were fluctuating by 50 degrees or more at a time. I'm in the middle of my second cook on the WSM, and all I can do is add yet another affirmation of how amazing this thing is. Rock solid temperatures, and dead simple to use. This is my first brisket...picked up an 11 lb packer, trimmed it down to about 10 1/2 lbs. and rubbed it with Big Bad Beef Rub. It sat in the fridge for about 10 hours like that, and I threw it on the smoker fat side up at around 2am...hoping for a 4:30 or 5:30 finish to have it ready for supper at 6:30, but if it finishes earlier, I've got a cooler and some towels ready to go. Fired the smoker using the minion method, and I tossed in a small hickory log (probably 6-7 chunks' worth of wood). I know a lot of people like to use oak for brisket, but hickory is all I had available, and it's never failed me before, so here's hoping for the best. I'm logging all of my temps as the cook progresses...it settled in at 235-240 (measured at the grate) after a couple hours of cooking, though the dome thermo is reading high. It started out about 30 degrees higher, but as many others have mentioned, those temps seem to be coming closer together as the cook progresses...it's about a 20 degree difference now. Outside temps are in the mid- to upper-30s, but there's very little wind, so I'm hoping for a pretty stable cook. Any thoughts on things I should look out for? Suggestions, tips etc? Any and all would be much appreciated.
Very glad to be here, and I look forward to contributing more as I get better acquainted with my new best friend.
Aaron
Very glad to be here, and I look forward to contributing more as I get better acquainted with my new best friend.
Aaron