Noob, 1st Smoke Running Hot, Questions


 
Troy O

Troy O

New member
Got a 7.6 lb brisket on, 19 degrees at 4:50 MDT this morning. Used MM with 30 coals lit to start, temp at grill sustained high 280's with bottom vents 25% open. Stuck probe into meat, reads 200. Question... When should I take this out? I've never had a brisket done at these high temps, I'm worried I'll dry it out. Thanks in advance!
 
Take it out when you insert the probe into the meat and it goes in with very little resistance. Imagine putting the probe into butter. That is the feel you are looking for, and it is done when it is done. Temp is a guide, but with brisket, you need to develop a feel for when it is tender.
 
Probe went in smoothly along the grain, I'll try against the grain. Hold on... Oooooo, that went in nice, just a little resistance. Probe now reads a steady 190. The first temp read was in the thickest part of the cut, I must have hit around the bottom of it. Gotta work on my probe stickin' skills! Still a lot of juice on top of the brisket, is that good? Thanks again Patrick!

EDIT: Took it off at 194 degrees internal. Here's a pic...
Brisket%252520003.jpg
 
Nice looking briskie Troy. I notice you have your probe hanging out of the flat side of the brisket. I prefer going in from the side at about say the 40 yard line on the flat side of your picture. Just a suggestion. Again nice looking briskie. I'm putting a small one on myself this afternoon.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I've never had a brisket done at these high temps, I'm worried I'll dry it out. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Drying out comes from overcooking, not from high cooktemps (unless of course we're talking ridiculously high). I (and others) cook briskets in the mid-300s.
 
Thanks for the replies and advice, it's a big help for us newbies!

Larry: The probe location is the second location, and the lowest temp. The first spot was at about the 30 yard line, at an angle, on the side closest to the camera. That's where I flipped out and posted my concern. Thanks for the compliment Larry, it's moist and smells wonderful! Good luck with yours!

K Kruger: I thought I was going to over cook it at the temps I got, I never smoked at such a high sustained temp. My generic Brinkmann would spike to 320 but for no more than maybe 20 minutes, then fight it to stay at 250. So glad I have a WSM! Thanks for telling me about your cooking temps, I don't feel so bad now.

Thanks George, I sliced it up for tomorrow and noticed not much of a smoke ring. Out of a 4.5 hour cook, I had smoke billowing for about 4 of those hours, apple/hickory combo. I will have to take multiple readings from now on, thanks for the tip!
 
Troy, I hope it turned out well.

A couple thoughts re: your temp.

* Did you have water in the pan?

* 30 lit coals for the MM is about twice as many as I use to start. I've found that about 15-20 allow me to control the heat ascent a little better. Also, I'll do a long smoke often with two closed vents and only one @ 25% to maintain a 225 lid temp. (With water in pan.)

It looks like a flat, not an entire brisket, right?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Monty House:
Troy, I hope it turned out well.

A couple thoughts re: your temp.

* Did you have water in the pan?

* 30 lit coals for the MM is about twice as many as I use to start. I've found that about 15-20 allow me to control the heat ascent a little better. Also, I'll do a long smoke often with two closed vents and only one @ 25% to maintain a 225 lid temp. (With water in pan.)

It looks like a flat, not an entire brisket, right? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Monty, no water in the pan. What I did was make a "poor man's Piedmont Pan" by using the stock water pan, the water pan from my old Brinkmann and a Campbell's tomato soup can. Soup can inside the stock pan, and then a pan on top of that. The drippings were at a slight bubble, no burning. I used 30 lit because it was 19 degrees out and I thought I needed more fire, apparently not. The brisket turned out fine, moist and tasty, gonna have a few friends over for the Tim Tebow Show (lol) today and then I'll have biased judges to say if I did well or not.
As far as being a flat or whole brisket, I haven't learned that yet. I asked the butcher for a brisket, so I hope that's what I got. It had one flap overlapping the other, is the other flap the point? I definitely need to do some homework here, this is only the 4th brisket I've ever cooked.
Looking back, I was nervous about using the WSM for the first time and not wanting to ruin a $37 cut of meat, and my brain scrambled. I just threw everything together and lit it up, trying to remember the basics, but to no avail and ended up running a little hot. Man, I couldn't believe the short cook time, I'm used to 8+ hour cook times. The only way to go from here is up! Thanks for the vent settings, I was way off on that one.
 
Sounds like the "flap" is the point, however, 7.6# is on the small end for what I'd call a "packer." ($37.00 for 7.6# of brisket is pricey, too, if I've got my facts straight. Especially for a packer. You might see $4.00 or so per pound for a flat only--no point, less fat, etc.)

The title of your post is "smoke running hot." If that's not to your liking, I would suggest the old-fashioned approach, i.e., use water in the pan.

Glad everyone enjoyed it. MH
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Monty House:
Sounds like the "flap" is the point, however, 7.6# is on the small end for what I'd call a "packer." ($37.00 for 7.6# of brisket is pricey, too, if I've got my facts straight. Especially for a packer. You might see $4.00 or so per pound for a flat only--no point, less fat, etc.)

The title of your post is "smoke running hot." If that's not to your liking, I would suggest the old-fashioned approach, i.e., use water in the pan.

Glad everyone enjoyed it. MH </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh we enjoyed it alright, only a few slices left. Perfect for a sandwich later this week. Not much was said while the eating commenced, and I received favorable reviews after the feeding. Plus the Broncos won. I bought the brisket from a little neighborhood meat shop that's been around forever, $4.89lb is pricey but I trust these people more than other stores so I buy from there. Check 'em out... Edwards
And as far as running hot, I need more seat time with this thing. I was afraid water would take too much heat away from the meat, and of course I was wrong. The way I see it I had a really good meal along with a learning experience to help me achieve more great meals. The high heat method gets a thumbs up from me, and I had no intention of cooking this way. I'm still gonna smoke low and slow, I just have to learn to throttle down on this hot rod. A Christmas ham is definitely next, time to look for recipes. Thanks again for the feedback Monty!
 
If you want to cook slower, why not just try the owner's manual instructions? My preference is to start off with a tea kettle of boiling water in my Brinkman "ECB" charcoal pan, regardless of the weather. If I was to cook dry though, I wouldn't skip foiling the brisket once in the 160's*.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:
If you want to cook slower, why not just try the owner's manual instructions? My preference is to start off with a tea kettle of boiling water in my Brinkman "ECB" charcoal pan, regardless of the weather. If I was to cook dry though, I wouldn't skip foiling the brisket once in the 160's*. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I read about the Minion Method and wanted to try it, never did it before and found it to be very effective. I read about the Piedmont Pan, and figured out I need to go back to water until I use this thing more. Plus I was anxious and nervous, and with it being 19 degrees at 4:30 in the morning with no coffee yet made my thinking cloudy. I learned I need to be more awake, alert, wear heavier clothing and go back to the first step.
About the only thing I did right was not burn it beyond recognition, and it still actually turned out really good even after reheating the next day. I'm happy with the results, and I'm also appreciative of the responses, the advice given in this thread alone will help a bunch. The only thing I can do from here is get better, I'm not much of a cook to begin with.
 
Troy, sounds like you're a quick learner though, and that's the first step to being a good Weber bullet master.
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Continue to assess yourself and write your thoughts down during and after a cook. You'll want more than just temps and times, especially if a cook ends up being a really good one. As to the water pan, many a bullet user has tried everything else and came back to using the wsm as intended, a water smoker....and the reasons go beyond keeping the temp in "the zone". (Even some ATC users use water in the pan.) Keep an open mind though and try everything that sounds like it might make sense.
 
Dave, thank you for the encouraging words, and I wrote down some info from the cook, I felt I had to for my first on the Bullet. I'll use water next time and be patient bringing the temps up. Thanks again!
 
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