Question - 1st Brisket Saturday


 
D

Derek M.

New member
Ok, popping my brisket cherry Saturday on my WSM. I did a test run today to get a feel for controlling temps on some chicken breasts I had marinating.

I followed the steps for chicken breasts, sans brine, because I'd been marinating them for a day or so. I used 1 chimney of charcoal, 3 chunks of hickory, and was able to maintain a temperature of about 273 for 1 hour. Chicken wasn't too dry but it was a bit over smoked.

I'm concerned about "over smoking" the brisket and ribs I'm cooking on Saturday. I'm guessing a brisket is a bit more forgiving than boneless, skinless chickenbreasts. Any thoughts? I was going to use 5-6 chunks of hickory for my smoke on Saturday.

-D
 
Okay first off use the Minion Method for starting your charcoal check the operating tips and mods section of this site.
Next are you saying you cooked your chicken at 173 cooker or you cooked them to an internal temp of 173?
I would have to suggest cutting your wood by half if your putting ribs on they will take on more smoke than the brisket. If it were just brisket I would load up on the wood.
Try keeping temps around 250-275 for your cook.
 
Ok, sorry, I edited my post, I cooked them @ 273, not 173.

I will definitely use the minion method for my brisket, but didn't for the breasts as I only had an hour cook ahead of me.

My aim is going to be 225 for by brisket cook.
 
Welcome to the forum Derek!

3 chunks of hickory is too much for any type of chicken, not only BSC breasts. One medium size chunk is more than sufficient.

I use between 4-5 good size chunks of hickory when I cook brisket and ribs, using the Minion Method. When I say good size I mean about the size of my fist.

You said your aim is to shoot for 225* temp for the brisket, where are you going to measure your temp, at the grate or dome? If at the grate, that is fine, however if you're measuring at the dome shoot for a temp of approximately 240* and that will give you a grate temp of around 215*. I always just measure at the dome and shoot for a range of 240-260*. Good luck with your brisket and ribs!!
 
Larry, thanks for the input. I concur, I believe I used too much wood, I pretty much followed the direction for BSC breasts here.

I'm glad I gave it a trial run as I wanted to use it to get used to the vents and temperature control more than anything. I was hoping to not hover around 275* when the direction was 250*-275* but I had a hard time getting the temp down, even with the bottom vents closed.

I'm measuring it at the grate using the probe in a potato on the grate method. I wanted to also measure it at the dome but all the meat thermometers I saw only went up to 190* or so.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Derek M.:
I'm measuring it at the grate using the probe in a potato on the grate method. I wanted to also measure it at the dome but all the meat thermometers I saw only went up to 190* or so. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Do yourself a favor and pick one spot to measure the temperature. If you are measuring in several spots, you'll just drive yourself nuts.

I would suggest looking into a better thermometer with a higher termp reading such as a Maverick ET-73, TelTru BQ300 or a candy thermometer and measure your temps from the dome. They're worth it in the long run.

I like the dome because you get a more accurate temp reading and do not have to worry about placement of the probe and it touching the meat.
 
Thanks, I'm using a Maverick ET-72. Do you use the probe in your dome or do you use a candy thermometer? How do set it up?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Derek M.:
Thanks, I'm using a Maverick ET-72. Do you use the probe in your dome or do you use a candy thermometer? How do set it up? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I use Maverick ET-73's and they have both a meat probe and a pit probe. I hang the pit probe through one of the top vent holes and the meat probe in whatever I'm cooking if needed.
 
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