The Train Wreck Otherwise Known As My First Brisket - Enjoy The Ride

[Dave Penn]

Sorry to hear of your brisket misadventure. I can't help you much there, as I'm a noob myself but as for your current dilemma...

After your grilled cheese and chili...or possibly before, might I recommend you slice that bad boy thin and put it in a sauté pan with some beer and green chili sauce. (Salsa verde). I usually sauté some onions and peppers first, then pull them and cook the meat. This, with some cheese and cilantro and sweet onion on some corn tortillas will make some seriously hella-good tacos!! I had a catered event at work a time back that we offered steaks and potatoes to our guests. As my division bought and paid for those steaks and I saw an entire pan that went uneaten, there was NO WAY the single mom in me was letting that go! But what do I do with already grilled medium steaks. Tacos, baby, and they were excellent. I've since given this treatment to leftover beef of all kinds and it hasn't failed me yet. The beer tenderizes as well as adding loads of flavor as it cooks down a melds with the juices and fat from the meat.

And tacos soothe the soul along with a margarita or two...

Hope this helps
CarrieAnn

Good suggestions all. Life doesn't get much better than steak tacos.

Just goes to show you...there's no such thing as a bad piece of meat. There's good meat, and there's meat awaiting inspiration.

 

[Gary S]

Here's a really great post. http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?718...ation&highlight=brisket+compilation+High+heat I tried this method and was glad I did for what I learned. I do prefer LNS over HH but if you read this post you can't help but learn from it. It will help you with either method. I was not prepared for the amount of liquid the brisket threw during the foiling stage.

[/URL][/IMG]

I love to freeze pieces of the flat for the next chili I make. With dried beans and long slow cook there's no part of the flat that's too dry.

 

[Nate C]

Virtually closing the top vent could have contributed to your problems depending on how long it was closed for. Getting better control of your cooker should fix a lot of your problems. Good luck with your next cook.

What do you mean (bolded)?

So getting control of my smoker is obviously something I need to get better at but how does one do that aside from the obvious? Should I be adjusting vents every time the temps drop or raise 10 degrees for example?

 

[Brian Lee]

Hi Nate,

Sorry to hear about your difficult cook. I also have an 18.5" WSM that would spike in temps, so when I did my brisket cook yesterday I started the cook with the minion method and placed the 20 light coals inside an empty can. Here is my charcoal chamber tightly packed with can:

I found the burn was very easy to control with this method.

Best,
Brian

 

[Dave Alvarado]

What do you mean (bolded)?

So getting control of my smoker is obviously something I need to get better at but how does one do that aside from the obvious? Should I be adjusting vents every time the temps drop or raise 10 degrees for example?

Yes you should probably be staying on top of your temperatures more. If they're high, close vents down some. If they're low, open vents up some.

I've found that my WSM will stabilize for the most part, but I do a lot of fiddling with the vents in the first hour or two of the cook until it stabilizes where I want it. I fire it up using the minion method and put my meats in right away. I go with wide open vents until it hits 200F, then I close two of the bottom vents all the way and one about 2/3 of the way as a starting point to try to catch my target temperature on the way up. It's a lot easier to get the temps to go up than it is to get them to go down.

 

[Nate C]

Hi Nate,

Sorry to hear about your difficult cook. I also have an 18.5" WSM that would spike in temps, so when I did my brisket cook yesterday I started the cook with the minion method and placed the 20 light coals inside an empty can. Here is my charcoal chamber tightly packed with can:

I found the burn was very easy to control with this method.

Best,
Brian

Great idea and one I will use on my next attempt.

 

[Nate C]

Yes you should probably be staying on top of your temperatures more. If they're high, close vents down some. If they're low, open vents up some.

I've found that my WSM will stabilize for the most part, but I do a lot of fiddling with the vents in the first hour or two of the cook until it stabilizes where I want it. I fire it up using the minion method and put my meats in right away. I go with wide open vents until it hits 200F, then I close two of the bottom vents all the way and one about 2/3 of the way as a starting point to try to catch my target temperature on the way up. It's a lot easier to get the temps to go up than it is to get them to go down.

I will try this next time...thanks.

 

[Dave Alvarado]

No problem.

One last tip--make sure the bottom vent you leave open is the downwind one, and turn the lid so the lid vent is downwind also.

Air control is temperature control. You don't want the wind blowing in the vents and stoking your fire if you can help it. On a really gusty day, you might consider setting up a wind break of some kind, or just don't smoke that day.

 

[Mike R. (Heyworth)]

Sorry about your first brisket rodeo. From my experience, I think you also got a bad case of "paralysis by analysis." When I very first started with BBQ, I read and read and read and monitored everything like I was crew chief with NASA. Then, one night, I was doing an overnight butt cook, and fell asleep at 10:00 p.m. and woke up at 7:00 a.m. and everything was just perfectly fine, if not better, than my previous cooks where I was out there adjusting and fiddling. So, from that day forth, I follow the Ron Popeil "Set It and Forget It" philosophy. The WSM is more than capable of managing itself with a full load of coals and a slow start (for those long cooks). I used to employ the coffee can technique as well, but now I just drop about 10 lit briquettes on top of a packed ring of unlit and let 'er eat. For vent management, it is important to try and catch temps on the way up, so I manage a very slow start, generally with a single vent open about 25%. You can always slow the rise, but it's really really hard to cool it off once things have gotten going. Even if it is running hot, do not close your top vent, that leads to a bad smolder of coals and will give you some funky smoke.

Now, for briskets, i'm a high heat man 100% of the time. With this method, you can start your brisket after you finish eating lunch, and have it for supper. It's definitely worth a read if you haven't already.

Best of luck on future cooks!

 

[Nate C]

No problem.

One last tip--make sure the bottom vent you leave open is the downwind one, and turn the lid so the lid vent is downwind also.

Air control is temperature control. You don't want the wind blowing in the vents and stoking your fire if you can help it. On a really gusty day, you might consider setting up a wind break of some kind, or just don't smoke that day.

Great advice and I had open vents facing the wind. Def. something I will change next time and might explain some issues controlling temps.

 

[Mark Q]

Yes you should probably be staying on top of your temperatures more. If they're high, close vents down some. If they're low, open vents up some.

I've found that my WSM will stabilize for the most part, but I do a lot of fiddling with the vents in the first hour or two of the cook until it stabilizes where I want it. I fire it up using the minion method and put my meats in right away. I go with wide open vents until it hits 200F, then I close two of the bottom vents all the way and one about 2/3 of the way as a starting point to try to catch my target temperature on the way up. It's a lot easier to get the temps to go up than it is to get them to go down.

That's pretty much how I do it as well. I try to control the temperature on the way up, rather than fighting with it trying to get it back down. I do that with the bottom vents. Like Dave said, I make a few adjustments in the first hour or two and them pretty much leave it alone. I shoot for around 250 and down worry +- 25 degrees or so. Small adjustments on the bottom vents usually accomplish that. They are usually about 1/4 open or so.

If you use the top vent to try to control the fire the steam and products of combustion can't escape the cooker. That can contribute to an off taste in the final product and will accelerate the formation of flakes on the cooker. The top vent remains open at all times.

 

[Dave Penn]

I will try this next time...thanks.

Might be time to consider an ATC (Automatic Temperature Controller), a topic on which there are loads of threads on this forum and elsewhere. My DigiQ DX2 has saved me a lot of sleep and helped me get consistently good results. Think of it as tipping the stress-versus-satisfaction scales your way.

 

[Nate C]

Might be time to consider an ATC (Automatic Temperature Controller), a topic on which there are loads of threads on this forum and elsewhere. My DigiQ DX2 has saved me a lot of sleep and helped me get consistently good results. Think of it as tipping the stress-versus-satisfaction scales your way.

I would love one of those but can't afford one unfortunately.

 

[Brad Barger]

Nate,
You are not alone. Anyone as concerned as much as you are, will work until you get it right.
For what it's worth, you are a great writer and while I feel your pain, I enjoyed reading you post.

 

[Jason Smart]

I second, the slathering in mustard, Worcestershire or olive oil before you rub..... It acts as binder for your rub and you don't taste either of them after the smoke.

It probably would have solved all your concerns about the dry outside when you pulled it out of the kegerator. That being said I don't think 2 hours in a kegerator would dry out the brisket internally....just the outside a little. A little of one of the three things above and you are back in business rub wise.