Two Briskets on a WSM 18

[JohnShepherd]

Some hot and fast brisket. Good luck with your choices and cook. View attachment 34111

That does look mighty tasty. I'm not sure I'm confident to do a fast cook yet. Certainly not when cooking for a party.

 

[ChuckH]

One more bit of advice. Don’t put your top grate in your smoker till you are ready to start cooking your second piece of meat. That way you don’t have to try and wrestle a nice big piece of brisket through the door. And no worries about a hot upper grate.

 

[timothy]

Kinda late on this, but what about separating the flat from the point?
This way you could put both flats on the top grate ( as long as they fit) and the point on the bottom grate.
I've never tried that, but have heard of some that do.

 

[C Lewis]

That’s a heavy cook and you can’t get it wrong. I’d personally got hot and fast, no water in the water pan, put the whole brisket below and that flat on the top rack. Cook for 90 mins+ (till the bark is set is your gauge and you should be at around 155°) hot and fast with a good amount of smoke and then wrap (paper is better than foil IMO). I’ve done a single 18# packer in 6 hours or so using hot and fast. The wrap protects the meat from drying out. Your flat will be done way sooner as it has little to no body. And dry flat is horrible to eat.

If you’re low and slow, you’re in for a long cook here, maybe 11-12 hours on the packer. Again, the flat will be done way before the whole brisket.

You can always cheat by using your over after you’ve smoked the meat. Heat is heat and an oven keeps a very constant temp too.

Agreed on the HAF. That's the only way that I do briskets now, and 12# are done in 5 hrs, not including time in the hold.

Charlie

That does look mighty tasty. I'm not sure I'm confident to do a fast cook yet. Certainly not when cooking for a party.

Actually my preferred method for a party. Takes a lot less time and I am much more rested. Gives me time to do all of the other things to prepare for guest coming over. Definitely want to try it out before the party though, as there is some adjustments to make.

 

[Donna Fong]

Brett, that brisket looks amazing. I might have to run over to Restaurant Depot after work.

John, I think you are spot on in your approach. I think I would slice at the party since it is so far away. Normally, the cutting board becomes a very popular place to congregate when this happens. In my house, the best parts don't make it on to a real plate.

Charlie, are you running at 300F for HAF?

 

[Brett-EDH]

Brett, that brisket looks amazing. I might have to run over to Restaurant Depot after work.

John, I think you are spot on in your approach. I think I would slice at the party since it is so far away. Normally, the cutting board becomes a very popular place to congregate when this happens. In my house, the best parts don't make it on to a real plate.

Charlie, are you running at 300F for HAF?

thank you. i started my brisket cooking 28 years ago, making Jewish pot roast. i learned the ins and outs of how briskets work and best oven cooking methods. my pot roast comes done in 4-5 hours depending on starting size. i actually learned to do hot and fast in the oven for pot roast which naturally translated to hot and fast on coal with wood for smoke.

brisket in the first 90 mins is nearly impossible to mess up. brisket is SO TOUGH that you cannot destroy it in the first 90 min.

on a WSM, hot and fast is super easy (i just got a E6 and will do a brisket in a few short weeks as i'm learning how the cooker works still).

because you have the water pan, empty/just foil wrapped, above the coals, and the coals are like 24 inches below the top grate, you can open up all your vents and hit 400-500 in hot and fast. those first 90 mins is just heat and smoke. after the 90 mins, you're not really going to penetrate additional smoke flavor just due to the physics of brisket and meat density.

after the first 90-100 mins are done, and temp of 150-160, i go paper wrap and lower the hot and fast to 400. because the brisket is shrouded in paper and protected in the stall, all your brisket juices will render inside the paper wrap and help cook the brisket w/o steaming it (why i hate foil wraps, personally).

from there you're probing meat temps till done, starting probing at 195 upward. usually my pull temp is 200-203, when the thermoworks mk4 probe moves around gently in the point. then it's into an aluminum tray to capture all the juices and towel draped to let the brisket settle down to carving temps. i do a small slit vent in the paper to let steam out and aid cooling without letting the brisket get too much air.

if i were a more patient person i'd do slow and low, but i've cooked probably 50+ briskets over time that i am very comfortable with hot and fast and know how she'll turn out. of note, the worst brisket is an overcooked one, IMO. while it may be good for shredded beef sammies, i just don't like smushy beef and i don't like sweet beef too.

so if you made it this long into this post, accept my apoligies for rambling. but if anyone has questions that i can offer help with, feel free to shoot away. i know i'm new here but if feel like you all are my people and speak my language. i have more food pics on my iphone than kids pics. i am that much of a loser, but in a good way.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

John, the drive will be perfect for you to complete the resting time. Not a bad thing at all. Get them on early, get them off when they are “right” pop them in a cooler and you can relax for a little while on the drive.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

I wouldn't put the large packer on the bottom rack because there's a lot of direct heat that comes up around the water pan. The outside edges are gonna get burned.

 

[JohnShepherd]

Kinda late on this, but what about separating the flat from the point?
This way you could put both flats on the top grate ( as long as they fit) and the point on the bottom grate.
I've never tried that, but have heard of some that do.

I don't think I'd be able to fit both flats on the top rack in the 18.5 WSM. Maybe stand them on edge leaning against each other?

 

[JohnShepherd]

I wouldn't put the large packer on the bottom rack because there's a lot of direct heat that comes up around the water pan. The outside edges are gonna get burned.

Yeah, I've been thinking about that. I like Donna's idea of starting the packer on top and moving it if it's still dripping when I add the flat. Something's got to go on the lower rack. I saw one recommendation to put foil under the ends of large cuts that stick out past the water bowl. Or cook it bent over a steel mixing bowl (?).

 

[Donna Fong]

I don't think I'd be able to fit both flats on the top rack in the 18.5 WSM. Maybe stand them on edge leaning against each other?

John, just put a block of wood underneath each and you'd be able to fit both...maybe, depending on the shape.

 

[Donna Fong]

thank you. i started my brisket cooking 28 years ago, making Jewish pot roast. i learned the ins and outs of how briskets work and best oven cooking methods. my pot roast comes done in 4-5 hours depending on starting size. i actually learned to do hot and fast in the oven for pot roast which naturally translated to hot and fast on coal with wood for smoke.

brisket in the first 90 mins is nearly impossible to mess up. brisket is SO TOUGH that you cannot destroy it in the first 90 min.

on a WSM, hot and fast is super easy (i just got a E6 and will do a brisket in a few short weeks as i'm learning how the cooker works still).

because you have the water pan, empty/just foil wrapped, above the coals, and the coals are like 24 inches below the top grate, you can open up all your vents and hit 400-500 in hot and fast. those first 90 mins is just heat and smoke. after the 90 mins, you're not really going to penetrate additional smoke flavor just due to the physics of brisket and meat density.

after the first 90-100 mins are done, and temp of 150-160, i go paper wrap and lower the hot and fast to 400. because the brisket is shrouded in paper and protected in the stall, all your brisket juices will render inside the paper wrap and help cook the brisket w/o steaming it (why i hate foil wraps, personally).

Brett, I didn't realize folks were cooking that hot. I haven't run my WSMs like that but it is worth a try. Thank you for sharing your technique. I appreciate the nitty gritty details, as always.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Brett, I didn't realize folks were cooking that hot. I haven't run my WSMs like that but it is worth a try. Thank you for sharing your technique. I appreciate the nitty gritty details, as always.

not sure what others do but i was experimenting with full open vents all around. of note, i did get me new E6 up to 500+ this week. I'll post some pics as to why shortly.

and for those reading, i only do this on the top most rack only. and quarter rotate the rack every 15 mins, religiously to ensure even heat. and you must have the water pan in place to deflect heat. i kept my water bowl wrapped in 6 layers of heavy alum foil. made cleanups very easy.

 

[C Lewis]

Charlie, are you running at 300F for HAF?

Donna,

I am actually running 375 to 400F until the crust is set, then wrap and back down to 275 for another hour or so until probe tender. I have found that I need to go a bit higher on internal temp when doing hot and fast, usually around 210, to get the probe feel that I'm looking for. Total is about 5 hours, then into a cooler for about 2 hrs, though I have opened them and sliced right away, and the results were still great. Also, I needed to adjust my wood amount and type a little, as the wood is free burning a bit more at the higher temps and the smoke can be reduced. I switched to hickory and apple, and that combo works well. The oak that I was normally using was not providing enough smoke flavor on HAF. This is one of the more recent ones.




Charlie

 

[Lynn Dollar]

I also think the center of the lower grate runs a bit cooler than the upper grate. Its been a long time since I put a probe on that lower grate, but while the edges are super hot, the center is cooler, IIRC.

 

[JayHeyl]

I also think the center of the lower grate runs a bit cooler than the upper grate. Its been a long time since I put a probe on that lower grate, but while the edges are super hot, the center is cooler, IIRC.

This is what I've seen reported. I've not measured it myself. It's what prompted me to order the FireDial heat diffuser since it's supposed to eliminate the cool spot right above the water bowl and provide overall more even temps.

 

[Donna Fong]

Well I'm at restaurant depot now. I'm going to give it a try. I'm thinking about using the smoke fire instead of the wsm. I'm out of briquettes and have too many pellets.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Well I'm at restaurant depot now. I'm going to give it a try. I'm thinking about using the smoke fire instead of the wsm. I'm out of briquettes and have too many pellets.

do pellet smokers make enough smoke? on HAF you need to ensure plenty of smoke in those 90 mins. as Charlie said, the wood does burn much quicker in HAF thus the need for more wood to get more smoke. looking forward to your success.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Some additional images for how much smoke is being generated during HAF brisket cooks. IIRC (as i see in my own pic) on this cook I did NOT leave the water bowl in place during the 90 mins of HAF. I was driving pure heat and smoke in the WSM 18, thus my very high temps. This was an 18# pre-trimmed weight. I likely took off 4# of fat (saved and froze it for burger mixins). And the slab was supported by two wood chunks to create a domed brisket to stop any moisture accumulation as the brisket rendered. And the 14# brisket was too long for the 18" grate as you can see in one of the pics.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

Doggone it! Now I wanna brisket!