Hi all.
I just finished my first cook with my new Weber Smokey Mountain 18" this past Saturday in rural NJ. I smoked a 10lb brisket flat, and used the popular minion method, with a full hoop of Kingsford Blue charcoal and 20 lit briquettes in the center. The water bowl was 2/3 full. Being just a brisket flat, and having read that it takes about an hour per pound, I figured it would take about 9 hours. Well... It took 18 hours! I started at about 9:00AM and didn't finish until 3:00AM Sunday.
First, I would like to know why it took so long. Isn't 18 hours extreme for 10 lbs of meat? I kept the air temp in the smoker between 225 and 250 degrees the vast majority of the day, with a few times where it got down briefly to 216 or as high as 260. The meat temp went from room temperature to 151 within the first 45 minutes of the cook, and even though I know about "the stall", this lead me to believe the cook would be short. Once the temp got to 151, though, it moved very slowly, and when it got to 161 it stayed there for many hours. Once it got to 163 or so, I wrapped it in parchment paper for the duration of the cook. I was trying to let it get to 203 degrees, as Aaron Franklin appears to recommend, but at 201 I couldn't stay up any later. (I used my new Inkbird IBT-6XS temp probes, and they seem to be accurate.)
Second, the meat had a good bark, and had a smoke ring, but it was quite dry - delicious, but dry. Anyone know what might have caused that? It seemed very wet when I wrapped it, and I had spritzed it with apple juice a few times before that. After spending $47 for the meat and burning about 16 lbs of charcoal, I felt like I got the short stick.
Third, although I had read that the WSM holds its temperature "all day" (or close to it), I had to work VERY hard to keep it from going too low or too high. I generally tried to keep the dampers closed about 1/4", which worked for awhile, but I found that as soon as the coals built up a layer of ash on them the temperature went down quickly to the 216 range, so I'd stir the coals or adjust the dampers and then it would shoot up to the 260 range, hold there for maybe 20 minutes, then spiral down again. It was a rollercoaster all day.
Honestly, the experience was so exhausting, and the results so dry, that I have no desire to do it again. I had done weeks of research, and I believe I followed the general recommendations explicitly. Unless somebody can point out something I may have done wrong, or offer some encouragement, my plan for next time is to only smoke until wrap time, then move the meat in the house to the oven.
I would love to hear some pointers from some of you others about how I can do better.
I just finished my first cook with my new Weber Smokey Mountain 18" this past Saturday in rural NJ. I smoked a 10lb brisket flat, and used the popular minion method, with a full hoop of Kingsford Blue charcoal and 20 lit briquettes in the center. The water bowl was 2/3 full. Being just a brisket flat, and having read that it takes about an hour per pound, I figured it would take about 9 hours. Well... It took 18 hours! I started at about 9:00AM and didn't finish until 3:00AM Sunday.
First, I would like to know why it took so long. Isn't 18 hours extreme for 10 lbs of meat? I kept the air temp in the smoker between 225 and 250 degrees the vast majority of the day, with a few times where it got down briefly to 216 or as high as 260. The meat temp went from room temperature to 151 within the first 45 minutes of the cook, and even though I know about "the stall", this lead me to believe the cook would be short. Once the temp got to 151, though, it moved very slowly, and when it got to 161 it stayed there for many hours. Once it got to 163 or so, I wrapped it in parchment paper for the duration of the cook. I was trying to let it get to 203 degrees, as Aaron Franklin appears to recommend, but at 201 I couldn't stay up any later. (I used my new Inkbird IBT-6XS temp probes, and they seem to be accurate.)
Second, the meat had a good bark, and had a smoke ring, but it was quite dry - delicious, but dry. Anyone know what might have caused that? It seemed very wet when I wrapped it, and I had spritzed it with apple juice a few times before that. After spending $47 for the meat and burning about 16 lbs of charcoal, I felt like I got the short stick.
Third, although I had read that the WSM holds its temperature "all day" (or close to it), I had to work VERY hard to keep it from going too low or too high. I generally tried to keep the dampers closed about 1/4", which worked for awhile, but I found that as soon as the coals built up a layer of ash on them the temperature went down quickly to the 216 range, so I'd stir the coals or adjust the dampers and then it would shoot up to the 260 range, hold there for maybe 20 minutes, then spiral down again. It was a rollercoaster all day.
Honestly, the experience was so exhausting, and the results so dry, that I have no desire to do it again. I had done weeks of research, and I believe I followed the general recommendations explicitly. Unless somebody can point out something I may have done wrong, or offer some encouragement, my plan for next time is to only smoke until wrap time, then move the meat in the house to the oven.
I would love to hear some pointers from some of you others about how I can do better.