Questions from a Rookie

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riskittobrisket

Newbie
Original poster
I just smoked a brisket this sunday at 250 degrees for 13.5 hours and it was about 12.5 lbs, and wrapped it in butcher paper at about hour 7. The bark and the color were spot on perfect, but it was tougher than i'd like. Not inedible but definitely some tug. 2 Questions. Was this just the simple fact that i pulled it too early? Or was it poor fire management? Also, I had a lot of problems managing the fire and was wondering if anybody had any insight on how I can make that easier? Any info will help!
 
Did you internal temp it at all? Some fatty brisket is hard to get to temp, and definitely plateaus. It's really hard to say where you went wrong. There are lots of factors when cooking a big chunk of meat that long.
 
I use the most expensive kitchen tool available for the tenderness test before pulling a brisket...

Poke it with a toothpick a few times. When done, the toothpick will insert into the brisket with minimal resistance, like room temperature butter.

All of mine have finished at 195+, some around 205.
 
Last edited:
First  !!!   Man that looks great, good color and bark.  Nice Job.

Yeah you pulled it a little early, If you maintained your temp Fire mgmt. was OK

Like the earlier post said 195 º to 205 º is what most people shoot for,

Gary
 
So I guess we just panicked, but it looks like the consensus is just flat-out patience. Thanks Gary! Any tips on fire management?? 

T Roy has some great info in this video about management on offsets.




If link doesn't work just go to youtube and type t roy fire management. Hope this helps.
 
 
I cooked on an offset, then put it in an empty ice chest for an hour.
This is an area that may be over looked. What kind of thermometer are you using for the Cooking Chamber and the Meat.

Stock Therm?

Maverick or any other external Meat probe?

gary S has some good post on briskets.

Richie
 
 
So I guess we just panicked, but it looks like the consensus is just flat-out patience. Thanks Gary! Any tips on fire management?? 
 Yep, Patients and Its hard for everyone, especially if you planned on a certain time to eat and people are waiting.  Just always allow way more time, It holds great in the cooler.

As for Fire Management  here is what I do.  As soon as I get up and get the coffee going, I start my smoker. I'll put about a chimney and a half to two chimneys of charcoal. Most of the time I take my weed burner, start the charcoal and warm up my smoker. Going over the grates and inside. That way it comes up to temp pretty quick. Ones the coals are burning good I'll throw on a couple of splits, go inside, pull the brisket out of the fridge, out of the cryovac, rinse and trim (if necessary) Then salt and pepper and on the smoker.

I run mine at 225 º. Keep an eye on your temp gauge and add a split and or a chimney of lit and burning charcoal as necessary.

I've cooked on mine so much I know about when I need to add. Now in saying that I know my wood is seasoned for a year and burns pretty fast. To me Lump last longer and burns better than briquettes. But Lowe's ran a big sale on Kings-ford blue bag so I bought a bunch.

 Just try to maintain an even cooking temp, a little fluctuation won't kill you, try to avoid big changes .

Cold weather you will burn more fuel so you have to keep closer tabs on the temp.

You are off to a great start

Gary
 
 
 Yep, Patients and Its hard for everyone, especially if you planned on a certain time to eat and people are waiting.  Just always allow way more time, It holds great in the cooler.

As for Fire Management  here is what I do.  As soon as I get up and get the coffee going, I start my smoker. I'll put about a chimney and a half to two chimneys of charcoal. Most of the time I take my weed burner, start the charcoal and warm up my smoker. Going over the grates and inside. That way it comes up to temp pretty quick. Ones the coals are burning good I'll throw on a couple of splits, go inside, pull the brisket out of the fridge, out of the cryovac, rinse and trim (if necessary) Then salt and pepper and on the smoker.

I run mine at 225 º. Keep an eye on your temp gauge and add a split and or a chimney of lit and burning charcoal as necessary.

I've cooked on mine so much I know about when I need to add. Now in saying that I know my wood is seasoned for a year and burns pretty fast. To me Lump last longer and burns better than briquettes. But Lowe's ran a big sale on Kings-ford blue bag so I bought a bunch.

 Just try to maintain an even cooking temp, a little fluctuation won't kill you, try to avoid big changes .

Cold weather you will burn more fuel so you have to keep closer tabs on the temp.

You are off to a great start

Gary
Gary do you use wood chips at all? or just splits? Do you soak?
 
 
Na just the stock thermometer, it seemed to work well.
Thats what I thought you are actually guessing,Smoking does require a little bit of better temp control.Stock therm can't be trusted do a boiling water test on it.You may want to add your location to your profile it also helps anwering questions.
 
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