- Jun 7, 2016
- 7
- 10
Hello everyone. This is my first post on this site. So, I recently smoked my first brisket (a 12 lb packer cut) in a MES 30. I had to cut a decent amount off of the flat just to fit it in. I also cut a little off of the point, but I don't think I will do that next time. All in all it wasn't "bad" for my first ever, but there's certainly room for improvement. Hopefully I can get some help with a few questions.
As I said, I cut quite a bit off, so it was down to around 10.5 lbs or so. I cooked it for just over 11 hours, unwrapped @ 250. However, I opened the door 1-2 times per hour for a "spritz" with water. I put that in quotes because I think I sprayed it way too much. It did not use a probe, but instead based it's doneness on time and pliability. I then wrapped it in 2 layers of foil and a towel and let it rest on a counter for about an hour and a half.
It had a nice bark and good flavor, but no smoke ring (which I know isn't extremely important), and it was tough. I'm assuming the toughness is due to the fact that I opened the door too much, thus adding more time to my cook than expected, and therefore it wasn't done enough. I'm also wondering if I sprayed it too much, which resulted in more of a steam than a smoke cook. Lastly, it seemed like a lot of juices came out when I sliced it. It wasn't necessarily dry, but it still seemed like a lot to me. Any thoughts?
Sorry for the long post, just trying to get it all done with one shot as opposed to multiple posts. I attached a picture to show the amount of juice that came out and the lack of a smoke ring. Thanks in advance for any input.
As I said, I cut quite a bit off, so it was down to around 10.5 lbs or so. I cooked it for just over 11 hours, unwrapped @ 250. However, I opened the door 1-2 times per hour for a "spritz" with water. I put that in quotes because I think I sprayed it way too much. It did not use a probe, but instead based it's doneness on time and pliability. I then wrapped it in 2 layers of foil and a towel and let it rest on a counter for about an hour and a half.
It had a nice bark and good flavor, but no smoke ring (which I know isn't extremely important), and it was tough. I'm assuming the toughness is due to the fact that I opened the door too much, thus adding more time to my cook than expected, and therefore it wasn't done enough. I'm also wondering if I sprayed it too much, which resulted in more of a steam than a smoke cook. Lastly, it seemed like a lot of juices came out when I sliced it. It wasn't necessarily dry, but it still seemed like a lot to me. Any thoughts?
Sorry for the long post, just trying to get it all done with one shot as opposed to multiple posts. I attached a picture to show the amount of juice that came out and the lack of a smoke ring. Thanks in advance for any input.