Thanks to all of you regular contributors and also other newbies like me with good questions / posts. Yesterday, I did my first brisket ever, and I am happy with the final product as well as the process of smoking it. I would not have been able to do it as well without the great resource I had in this forum. Thanks again.
Quick facts:
1. Meat - USDA Choice, 8 lbs, 1/2 a Packer from H-E-B (Great Groc Store here in TX), the other 1/2 is in my freezer, waiting for it's turn.
2. Rubbed with my fav local BBQ joint's rub they sell (Smokey Mo's - a couple locations here in Central TX)
2. Smoker Time - 13 hrs (foiled the lst two) 6am to 7pm yesterday + 2hrs in the insulated cooler.
3. Used foil pan underneath to catch drippings.
4. Used a beer-cider vinegar-onion-garlic mopping sauce, about every hour or 2 after first 4 hrs. Flipped the brisket when I mopped.
Conclusions:
1. Stall did occur in the low 140s, now I know what that's about.
2. Seemed a like a long cooking time for original weight of brisket, but I think that was part of trying to maintain the 220-225 smoker temp - I went hotter toward the end so I could get the internal meat temp up, which eventually happened when I let the smoker got up to 275 for the last three hours.
3. Additionally, I recognized that opening the smoker for mopping/flipping adds time due to the sharp temp declines while open.
4. I have got to find a hotter burning fuel that will last longer than the lump charcoal I was using - perhaps logs of oak, hickory, etc. I went through three 20 lb bags of lump charcoal.
5. Next brisket I may pull at 180 to 185 internal temp instead of 190, especially since I will insulate again afterward in the cooler - that is key. As you can tell by the pictures, the center was done more than the ideal.
6. Gotta love the smoke ring - what a neat phenomenon.
Quick facts:
1. Meat - USDA Choice, 8 lbs, 1/2 a Packer from H-E-B (Great Groc Store here in TX), the other 1/2 is in my freezer, waiting for it's turn.
2. Rubbed with my fav local BBQ joint's rub they sell (Smokey Mo's - a couple locations here in Central TX)
2. Smoker Time - 13 hrs (foiled the lst two) 6am to 7pm yesterday + 2hrs in the insulated cooler.
3. Used foil pan underneath to catch drippings.
4. Used a beer-cider vinegar-onion-garlic mopping sauce, about every hour or 2 after first 4 hrs. Flipped the brisket when I mopped.
Conclusions:
1. Stall did occur in the low 140s, now I know what that's about.
2. Seemed a like a long cooking time for original weight of brisket, but I think that was part of trying to maintain the 220-225 smoker temp - I went hotter toward the end so I could get the internal meat temp up, which eventually happened when I let the smoker got up to 275 for the last three hours.
3. Additionally, I recognized that opening the smoker for mopping/flipping adds time due to the sharp temp declines while open.
4. I have got to find a hotter burning fuel that will last longer than the lump charcoal I was using - perhaps logs of oak, hickory, etc. I went through three 20 lb bags of lump charcoal.
5. Next brisket I may pull at 180 to 185 internal temp instead of 190, especially since I will insulate again afterward in the cooler - that is key. As you can tell by the pictures, the center was done more than the ideal.
6. Gotta love the smoke ring - what a neat phenomenon.
