Ruined Brisket...

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haydenfox

Fire Starter
Original poster
Feb 6, 2011
34
10
Tampa, FL
Im over the inconsistancy I experience when trying to smoke. Sometimes its ok, others, I just plain fail.

Today I tried to smoke a simple 3.5 lb flat cut brisket. I use a Binkman smoker with an oven therm for temps. Therm said temp has been between 230 and 255. 4 hrs later the brisket is 120 degrees and out of the safe zone. Im outta hair and no super bowl bbq
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Are you sure your temp guages were right? I did one today 5.5 lbs. at 200* and it was 145 at 4 hours.. I hate temp guages and buy new all the time. they are never accurate. I would buy a new one to check against your old one. At those temps you should have been fine
 
I agree.. if you have to keep opening the door to read therm, then you lose 15 minutes or so cooking time every time you open her up... so if after 4 hrs of cooking you open the door say 4-6 times then you end up with at least an hour of lost time... I can't say how important it is to have a GOOD Therm with probes so you can monitor temps without ever having to open the door....

If your therm is a thru the door therm then take it out and check it in boiling water
 
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I guage it by the p.o.s. thermometer that comes on the hood of the smoker. I know their terrible, and I dont rely on it but I know what my oven therm is reading , roughly, based on that. I only open the hood to spritz. I opened it 3 times in the 4 hrs and the temps were good. I opened the fire box twice to add fuel. I buy a new oven therm just about every other smoke. This is this ones second use...
 
I know this doesn't help you right now but you need  to get a good digital thermometer. Preferably one that you can monitor both the smoker temp and the internal temp of your meat. Knowing your temps makes everything  so much easier.
 
Yeah - once you get the your temos set you need to leave the door shut. I would definately make sure your thermos are accurate.
 
I know this doesn't help you right now but you need  to get a good digital thermometer. Preferably one that you can monitor both the smoker temp and the internal temp of your meat. Knowing your temps makes everything  so much easier.
Suggestions?
 
A lot of folks around here swear by the Mavericks.  I have 4 digitals that I've had for a while which aren't Mavericks but I bought them before I knew about the Maverick models.  Check out Todd Johnson's website.  He carries the Mavericks as well as the AMNPS and other smokers and accessories.  His AMNPS product is great.

http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MAVET-732

-Salt
 
Too bad about the brisket, but if you didn't probe or inject it in the beginning it would still have been safe to eat.
 
I know this doesn't help you right now but you need  to get a good digital thermometer. Preferably one that you can monitor both the smoker temp and the internal temp of your meat. Knowing your temps makes everything  so much easier.
Buy two.  They aren't that expensive and even out of the box they beat anything attached to a grill.

Learn to know them and they will be trusted friends..
 
I would definately make sure your thermos are accurate.


 I have a Brinkmann Vertical Smoker and the temp gauge was off by 80 degrees.  I thought I had a hard time keeping my temps at 225 when in reallity I was trying to keep it at 305.  I now use my Maverick thermometer.
 
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