Sammy4chickens

[sammy4chickens]

I'm just starting and I bought a "Green Moutain Pellet Grill" with a digital temp readout. I guess my biggest problem so far is breaking a bad habit of opening the grill every few minutes to check on it. I am suppose to do a "Brisket" this Saturday for a birthday party and not sure what I should do for sure; any hints on "How To" for me and did I get a good smoker or not. And is there anything I need to do different with this type of smoker?

 

[pineywoods]

Welcome to SMF glad you decided to join us. Congrats on the new smoker. You'll find lots of good info and some great recipes here. Heres a link to a how to for a brisket smoke check it out and ask any questions you may have

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/50979/basic-brisket-smoke

 

[bmudd14474]

Welcome to SMF. Glad to have you hear. The link Pineywoods gave you should help alot. Also if you havent done so sign up for the 5 day ecourse.

 

[scarbelly]

Welcome to SMF - The advice from Piney and Brian will be of great help to you. Let us know if you have more questions we can help with and good luck on the smoke this weekend - take lots of pics cause as we say here - no qview, it didnt happen

 

[sammy4chickens]

Well I started smokin two briskets about 11:00 am and after 4 hours they are looking pretty good so far. I'm making up Jeff's  Sauce to put on when they're finished, and I'm drooling all over myself. I am going to try and attach a couple pic's, hope i did it right........S4C (Sammy4chickens).

 

[jirodriguez]

Looks good... only suggestion is don't trust the factory thermometer, verify that you are actually getting the 208° in the chamber as shown on the digital readout. Also good to get a couple of the oven thermometers that have the probe that sticks in the meat and has a wire that runs to the display. Put one in each piece of meat so you can monitor internal meat temps as it smokes.

 

[sammy4chickens]

Thanks Johnny, I didn't know they had probes like that. Any ideal where i might find one like that. And what do I call them or what do I ask for at the store?

 

[jirodriguez]

Basically an oven thermometer with a wired probe, you should be able to find them at any K-Mart, Walmart, Target... any store with a good sized cooking implaments department. You usually find them hanging next to the other cooking thermometers, basic no name brand one will run you about $10-$13. They work great, just remember when you clean it, don't just toss the probe/wire into the dishwasher or a sink of water. The water gets down into the probe and kills it. I take the clorox wipes (or even a sponge with some dishsoap), and wipe down the probe and wire a bit then give it a quick light rinse and dry it off.

 

[chomper]

Lowes also has the digital thermometers for around $20.  I use a cheap oven thermometer for inside the smoker and the digital probe thermometer for monitoring the meat temp.

 

[sammy4chickens]

I used my wife's meat thermometers that she uses in her oven, but I had to open the door to check the meat. I smoked it for a total 10 1/2 hours then checked the temp. pulled them off the grill and wrapped them and put them back in for another hour before putting them in containers and putting them in the refrigerator until the next morning. When I took them out, they sliced perfectly and then mopped the whole thing with Jeff's sauce and added back just a cup of juice to each one before covering and reheated for about 40 to 45 minutes at 350*. They came out PERFECT! I couldn't have asked for anything better and everyone thought they were great, I just wish I could have been there. I did try it after I got back the next day and it was great................Thanks Guys, they came out as advertised................Fantastic! 

 

[scarbelly]

Here is a link to a thermometer that a lot of us use with good success


There are others out there but the customer service has been very good from the folks that have had issues of any kind

 

[jirodriguez]

Sounds like you nailed it Sammy! Grats! Your first brisket is always a little nerve wracking, but once you do it and see how easy they are your hooked. I laugh when I see a roadside BBQ joint selling $8 chopped brisket sandwiches.... then I go buy a full packer for $20, and some buns, lol.

 

[eman]

Great job S4C.

 The probe digital thermos make it alot easier to not keep opening the door.  you have a digital readout to watch . They also make them w/ remotes so that you can set limits and if your temp gos up to high or drops to low the remote will alarm and let you know.

 

[sammy4chickens]

That's definitely my next purchase, a good remote thermometer. I'm still eating leftovers and lovin it! I didn't do very good on "Weight Watchers" this week but it sure tasted great, maybe next week I'll lose some next week but if it all taste like it did this week, it's gonna be hard!