- Sep 1, 2014
- 7
- 11
Hi, haven't been on this site for a while. I'm hoping I can get some advice from a BK5000 expert. Bought one earlier this summer and just love the thing. I've only attempted one long smoke (pulled pork) that worked out reasonably but had issues with maintaining temp.
I'm attempting a brisket tonite and was looking for some advice on initial set up to get a good stable 225F cook going. Here's some basic details on my situation:
1: Outside ambient temp is around 0 celcius
2: Brisket is approx 11lbs, nice 1/4in fat cap, marinating in onion and garlic right now and was also planning on injecting it later today.
3: Was planning on using my diffuser filled with sand and placing a drip tray over it. I don't have fan control system so I'll be relying on manually spinning vents.
4: I bought a Thermoworks smoke remote thermometer to monitor my meat and BBQ temp. My wife is going to love the alarm by our bed tonite.
My biggest concern is the initial lighting of the keg and getting temp stabilized. I was planning to fill up the firebox with fresh lump charcoal (BGE charcoal) and lighting a single firestarter near the center of the pile. Will soak around 5 chunks of smoke wood and place radially around the initial lighting area with one chunk close to the center. Will let the initial lighting happen with lid open for 15 minutes to let a few adjacent coals get lit, then toss in the diffuser, drip pan and grate and close lid, leave the top and bottom dampers on setting 3 til I get to around 175F then close them down to setting 1 and HOPEFULLY settle in on 225. I'll be using the reading from the remote thermometer since it will be closer to the grate where the cooking is happening. Will let the temp stabilize for around 30-60 minutes, then toss on the brisket. The keg 5000s are known for being leaky, so i was also thinking of duct taping around the joint at the ashtray and the locking knobs.
Any advice anyone has on an initial lighting set-up would be much appreciated - I went looking through the forums but wasn't able to find what I was looking for - I have 16 people coming for dinner tomorrow, so no pressure or anything.
THANKS!
I'm attempting a brisket tonite and was looking for some advice on initial set up to get a good stable 225F cook going. Here's some basic details on my situation:
1: Outside ambient temp is around 0 celcius
2: Brisket is approx 11lbs, nice 1/4in fat cap, marinating in onion and garlic right now and was also planning on injecting it later today.
3: Was planning on using my diffuser filled with sand and placing a drip tray over it. I don't have fan control system so I'll be relying on manually spinning vents.
4: I bought a Thermoworks smoke remote thermometer to monitor my meat and BBQ temp. My wife is going to love the alarm by our bed tonite.
My biggest concern is the initial lighting of the keg and getting temp stabilized. I was planning to fill up the firebox with fresh lump charcoal (BGE charcoal) and lighting a single firestarter near the center of the pile. Will soak around 5 chunks of smoke wood and place radially around the initial lighting area with one chunk close to the center. Will let the initial lighting happen with lid open for 15 minutes to let a few adjacent coals get lit, then toss in the diffuser, drip pan and grate and close lid, leave the top and bottom dampers on setting 3 til I get to around 175F then close them down to setting 1 and HOPEFULLY settle in on 225. I'll be using the reading from the remote thermometer since it will be closer to the grate where the cooking is happening. Will let the temp stabilize for around 30-60 minutes, then toss on the brisket. The keg 5000s are known for being leaky, so i was also thinking of duct taping around the joint at the ashtray and the locking knobs.
Any advice anyone has on an initial lighting set-up would be much appreciated - I went looking through the forums but wasn't able to find what I was looking for - I have 16 people coming for dinner tomorrow, so no pressure or anything.
THANKS!