Smokin' in San Jose

ramkilr

Newbie

Original poster

Aug 1, 2010

13

10

San Jose, CA

• Aug 4, 2010

• #1

Howdy all!. We recently got a free smoker - a Brinkmann Sportsman model #815-3060-4 - and tonight was it's inaugural flight. I've never used one of these things before and was a bit apprehensive but we found a small brisket (just under 3 lbs) at a local Costco and gave it a try. It ended up taking almost an entire bag of charcoal and took about 3 hours to cook it to 170 degrees and it came out pretty good. I used the suggestions I got here - took it off the heat, wrapped it in tin foil and a towel for about an hour and it was juicy and tender.

I guess we'll keep it! One question: is it cheaper to use wood rather than charcoal? I can see us buying charcoal by the pallet when we go to Costco!

Alan Hepburn

San Jose, Ca

 

richoso1

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

OTBS Member

SMF Premier Member

Jun 21, 2007

8,432

41

• Aug 5, 2010

• #2

Welcome to the SMF, and congrats on the new smoker. I'm not familiar with your smoker, but I'm sure others will chime in with some good suggestions. It's all good my friend.

 

chefrc

Meat Mopper

Jun 17, 2010

239

22

Backwoods Blanchester Ohio

• Aug 5, 2010

• #3

Welcome to the Family Friend

 

scarbelly

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

OTBS Member

Jul 26, 2009

14,315

73

• Aug 5, 2010

• #4

Welcome to the forum - have you gone to the Brinkman website to see what they recommend for your unit

Good luck

 

mballi3011

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

OTBS Member

SMF Premier Member

Mar 12, 2009

14,477

58

• Aug 5, 2010

• #5

First off Welcome Alan to SMF. you'll like it here for there are alot of really good folks here that would just love to help you with just about anything to do with smoking. Now there are alot of proven recipes for some amazing things here too. So if you need sign up for the E-Course it's free and it will give you the basics of smoking and some good methods to use also. So the next big thing for you to do is go out and get you something to smoke and if you happen to have any questions just post it here and we will be happy to answer them for you.

Welcome To Your New Addiction      

 

raptor700

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

May 20, 2010

4,065

56

Crestview, Florida

• Aug 5, 2010

• #6

It depends on what you can get. I Get my wood (hickory, pecan) For $65.00 a truck load!! It's definetly cheaper for me to use wood!
 

RAMKILR said:

Howdy all!. We recently got a free smoker - a Brinkmann Sportsman model #815-3060-4 - and tonight was it's inaugural flight. I've never used one of these things before and was a bit apprehensive but we found a small brisket (just under 3 lbs) at a local Costco and gave it a try. It ended up taking almost an entire bag of charcoal and took about 3 hours to cook it to 170 degrees and it came out pretty good. I used the suggestions I got here - took it off the heat, wrapped it in tin foil and a towel for about an hour and it was juicy and tender.

I guess we'll keep it! One question: is it cheaper to use wood rather than charcoal? I can see us buying charcoal by the pallet when we go to Costco!

Alan Hepburn

San Jose, Ca

Click to expand...

 

deannc

Master of the Pit

Jun 13, 2010

1,153

24

Cradle of Cue, NC

• Aug 5, 2010

• #7

Welcome aboard!  At least it only took 3 hours! I did a 4 lb flat cut a couple weeks ago and the stall I went through lasted that long...lol  

 

smokinthesmc

Meat Mopper

Jul 5, 2010

211

21

Gilbert, Arizona - Phoenix area

• Aug 5, 2010

• #8

Was that a 6 lb bag of charcoal or what. If not that seems like a lot of charcoal. See what the rest of the clan says.

 

ramkilr

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

Aug 1, 2010

13

10

San Jose, CA

• Aug 6, 2010

• #9

SmokintheSMC said:

Was that a 6 lb bag of charcoal or what. If not that seems like a lot of charcoal. See what the rest of the clan says.

Click to expand...

It was one of the bags that Costco sells in a 2-pack - I think it's 15 lbs per bag. One issue I have with the smoker is that I need to remove the top to check the meat temperature - seems like that causes a huge drop in heat inside the smoker. There is a cheap temp gauge installed in the top that shows an "Ideal" temp range - it spent most of the time at the low end of that range.

By the way: anybody in San Jose looking for brisket - Smart and Final on Hillsdale Ave has 12-15 lb briskets for $1.79 per pound! About an hour ago they had 6 of them in the display.

 

meateater

Legendary Pitmaster

SMF Premier Member

Oct 17, 2009

8,983

63

Hendertucky, Nv.

• Aug 6, 2010

• #10

Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks, great recipes and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview.

 

smokinthesmc

Meat Mopper

Jul 5, 2010

211

21

Gilbert, Arizona - Phoenix area

• Aug 6, 2010

• #11

Yeah that will cause you to loose temps fast 15 mins or more per peek depending on how long you have it open. Get some nice thermos that you can keep an eye on the meat temp and the ambiant temp at the same time, should solve your problem but keep reading and asking questions and you'll get a lot better understanding of smoking. This is the best place to learn.

 

dick foster

Smoking Fanatic

Apr 24, 2010

402

16

• Aug 7, 2010

• #12

If I were you I'd buy Royal Oak lump charcoal. The Wal Marts around here have it, I get it at the store on Story Road, (I'm in Los Gatos)  I buy the regular Kingsford competition briquettes from Costco but I only use it for preheating the smoker and the wife uses it for grilling. For the actual cook and smoke I use lump charcoal and wood chunks that I get at WalMart. .

Try to tone it down to 225 and take a bit longer with the smokes and the results will probably taste better for ya while you'll use less fuel. It sounds like you're running a bit too hot. Get a real thermometer so you really know what the smoker temps are and get a good meat thermometer that will let you keep track of the meat temperature with the lid still closed. Wireless it better so you can sit on the couch and still keep your eye on it.