Sircave caught a Triceratops & cut him up

[caveman]

Okay, I have decided use make some cosmetic mods to my CG as I am going to smoke my first brisket with qview, although it is my second brisket overall. I have read through most of the forum & my eyes popped out after reading about the nightmares that other people had when using a CG smoker. They have modified, cut, foiled, welded, added & taken away from their rigs. Although, my rig has only given me joy, with the exception of holding heat. But Rich, one of the mods here helped me out with that & I again say Thank you sir. Imagine me thinking, once you buy it, just cook on it. I am not in the mood to ruin a brisket & have to finish it in the oven, (like my first), because my rig runs too hot or too much heat is escaping. So, hence this change:


This upgrade was obviously to load fuel higher in the chamber allowing for a longer & slower burn with vent control.
I ran down to the butcher's market to pick up my flat & my white oak. Darn!!! The delivery lady did not bring my chunks. The owner being a cool guy, gave me a bag of white oak chips for free. They always give you potatoes when you buy from them. A close up of the chips: If you missed it, the brisk was $30 for 7.96lbs. @ $3.76 per lb. Waited for wifey to come home & make up another batch of her rub, as I don't know the secret, (Geez, ya think since we sleep together in the same bed............), & it was stuff with whole garlic & rub her down. , then put her to bed for the night. Now, the time will come when I do an all nighter but this smoke is going to be a day smoke as I need to sleep on Friday night after I smoke this baby. We are entertaining two couples with kids (11 people total) this Saturday & I need to be fresh to entertain & partake. I will give blow by blow with my smoke. (And by the way, LMBO, I have already forgotten to pick up more lump. Wow, what a way to start a smoke. Geez.

)

Anyways, a question. Can I start with Kingsford charcoal briquettes & move over to lump or just wait until Wally Mart opens & run in for some quality lump?

I was going to start this smoke at 5 AM PST but that does not look possible now. I do have a bag of chunky hickory & pecan along with the white oak chips.

 

[chefrob]

looks good so far............

 

[bassman]

Looks good so far. There's no reason you couldn't start it out with the Kingsford. Good luck and keep on with the pics.

 

[jak757]

I'm eager to see how your smoke goes. I'll be doing the same soon on my CG.

Now, I know that many folks keep their rub recipes a secret...but wow....your wife won't even tell you?!?! That must be some might good rub!

Good luck with the brisket!!

 

[chisoxjim]

great looking start.

One question, why was the brisket so expensive?

 

[caveman]

I went to the Butcher shop & paid for select I believe. Otherwise, they are ripping me off @ $3.76 Per pound or whatever that was. (California Prices? Economy? Inflation? The housing market burst? Our beef has smog in their lungs???)

 

[caveman]

I am kidding about that. It is a creole seasoning that she picked up somewhere. Must nail her down about that. I will get back to you on that one for sure. I promise!!

 

[chisoxjim]

looks like a nice cut, I was just curious.

 

[caveman]

Thanks for that. I tried to get a good cut on the packer since I was only going to smoke the flat. I am also serving it to 11 people the next day so it had to start nice, I think. But Thanks for the compliment. Makes me feel as if I have a good eye.

 

[caveman]

This link will take you to the website my wife acquired the rub from. To us, it is so good, we stopped eating our ribs wet, whether I smoke or grill them. Enjoy!

 

[jak757]

Thanks -- I'll check it out!!!

 

[acemakr]

Am looking forward to your continuing saga and step by step instruction. I've tried one and it eclipsed disaster!

Gary

 

[phil brown]

Looking good, but I almost choked when I saw the price on that brisket! I hope it was worth it. The creole seasoning sounds like a winner; the 5 Tbs. of paprika pretty much guarantee it will be a solid rub. I make Tony Chachere's recipe w/ way less salt than it calls for. That's what I think of anytime someone mentions creole seasoning.

BTW, there's nothing wrong with briquettes for heat. I don't like using them b/c they don't last nearly as long as lump and produce a lot more ash. Just make sure they aren't adulterated with lighter fluid. I actually saw some the other day that don't even require you to take them out of the bag, you just throw it in and light it! There's a flavor I could do without.

 

[richoso1]

I see you're making use of some the mods expalined here on the forum, you should have some good results from your work. Good luck on your smoke my friend.

 

[caveman]

Yes sir. I don't want to waste my money's worth.

You are welcome.

I started late but I hope to avoid disaster as well.

That match light stuff will kill ya. (I used to use it - wha...who said
that?) Yeah, the price was kind of high but I guess it is what us west coast people are used to paying with the cost of living being higher here. Geez, go figure. Cost is lower & you get to freeze in the winter. The cost is higher & you have sunshine 11.5 months of the year. Okay...next post.....qview.

 

[caveman]

Okay, to me, I am six hours off of my schedule. (Thank you honey for having my bank card in your wallet when I needed to go buy lump.) Anyway, I took out the 8lbs of bliss & dropped her on the grill after purchasing 4 bags of Royal Lump at Wally World. (They had it at my store Rich....Woo Hoo!!)

Then it was light it & monitor & play with the dampers & such. I had a lot of smoke coming out of the back because I added foil in the dark while I was tired & didn't think about it.

Three & a half hours later, I spritzed her with apple juice, , turned her over & put in the probe. It is about the waiting game now.

 

[grampyskids]

That has to be a Choice Grade, or your butcher saw you coming. Sam's sells flats for $2.86/#.

 

[grampyskids]

From the looks of the cut it seems to be a Choice Grade of meat. Sam's Club sells a flat for $2.86/#. If it was select, you need to let the butcher know that you are unhappy with the price since WallyWorld sells select at $1.89/#.

 

[caveman]

It is funny that you say that because I did ask & they told me that it was choice. So I was not too unhappy because that particular shop offers only choice. I thought it was select the first time I paid $12.00 for 3 pounds but again, that meat was so good.............omg.

 

[caveman]

Okay, my grill temp is averaging about 227F - 240F. The probe in my brisk shows 161 degrees & it has only been on the grill for five hours now. Are my numbers off? Aren't I to pull it at 180F & let it rest at that point in a cooler?