I was asked to put up a Qview from this weekend. Here it is along with a few things I've learned.
Per Jeff's articles, I picked out a brisket with the best flex.
Here it is all rubbed down. I just used a store bought brisket rub and mustard. Turned out fantastic.
Finally on the smoker, 10 pm.
Time for a drink.
Here it is the next morning, around the 12 hr mark. Temp was sitting at 158, began to plateau at this point (for the second time)
My chamber temps stayed consistent throughout the night. Never dropping below 210 nor exceeding 235. For a huge majority of the entire cook, they were +/- 4 degrees of 225. I was EXTREMELY surprised by the smokers ability to hold temps like that, especially after reading about how some people have issues with their smokers spiking and dropping. I believe lowering the stack to grate level, making a charcoal basket, and the water pan helped steady the temps.
Sorry, I had forgotten to snap a picture of the final end result, before separating the point. I somehow had trouble separating the two. I accidentally cut into the flat I guess. I tried finding that sweet spot and using the back of my knife, just couldn't do it. Next time though. It was incredibly juicy.
I never foiled, and kept fat side down through the entire cook, with the point facing the fire. Never even rotated or turned. The packer was just shy of 11lb, so I estimated a 16 hr cook. At 19 hrs it was still at 178 IT, so I did the toothpick test and I'm glad I did, for whatever reason, it was just the right temp for this packer. I did calibrate my probes before and it was 1 degree shy of 212, and I did it after just to see, and it was still 1 degree shy. I used a Maverick ET 732.
Here she is sliced up. Sorry, for whatever reason I couldn't get the pic to turn out no matter how many times I tried. I also was just hungry.
.
Burnt ends. I threw them back on with some BBQ sauce over them for 2 hrs. They were awesome.
Here are the ingredients I used for the mac and cheese. Next time, I'll go a little easier on the milk, and not use ricotta. The ricotta kind of put a grainy texture to it. I did mix it up ever 30 mins or so. Otherwise it turned out good, but too much smoke. I'll get to that in a second.
End result. Temps at 240 for 2 hrs, along with burnt ends.
So, I had bought some lump coal called B&B from HEB, three bags. I really liked it. It burned hot and consistent, and for a pretty long time. at the 15 hr mark I had gone through three 8 lb bags. I didn't realize I would of needed more, so while my girlfriend was at wal-mart, I had her pick me up two bags of lump. All they had was this Royal Oak, needless to say, I will never use it again. It did not burn as hot, so I had to use much more, and it would not burn near as long or consistent, which resulted in more ash buildup and just overall pain in the ass. When I threw the mac and cheese on there, the only wood I had left was mesquite chunks, and I had to throw a bunch of those on just to get the temps up, which is what resulted in my mac and cheese having too much of a smokey taste, and the wrong smokey taste at that.
Overall, the brisket was amazing, potato salad was awesome, and the burnt ends were just what I expected. Mac and Cheese, while although good, just was not up to par for us. There's always next time.
Happy smoking
Per Jeff's articles, I picked out a brisket with the best flex.
Here it is all rubbed down. I just used a store bought brisket rub and mustard. Turned out fantastic.
Finally on the smoker, 10 pm.
Time for a drink.
Here it is the next morning, around the 12 hr mark. Temp was sitting at 158, began to plateau at this point (for the second time)
My chamber temps stayed consistent throughout the night. Never dropping below 210 nor exceeding 235. For a huge majority of the entire cook, they were +/- 4 degrees of 225. I was EXTREMELY surprised by the smokers ability to hold temps like that, especially after reading about how some people have issues with their smokers spiking and dropping. I believe lowering the stack to grate level, making a charcoal basket, and the water pan helped steady the temps.
Sorry, I had forgotten to snap a picture of the final end result, before separating the point. I somehow had trouble separating the two. I accidentally cut into the flat I guess. I tried finding that sweet spot and using the back of my knife, just couldn't do it. Next time though. It was incredibly juicy.
I never foiled, and kept fat side down through the entire cook, with the point facing the fire. Never even rotated or turned. The packer was just shy of 11lb, so I estimated a 16 hr cook. At 19 hrs it was still at 178 IT, so I did the toothpick test and I'm glad I did, for whatever reason, it was just the right temp for this packer. I did calibrate my probes before and it was 1 degree shy of 212, and I did it after just to see, and it was still 1 degree shy. I used a Maverick ET 732.
Here she is sliced up. Sorry, for whatever reason I couldn't get the pic to turn out no matter how many times I tried. I also was just hungry.
.
Burnt ends. I threw them back on with some BBQ sauce over them for 2 hrs. They were awesome.
Here are the ingredients I used for the mac and cheese. Next time, I'll go a little easier on the milk, and not use ricotta. The ricotta kind of put a grainy texture to it. I did mix it up ever 30 mins or so. Otherwise it turned out good, but too much smoke. I'll get to that in a second.
End result. Temps at 240 for 2 hrs, along with burnt ends.
So, I had bought some lump coal called B&B from HEB, three bags. I really liked it. It burned hot and consistent, and for a pretty long time. at the 15 hr mark I had gone through three 8 lb bags. I didn't realize I would of needed more, so while my girlfriend was at wal-mart, I had her pick me up two bags of lump. All they had was this Royal Oak, needless to say, I will never use it again. It did not burn as hot, so I had to use much more, and it would not burn near as long or consistent, which resulted in more ash buildup and just overall pain in the ass. When I threw the mac and cheese on there, the only wood I had left was mesquite chunks, and I had to throw a bunch of those on just to get the temps up, which is what resulted in my mac and cheese having too much of a smokey taste, and the wrong smokey taste at that.
Overall, the brisket was amazing, potato salad was awesome, and the burnt ends were just what I expected. Mac and Cheese, while although good, just was not up to par for us. There's always next time.
Happy smoking
