My smokin, buddy Tony's birthday was Friday, but he had to work, so his wife threw him a party on Saturday. She was going to grill hamburgers, but I had something else in mind, so I told her to leave the meat course to me. Another friend bought a 13.8 pound Packer Brisket (my first ever) from Walmart for $41 and after many hours on this forum (thanks to EVERYONE here), the adventure began...
11:00 -- started smoker and took marinated brisket from fridge and began getting it prepped. Set temp at 275 to get thing going. Once temp recovered from loading smoker, I set temp at 250.
12:45 -- AMNPS started at each end. Don't see much smoke coming out. Put some chips in tray to boost. Monitoring initial temp swings.
4:00 -- cooking temp 250 MES, 230 Maveric. Meat at 158 flat and 146 point. AMNPS out of pellets so reloaded with Apple, as I ran out of hickory. Loaded chip tray, too. No drippings in pan !?!? Removed from 3rd rack to see if I'd get better temp distribution. Didn't seem to make much difference.
7:30 -- AMNPS just going around 1st turn. IT 175 flat, 168 point. Pulled and foiled with beer. Placed on cookie sheet then foiled. May have been a mistake, as it really restricts airflow, but bottom of tray will get good blast. Stuck MES probe through foil into point, but in different place then before. Hung Maveric BBQ probe from top rack directly above center of packet, about 2 inches above. Should have shut AMNPS down, but I'd had the doors open too long at that point so just left it. Closed upper vent to help hold heat in top of smoker. Guess I was premature in pulling drip pan, as the water pan now has some nice juice in it. Hope it doesn't get too hot down there.
8:30 -- temp above packet still only 216. Resetting smoker temp to 265.
10:00 -- temperature above packet has been study at 230°. Internal temperature is now 204 degrees on the flat and 196 degrees on the point. Probe slides in easily. Removed from foil and place back on the rack reinserted all pros. Reset temperature control to 230°. Relit AMNP and gave him a shot of chips.
10:30 -- IT dropped about 10 degrees and stayed there! Bumped temp to 245.
11:00 -- IT only up 2 degrees. Worried about it drying out, but still not much juice in drip pan, so not too concerned yet. On advice from the forum, I'm going to pull and pack in cooler.
11:30 -- all ready to go to Tony & Peggy's for Tony's birthday. Everyplace on the top of the brisket that I touched with the toothpick, it just fell into meat!
All said and done, after separating the fat from the juice, I only had about 6 ounces of drippings. That surprised me. Usually get almost a quart from similar sized Butt. Disappointed, as I love that stuff as use in in so many things.
2:30 -- carved the beast! The slices of the flat were wonderful! So tender and so juicey -- and the flavor -- can't even describe the flavor!
YES!!! It was worth a night with not much sleep!
tony agrees :-)
Tony and his nephew Jeff did some chicken and stuffed jalapeños peppers wrapped in bacon on his offset.
WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!
I brought the point home, and I think I'll probably shread it latter today for sandwich, chili, Shepard's pie, maybe pizza or spaghetti!
Once again, thanks to everyone here for the knowledge I gained and for the confidence to Boldly Go Where Only Brave Smokers Go, to the elusive Brisket!
11:00 -- started smoker and took marinated brisket from fridge and began getting it prepped. Set temp at 275 to get thing going. Once temp recovered from loading smoker, I set temp at 250.
12:45 -- AMNPS started at each end. Don't see much smoke coming out. Put some chips in tray to boost. Monitoring initial temp swings.
4:00 -- cooking temp 250 MES, 230 Maveric. Meat at 158 flat and 146 point. AMNPS out of pellets so reloaded with Apple, as I ran out of hickory. Loaded chip tray, too. No drippings in pan !?!? Removed from 3rd rack to see if I'd get better temp distribution. Didn't seem to make much difference.
7:30 -- AMNPS just going around 1st turn. IT 175 flat, 168 point. Pulled and foiled with beer. Placed on cookie sheet then foiled. May have been a mistake, as it really restricts airflow, but bottom of tray will get good blast. Stuck MES probe through foil into point, but in different place then before. Hung Maveric BBQ probe from top rack directly above center of packet, about 2 inches above. Should have shut AMNPS down, but I'd had the doors open too long at that point so just left it. Closed upper vent to help hold heat in top of smoker. Guess I was premature in pulling drip pan, as the water pan now has some nice juice in it. Hope it doesn't get too hot down there.
8:30 -- temp above packet still only 216. Resetting smoker temp to 265.
10:00 -- temperature above packet has been study at 230°. Internal temperature is now 204 degrees on the flat and 196 degrees on the point. Probe slides in easily. Removed from foil and place back on the rack reinserted all pros. Reset temperature control to 230°. Relit AMNP and gave him a shot of chips.
10:30 -- IT dropped about 10 degrees and stayed there! Bumped temp to 245.
11:00 -- IT only up 2 degrees. Worried about it drying out, but still not much juice in drip pan, so not too concerned yet. On advice from the forum, I'm going to pull and pack in cooler.
11:30 -- all ready to go to Tony & Peggy's for Tony's birthday. Everyplace on the top of the brisket that I touched with the toothpick, it just fell into meat!
All said and done, after separating the fat from the juice, I only had about 6 ounces of drippings. That surprised me. Usually get almost a quart from similar sized Butt. Disappointed, as I love that stuff as use in in so many things.
2:30 -- carved the beast! The slices of the flat were wonderful! So tender and so juicey -- and the flavor -- can't even describe the flavor!
Tony and his nephew Jeff did some chicken and stuffed jalapeños peppers wrapped in bacon on his offset.
WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!
I brought the point home, and I think I'll probably shread it latter today for sandwich, chili, Shepard's pie, maybe pizza or spaghetti!
Once again, thanks to everyone here for the knowledge I gained and for the confidence to Boldly Go Where Only Brave Smokers Go, to the elusive Brisket!
