Brisket on Big Steel Keg

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

canuck76

Fire Starter
Original poster
Nov 15, 2015
47
12
Millarville Alberta Canada
Here we go!! My first go at smoking a 6lb brisket on my big steel keg.
Rubbed brisket last night and wrapped.

Rub: 1 part sea salt, 1 part garlic powder, 1 part instant espresso, 2 parts black pepper.
Keg lit at 7:30AM, 240°F by 7:55 brisket on!
Ambient temp -1°C (30°F)
And because there's room .....
Ribs for lunch!!!!

And yes I know the brisket is an odd shape, the butcher just hacked it straight in half when I told him I wanted 2 pieces out of the 15 pound slab we started with....
 
Looking good,how about some shots of the smoker? I thought a keg with a side keg fire box could be a interesting build.
 
Hate to disappoint but It's just a store bought Big Steel Keg (bought before Broil King took them over)
I've never done a long cook on it before, not the easiest thing to restoke when you need more charcoal as you have to lift the grate out to get more in the bottom.
I love it and we've done a ton of different things on it but not more than 5hrs at a time.
 
Whoops!
I underestimated the cook time.
It was on for 10 hrs at 240° but only got to 165° IT so I reset the pit temp to 280° for 2 hours and got to 180° but the keg started to cool so I stuck it in the oven until it was 190°
I tested it with a tooth pick and half of it was perfect but the day is running out so I pulled it.
It's resting now....
 

Learned some stuff! Cracked black pepper and ground pepper do NOT substitute in the same quantities, it was way too peppery.
Time needs to be more available when starting this. I'd rather have meat resting in a cooler than people waiting to eat.
The Big Steel Keg (or any Kamado this size) is capable of doing this just need to watch when loading the charcoal and wood chunks.
All in all it was a good learning experience and the meat tasted great!
 
Last edited:
Hate to disappoint but It's just a store bought Big Steel Keg (bought before Broil King took them over)
I've never done a long cook on it before, not the easiest thing to restoke when you need more charcoal as you have to lift the grate out to get more in the bottom.
I love it and we've done a ton of different things on it but not more than 5hrs at a time.
Canuck, I have the same setup as you do (Broil King Keg with a CyberQ) and don't need to refill with lump when doing long low-'n-slows. Forget everything that you've ever read about covering the air holes in the fire bowl of your keg with lump. Dump in a good amount of lump (I dump in roughly twice the height from the bottom of the fire bowl to the air holes), light the very middle of your pile and you can go forever at 225 degrees with the CyberQ in control. I just did a 13 hour low-'n-slow on a 26.8 pound pork leg (ham) and was left with an insane amount of unused lump. Simply shake the ash off before your next cook and you're good to go. Nothing goes to waste, so fill 'er up and enjoy!
 
Since this cook (10 hrs trouble free) I've had a paradigm shift on longer cooks with the BSK.
It also makes perfect sense that covering those holes really doesn't matter especially if you've got forced air from the fan.
Thanks for your comment!! I'm excited to experiment with it more now!!

Any tips on getting the temp low enough to cold smoke? I've messed with that three times now but haven't had very good success.
 
Not a problem, bud! Keep experimenting and you'll keep learning! God knows I'm always learning something new or improving upon something I thought I knew well while grilling or smoking a new meal.

Regarding cold smokes, pick yourself up an AMNPS from here: https://www.amazenproducts.com/

or anywhere else where they may be sold. I haven't cold smoked in the Keg, but I have in the MES. I read (somewhere on the internet) that there's not enough air flow in the Keg to keep the AMNPS lit, but now that you asked the question and got my thought process going, I'm going to try it and see what happens. If lack of air flow does happen to snuff out the AMNPS in the Keg, I will try to setup the CyberQ (fan only) so that the fan is on 100%, then regulate the air flow with the built-in damper control.

You see what I meant about experimenting and learning something new? LOL!
biggrin.gif


Have a great new year!
 
Hi , Luv2Q and Canuck76.  I also have a Big Steel Keg.  I love it and still experimenting on it.  What is cyberQ?
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky