New to BBQ New MES owner

bolson081 said:

Hello

Want to start by thanking everyone for such a great resource for newbies like me.

Have been researching bbq info and techniques for a couple weeks now and my head is kinda spinning with all the different optinions of internal temp, cooking temp, water in pan , no water in pan etc.

My first cook was a 6lbs pork butt. 225 temp IT 195 middle rack position Went pretty well, was mostly tender and juicy. Not much bark tho. I foiled at 148 and the bottom was tough for some reason. I did fat side up.

Second cook was an almost 3lb flat. Second rack position. Cook temp was 250 used no water in pan but foiled the pan. I spritzed it once at 140 IT. Pulled it off at IT 194 according to digital probe that was in the thick part the whole cook. Tested with a second probe when i pulled it out that read much higher? One must be off? The probe did not go in like hot knife through butter and im guessing i should have left it in. The brisket had a great bark but was tough to cut and dry. Undercooked?

From what I've read I used too small a flat, didnt foil it at 140ish, and pulled it before it was probe tender? Im hesitant to buy anything too big and waste money if its ruined

I also tried to research where to place meat and fat cap in smoker. Franklin bbq says the fat should be towards the heat source to protect the meat. Which would be down in the MES?

Are there hot and colder spots in the MES? Ive read pros and cons of using a ceramic tile to evenly disperse heat? Was wondering if a small pizza stone on a rack above the element would help?

Sorry for the novel. Just excited to get this down so I can turn out some nice bbq. Esp brisket. The youtube videos of perfect briskets are my main goal! They look amazing. Thanks in advance. I appreciate any advice...

Click to expand...

• Get a 4-5 pound Point
• Trim off a little of the fat cap to keep it a little lean
• slice the fat cap down to the meat in sections so the rendered fat can pool there and help keep the meat moist, and this will allow more rub to get to the meat
• prepare the rub -
•     Use 25% salt
•             50% pepper
•             then the rest with garlic powder, chili powder and paprika
• rub the meat with oil
• rub the meat with the rub
• throw it in the smoker at 225 with the Amaze-n pellet smoker filled with HICKORY (Going Texas style here). Note the smoker only needs to be half full, as the smoke on meat will only be for 4-5 hrs
• Install the meat thermometer
• Cook for about 4 hrs till an internal temp of 150
• This is where the stall happens - the meat sweats and doesn't go up in temp for a while and this freaks people out! First you think you re cooking too fast and make all kinds of bad decisions. Here's the RIGHT decision.....
• Take out the meat and wrap TIGHTLY in heavy duty foil. Add a 1/2 can beer, and some more rub.
• Put back in smoker with thermometer in the meat - and smoke till internal temp gets to 203 !!! This is the MAGIC number. Start waiting for it at 200. This will take an additional 4 hrs
• Take the foil wrapped meat out of the smoker and wrap in a towel .  Take this and put into a cooler or microwave and leave in there for about 2 hrs. Don't put ice in it!! That's a mistake
• Take it out, throw on a grill - high heat each side for 3-5 minutes - this will make the bark tough again as the wrapping will make it soggy. I usually leave it at that because the meat is PERFECT !
• Slice and eat.