We'd been planning this dinner with a neighbor couple for a week. The Mrs took them down some brisket a few weeks ago because the neighbor Mrs had just had a surgery and couldn't cook. When asked what they wanted for dinner they both replied "Brisket!".
OK.
I picked up a decent brisky at GFS on Thursday, and when I stopped at HD Friday for wood, they were out of Hickory sticks. All they had was Mesquite, so I bought a bag.
I've tried it before and wasn't impressed. Too smokey and hard to keep lit, etc., but I was down to the wire. OK.
Next morning I got the fire going and it was on at 6:30 with "mystery wood".
Keep in mind it was raining (again).
I used Mesquite sticks for the most part, because I only had a few sticks of Hickory.
What I noticed was that the Mesquite had to have the firebox door wide open to burn. When I tossed in a Hickory stick the temps went high and I had to damp the intake almost closed to keep temps below 280.
Bottom line is, using the Mesquite I could keep pit temps between 220 and 240 and with Hickory I struggled for 260 to 280 (which is what I thought was normal for my smoker).
Is this a normal difference between these two woods, or was it just a fluke?
The Mrs told me she hated the smell of the Mesquite and not to get it anymore, but when all was said and done she said this was the best Brisket yet (I've only done four, and three were in the rain), and I could use whatever wood I like if I could do it again [emoji]128522[/emoji]
At this point, I'm thinking of using Hickory for Pork and Mesquite for beef.
Any input?
Dan
OK.
I picked up a decent brisky at GFS on Thursday, and when I stopped at HD Friday for wood, they were out of Hickory sticks. All they had was Mesquite, so I bought a bag.
I've tried it before and wasn't impressed. Too smokey and hard to keep lit, etc., but I was down to the wire. OK.
Next morning I got the fire going and it was on at 6:30 with "mystery wood".
Keep in mind it was raining (again).
I used Mesquite sticks for the most part, because I only had a few sticks of Hickory.
What I noticed was that the Mesquite had to have the firebox door wide open to burn. When I tossed in a Hickory stick the temps went high and I had to damp the intake almost closed to keep temps below 280.
Bottom line is, using the Mesquite I could keep pit temps between 220 and 240 and with Hickory I struggled for 260 to 280 (which is what I thought was normal for my smoker).
Is this a normal difference between these two woods, or was it just a fluke?
The Mrs told me she hated the smell of the Mesquite and not to get it anymore, but when all was said and done she said this was the best Brisket yet (I've only done four, and three were in the rain), and I could use whatever wood I like if I could do it again [emoji]128522[/emoji]
At this point, I'm thinking of using Hickory for Pork and Mesquite for beef.
Any input?
Dan