First Brisket in a Kamado

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toan

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 2, 2017
4
14
Sacramento, CA
Hey everyone,

I'm just about nearing the end of my first brisket smoke on the CB Kamander kamado.  I have a nice lil' 13 pounder from Costco that I threw on last night, and I pulled it off moments ago -- a total of 14 hours.  I'm letting it hold for about an hour until I separate the flat from the point to make some burnt ends.  Then I'm waiting for the family to come over before I slice up the flat for some sammies!  But overall, it was definitely a different experience than what I am used to on the WSM.  I'll be sure to upload a progress photo in just a bit!

On a side note, for my kamado users:  anyone use a water pan in theirs?  I know they hold temperature very well compared to non-insulated smokers like the WSM.  This means they also retain water very well too.  My bark didn't develop that nice crust, and I'm sure it is due to the humidity from the water pan.  As far as methods, I'm taking the same approach as I have done previously on the WSM:  water pan, naked until ~4 hours in = IT @ ~160*, butcher paper until ~203* and probe-tender.  I didn't even have to spritz down the brisket at any point because there was a good amount of moisture on the meat already.

Also, do you (kamado) guys notice a huge difference between dome vs grill temperature?  The thermometer on the Kamander is pretty accurate (did the boiling water "test"), and I'm using a ThermoPro digital thermometer for the grill.  At one point, it was as far as ~90* different -- grill was at 240* and the dome was ~330*  I'm not sure if this has to do with the distance between the grate and the water pan (which is about 2-3").  My WSM was maybe off by ~40* on average between grill and dome.

Cheers,

Toan
 
Burnt ends look great!

I'm a dry smoke chamber cooker. I never add water to the water pans in my WSM's. For cooks like brisket I leave the water pan in, as a diffuser. Wrapped in foil for easy clean up.

I also don't wrap brisket. Bark always turns out great.
 
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