- Sep 22, 2013
- 1
- 10
So I bought a MES 40 last week and seasoned it per the instructions. On Saturday I tried to do a 7lbs brisket and it turned out edible, but certainly not good. To me, it tasted way too smoky, it wasn't very tender, and was fairly dry. It was also too salty. Other than that, it was great : ).
I followed the directions on the dadgumthatsgood site for brisket
During the smoke I realized that the temperature reading on the MES was about 30 degrees higher than what the actual temperature was. So when I thought I was cooking at 225 it was more like 195. I realized this about halfway through and did the final 3-4 hours at the correct temperature, 225.
The other issue I had was the wood chips. I used hickory and had no issue getting smoke. But I definitely saw a different color of smoke (white) during a couple of the loads compared to the other loads (thin-ish, blue-ish).
Here are my questions:
1. Did the low temperature cause the meat to dry out and be tough?
2. I think that the white smoke was caused during the times I tried to add a big handful of chips and not just a small one. True?
3. I put the rub on pretty thick, almost caked on (1/8" to 1/4" thick). I think that's what caused the saltiness. True?
4. In the future, when do I add wood chips? For this one, I added chips every time I saw smoke WASN'T coming out the vent. Should I continue to add wood chips during the entire cooking process or just for part of it?
Sorry if this sounds idiotic. Just sitting here kicking myself for spending $40 on a piece of meat that we only ate about 1/3 of. Thank goodness for pizza delivery!
Any help or assistance would be appreciated!
I followed the directions on the dadgumthatsgood site for brisket
During the smoke I realized that the temperature reading on the MES was about 30 degrees higher than what the actual temperature was. So when I thought I was cooking at 225 it was more like 195. I realized this about halfway through and did the final 3-4 hours at the correct temperature, 225.
The other issue I had was the wood chips. I used hickory and had no issue getting smoke. But I definitely saw a different color of smoke (white) during a couple of the loads compared to the other loads (thin-ish, blue-ish).
Here are my questions:
1. Did the low temperature cause the meat to dry out and be tough?
2. I think that the white smoke was caused during the times I tried to add a big handful of chips and not just a small one. True?
3. I put the rub on pretty thick, almost caked on (1/8" to 1/4" thick). I think that's what caused the saltiness. True?
4. In the future, when do I add wood chips? For this one, I added chips every time I saw smoke WASN'T coming out the vent. Should I continue to add wood chips during the entire cooking process or just for part of it?
Sorry if this sounds idiotic. Just sitting here kicking myself for spending $40 on a piece of meat that we only ate about 1/3 of. Thank goodness for pizza delivery!
Any help or assistance would be appreciated!
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