Hey Everybody,
So I did my first smoke this past Monday with a brand New MES 40 and A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker. (Hickory Pellets).
We Had Brisket, (My first ever) an Au Jus and Bacon Wings!
On the Top Rack was trimmed fat from the Brisket with a good basic Rub.
As you can see it Caramelized pretty well, mmm mm was it tasty. I had it drippin on to the Brisket which was on the Rack Below it. As it was my first smoke with a Brisket I had the temp set to 200 degrees, put the Brisket in at 9am. Like a text book newbie I panicked when I hit the dreaded stall and posted for help on SMF! heehee.
I turned up the heat after 8hrs in to 234 and temp started to rise internally in the Brisket past 155 degrees. I also opened the smoker a couple times to re ignite the pellet smoker (I know how to use it better now it shouldn't be a problem in the future). Seemed like it had a nice bark on it but I will get better results in the future. wasn't nearly what I wanted. I took off the meat at 180 degrees wrapped it in foil and put it back in the smoker while it cooled down to rest for an hour. We stopped cooking it too early but it was getting late and people wanted to eat. (classic, right? haha).
As you can see, the texture of the meat was mostly dry...but there were "some" nice moist areas that were mighty flavorful. I certainly learned a lot about patience this time around. Instead of slicing the rest after seeing this. I tore the strips off of it.
So that was better but not what I was hoping for in the moist and juicy department. It really needed the au jus at the table which was the star of the Brisket show. Below the Brisket was the water pan which I filled with, tomatoes , onions, fresh garlic cloves, celery and some of the smaller pieces of fat from the brisket with rub on it. Boy did it come out super flavorful! Wow I was happy about that. Here it is.
I ended up combining this au jus with the strips of Brisket and let it sit over night. I then put it in a baking container. Covered it in foil then put it in a deep dish tray filled with water to go in the oven at 250 degrees I let it cook another 6 hours like that. It came out improved with a better moist factor and depth of flavor but it was a new dish and not the Brisket I had intended. However my fam loved it. Since the brisket took all that time I ended up smokin the Wings and Bacon on the Char-griller....Indirect heat style with some soaked Mesquite wood chips.
They cooked for about an hour at 225. Then I seared them on the direct heat to get a crispy exterior. The Wings have a chili powder, brown sugar style rub on them and the Bacon cooks on top of em the whole time until the sear. Here's a look at them plated up.
So I learned a lot from this 1st run. Mostly about the dreaded stall, not trimming too much fat, keeping the door closed, getting the AMNPS goin strong to last and of course, being patient. I'll get up earlier next time and set the temp to 250 as well as letting the Brisket internal temp reach atleast 190. Thanks everybody for helping me get a great smoker (Masterbuilt 40) and the AMNPS. This can only get better. Cheers everybody! I'll take any advice/ideas I can get!!
So I did my first smoke this past Monday with a brand New MES 40 and A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker. (Hickory Pellets).
We Had Brisket, (My first ever) an Au Jus and Bacon Wings!
On the Top Rack was trimmed fat from the Brisket with a good basic Rub.
As you can see it Caramelized pretty well, mmm mm was it tasty. I had it drippin on to the Brisket which was on the Rack Below it. As it was my first smoke with a Brisket I had the temp set to 200 degrees, put the Brisket in at 9am. Like a text book newbie I panicked when I hit the dreaded stall and posted for help on SMF! heehee.
I turned up the heat after 8hrs in to 234 and temp started to rise internally in the Brisket past 155 degrees. I also opened the smoker a couple times to re ignite the pellet smoker (I know how to use it better now it shouldn't be a problem in the future). Seemed like it had a nice bark on it but I will get better results in the future. wasn't nearly what I wanted. I took off the meat at 180 degrees wrapped it in foil and put it back in the smoker while it cooled down to rest for an hour. We stopped cooking it too early but it was getting late and people wanted to eat. (classic, right? haha).
As you can see, the texture of the meat was mostly dry...but there were "some" nice moist areas that were mighty flavorful. I certainly learned a lot about patience this time around. Instead of slicing the rest after seeing this. I tore the strips off of it.
So that was better but not what I was hoping for in the moist and juicy department. It really needed the au jus at the table which was the star of the Brisket show. Below the Brisket was the water pan which I filled with, tomatoes , onions, fresh garlic cloves, celery and some of the smaller pieces of fat from the brisket with rub on it. Boy did it come out super flavorful! Wow I was happy about that. Here it is.
I ended up combining this au jus with the strips of Brisket and let it sit over night. I then put it in a baking container. Covered it in foil then put it in a deep dish tray filled with water to go in the oven at 250 degrees I let it cook another 6 hours like that. It came out improved with a better moist factor and depth of flavor but it was a new dish and not the Brisket I had intended. However my fam loved it. Since the brisket took all that time I ended up smokin the Wings and Bacon on the Char-griller....Indirect heat style with some soaked Mesquite wood chips.
They cooked for about an hour at 225. Then I seared them on the direct heat to get a crispy exterior. The Wings have a chili powder, brown sugar style rub on them and the Bacon cooks on top of em the whole time until the sear. Here's a look at them plated up.
So I learned a lot from this 1st run. Mostly about the dreaded stall, not trimming too much fat, keeping the door closed, getting the AMNPS goin strong to last and of course, being patient. I'll get up earlier next time and set the temp to 250 as well as letting the Brisket internal temp reach atleast 190. Thanks everybody for helping me get a great smoker (Masterbuilt 40) and the AMNPS. This can only get better. Cheers everybody! I'll take any advice/ideas I can get!!
