At a lost with brisket

[JBCWCHS06]

I struggled when I used a trager. I know pellet smokers are great I just never could get the hang of it, but seem to do ok with charcoal and wood. Best of Luck on your bbq journey.

I'm honestly debating maybe getting a gravity fed charcoal smoker or drum smoker when this pellet smoker stops working they both sound interesting to fiddle with but the gravity fed charcoal smoker sounds a lot easier

 

[Danblacksher]

wow, those do look good never seen a gravity-fed charcoal smoker.

 

[912smoker]

I have the Masterbuilt 1050 and love it !

Keith

 

[JBCWCHS06]

I have the Masterbuilt 1050 and love it !

Keith

Is that the gravity fed charcoal smoker. Do you actually have to control the fire or is it still kind of electric but with charcoal and wood chunks instead of pellets

 

[rbnice1]

Is that the gravity fed charcoal smoker. Do you actually have to control the fire or is it still kind of electric but with charcoal and wood chunks instead of pellets

I have a 1050 as well. Its a controlled charcoal smoker. It has amazing control. The flavor is great, I would say much better then pellet. That said I bought a offset stick burner because I wanted better and more hands on. The gravity grills/smoker are very easy to use tho and I made some fo the best food on it in the last 2 years then the previous 15 years. I mixed wood chunks with the charcoal then added wood occasionally into the ash pan after I added the grate to it.


Again the flavor is amazing. But still not offset amazing. But soooooooooo much easier to use. lol
I just wish they had made them better. I got most the upgrades and even with only 7 or 8 cooks under its belt the fire box was destroyed.

 

[JBCWCHS06]

I have a 1050 as well. Its a controlled charcoal smoker. It has amazing control. The flavor is great, I would say much better then pellet. That said I bought a offset stick burner because I wanted better and more hands on. The gravity grills/smoker are very easy to use tho and I made some fo the best food on it in the last 2 years then the previous 15 years. I mixed wood chunks with the charcoal then added wood occasionally into the ash pan after I added the grate to it.


Again the flavor is amazing. But still not offset amazing. But soooooooooo much easier to use. lol
I just wish they had made them better. I got most the upgrades and even with only 7 or 8 cooks under its belt the fire box was destroyed.

Well jeez that does sound awesome but don't wanna spend the price on it if it's only going to last for 7-8 cooks. I've debated a drum smoker as well but might be pressed for space in one of those. I'd eventually like to get to an offset but not that great at smoking right now even on my pellet smoker so not ready for an offset

 

[Danblacksher]

Don’t let the offset intimidate you. I find it easier than when I was trying to use a charcoal burner with wood chunks or a pellet grill. I learned through watching YouTube and this forum has been a huge help. The main thing is learning what you need to do to do to keep your offset at a consistent temp for the whole cook, and always have your thermometer. Once I get mine up and going I check the fire about every 45 minutes to an hour. Even then it’s amazing how the same cut of meat will be finished in different times, because of conditions and quality of the meat. That’s why my digital thermometer is my best bbq friend.

 

[tallbm]

Getting so many great tips from everyone it almost makes me want to try another brisket soon to try all these tips out. I've almost been tempted to do that millerbuilds separate the flat and the point so that I don't overcook the point while undercooking the flat. But might try to round off my brisket next time and maybe grind what I cut off have been using some ground brisket in different recipes and it's so good and different.

The point shouldn't be a problem.
I believe you may have a tougher time if doing just the Flat alone should you separate them. The fat from the point really helps the Flat cook up and not dry out.
If I were to cook a Flat seperate or alone I feel I would be forced to wrap to keep it from drying out. In my MES I never have to wrap a whole packer brisket.

Just some info to consider.

Also while you are figuring out what to do I would try and keep it as simple as possible and not make too many adjustments.

A cheaper way to practice is to do a pork butt, BUT applying some of the things you plan to do with your brisket like tenderness checking, wrap vs no wrap, changes in seaosning, etc. etc.

If you change a few things and perfect some techniques on a pork butt (tenderness checking and probe placement) chances are you will have no issue with those things on a brisket. THEN you can work on brisket specific stuff like Flat trimming or attempting a truss.
I personally LOVE ground brisket for burgers so when you mentioned that I was thinking "mmmm hell yeah!" hahaha.

Often simplicity is the best approach and practice makes perfect :D