first brisket on smoker - Q-view as it becomes available- finished

[celticgladiator]

so i am attempting my first brisket today. temp was holding steady at 250, i put the meat on and it went up to 300, go figure. i hope it settles back down at 250 or so again. i do have thin blue smoke so i am thankful for that at least.

 

[tukson]

Great day to smoke a Brisket!  

Celtic, you have an audience laying on the lawn like I do.... I've got two labs, 1 jack russell and a wiener dog. At least I don't have to worry about what to do with my mistakes.....LOL...

 

[celticgladiator]

yep, she's a good girl. one of the fastest labs i have ever seen. we dont have any squirrels in the yard, she mows them all down. very rare one gets away from her. lol

 

[meatinc]

Put em on the smoker for her!

 

[pineywoods]

Looks like a good start

 

[celticgladiator]

the temp settled back down to around 250 but it seems like the meat shot up in temp pretty quick to 148. its been staying there for awhile now. i hope it all evens out. i want this thing to be nice and tender when its done. i plan on wrapping it at 165 in foil and letting her ride up to 195 before i pull it out and let it rest.

 

[tukson]

It sounds great... I'm at about at 165f after 4hours and am getting anxious to wrap mine in foil...

My jack russell got hold of a colorado river toad last week and is just now beginning to eat again... they are very toxic and this one about did him in... most dogs learn to avoid them if they survive the first time, but poor ole Spud can't resist anything that moves, hops, crawls or scurries across the yard... LOL>

 

[meatinc]

Hey Celt,

If the temp gets "stuck" - and this is the temp range it occurs at - you may have to either ramp up the heat temporarily to get it unstuck, or if still stuck after 1 - 1 1/2 hours go ahead and wrap it.  The temp will accelerate after you wrap it.

It looks like you've only had it on for a few hours though.  No rush yet!

 

[Bearcarver]

Hey Celt,

If the temp gets "stuck" - and this is the temp range it occurs at - you may have to either ramp up the heat temporarily to get it unstuck, or if still stuck after 1 - 1 1/2 hours go ahead and wrap it.  The temp will accelerate after you wrap it.

It looks like you've only had it on for a few hours though.  No rush yet!

HMM, Never heard that one before.

Most ride stalls out, no matter what.

Bear

 

[meatinc]

Bear,

I agree that normally it isn't that big of a deal - until - you are at a comp and the turn in times are coming up!

 

[celticgladiator]

it only stalled for about an hour. i hit 165 and wrapped it. its at about 180 now. it didn't get a very good bark on it at all. seemed to cook way too fast for what i was planning. the brisket is pretty thin though so they may have something to do with it. it smells really good. i put a thin layer of mustard and rubbed with black pepper, onion pwdr, garlic pwdr, kosher salt, and paprika. i kept it simple and then spritzed a couple times with a mix of cider vineger, apple juice, water, EVOO, and tony c's cajun seasoning. I guess as long as it is tender and tastes good i will be happy but was really wishing i could get a good dark bark on it. the ECB is holding temp like a champ though. i used the minion method with lump and i'm at 5 hours now without having to do anything other than add a couple little hunks of hickory for smoke.

 

[celticgladiator]

5 hours in and almost done

 

[tukson]

Celtic, its makin my mouth water... !

 

[meatinc]

Lookin good Celt!

 

[celticgladiator]

ok, it was very good! i'm very happy with my first attempt smoking brisket. i was able to cut it with a fork so it passed that test. i only wish i could have gotten a nice bark on it. how does one do that?

 

[johnnybigsmoke]

That is a very nice smoke ring... My dear am I getting hungry!!! I hope you don't mind, I'm using the picture above as my background on my work PC. I got into the habit of putting up a picture of the next item on my "To Smoke" list and a brisket is it... Thanks for wetting my pallet!!! Really love that smoke ring...

On your next brisky, you may want to try and get a real good sear on it before you smoke it... You'll be very surprised by the delicious results and you may achieve that bark you're looking for... I would also maybe lower your cooking temp a bit 225-230 works great for me... Just one man's opinion but it looks like you did a great job there!

Cheers,

Johnny K.

 

[celticgladiator]

thanks, i'll try that. i'm still trying to get the temp thing figured out. after my first try, i was happy to get it this low - lol. maybe i will try briquttes instead of the lump and see how that works for me.