Smoking Briskets

[txmike]

Hey all,

I'm use to cooking brisket on my charcoal/wood offset smoker with the temperature on the far side the pit at 250F and no water pan. Smoking time is 7 to 8 hours for an 8lb (trimed) brisket (wrapped for the last 2).

From what I found, I should set my 40" MES at 200F and smoke the brisket for about 1 1/2" hours per/lb (11 to 12 hour for an 8 pounder).

Has anyone smoked a brisket at 225F or 250F? If so how long does it take and how did it turn out?

Should I fill the pan with water and why?

How often should I add wood chips? In my test runs, a cup full of wood chips last 20 to 30 minutes at 250F.

Any infio would be great and thanks for the nice welcome today.

Mike

 

[adiochiro3]

There is a thread under "beef" that propounds a fast cook method at around 300* if memory serves...  I prefer low and slow -- especially for brisket.  Your key is meat temps regardless of cook temps: it's done when it's done.  Every brisket cooks a bit differently.  You might shave 1-2 hours off of the cook time with the higher temp.

If you see thin, blue smoke, you got flavor.  If you don't, you only have heat.  Add chips when the smoke stops.

Cheers!

 

[bobbygee]

Hey TxMike,

  Definetly got to the beef section and there is a brisket sticky at the top.I followed those directions and had good results.I set mine to 225 and wrapped it when it hit 165,then took it out when it reached 190.Turned out,the old rule of thumb was spot on,1 1/2 hours per pound.Do your self a favor and spend a few more bucks and get an external smoke generator unless you like being chained to the smoker.My 40 never produced enough smoke for my liking and feeding chips every 40 minutes was a pain for long smokes.I use the  A-MAZE-N-SMOKER  and it works great.Good luck.

 

[rbranstner]

I wouldn't change anything as far as temps with this smoker. Cook at the same tems and you should be pretty close to what you are use to. I always fill my water pan. Some will even fill it with a  mixture of beef broth, water, spices, onion etc. Some say it adds extra flavor to the meat some says it doesn't do anything except help the smoker maintain heat and moisture. You will have to guage your wood chips as you smoke to see how long they take to burn out. If they are gone ever 30 minutes or so then you will probably have to add them roughly ever 30-45 minutes which could be a bit of a pain but hey its what we do to get great BBQ. Good luck.

 

[rdknb]

I smoked mine at 225, and yes water in the water pan.

 

[txmike]

Thanks everyone for the info.

BobbyGee, I saw the A-MAZE-N-SMOKE utoob video this morning. I'm ordering it when I get home this afternoon.

rbranster, while I'm smokin: I get to sit outside on fat butt, have a cold brew, and do nothing but watch the smoke. The fantastic thing about it: My wife loves me for it. This is one of the greatest pains I have in my life.

 

[pantherfan83]

If that's the case, maybe you don't need the A-MAZE-N-SMOKER.  Sounds like your wife appreciates some good Q.  My wife would be all "All you did all day was sit outside on your fat butt, drink beer, and watch the smoke!!!"  I would not hear the end of it for a week.  Sometimes I do it anyway, but I usually try to multi-task. lol  !!!"!!!!

 

[txmike]

Panther,

I want the A-MAZE-N-SMOKER   so that I can start my brisket at 1:00 or 2:00 am and go back to bed for 5 to 6 hours. My wife does not get up until at least 9:00am so she'll never know the difference. LOL So please don't tell her.

Mike

 

[pantherfan83]

I'll never tell.