Smoking Noob

[mlindal]

Hello yall, got some questions I would like to put forth and see what yall think. This is my first smoking venture and not sure about a couple of things.

My setup.

CAS from Walmart that my wife bought me.Ive tried a couple of times to use it on ribs, ham and 1 brisket. It is a vertical Brinkman, was charcoal fired but becuase of the tin metal it could not hold enough heat and it was painfull to manage. So i put in a turkey fryer burner with a valve built into the hose to let me regulate the gas and temp. Did some metal work to sturdy it up and took one of the inlet louvers out, Left 1 in for air to wood along with the louver built into burner. Took the charcoal pan and drilled it adding lava rock and dropped it to within 1 inch of burner for good distribution of heat and to reduce heat loss when opening the door to add wood. Removed old thermometer and added a good one, the other was off by 75 degrees!

Lastly I made an insulator hood that covers everything but the doors and the vents to reduce the amount of propane I will have to use.

This is my proposed method. I will be using packers briskets since I work at a beef packing plant I can get them for 1.35 per lb. I will trim to 1/4 inch. Score, apply mustard as a base then the rub while my smoker is heating up to 220-240. Throw it on the top grate fat side up no turning till it hits the plateau. I will have a disposible pan to catch the drippings. At this time I will start adding hickory/mesquite chunks soaked in water.

Question 1. How much wood to add and keep adding? I plan on having upper louvers wide open.

Question 2. Should I need to worry about loss of moisture until it hits the plateau? Hence no water in a pan or cooking in pan. From my understanding of thermodynamics that stall is the BTUs it is taking to change something from 1 state to another. Water in the muscle from liquid to gas? So in theory I need not worry about dryness until I see that? Also I would like a good solid bark, cooking with a water pan seems like it would defeat the purpose. 

Anyways when I see the stall I plan on taking it out and wrapping it in foil and cooking it the rest of the way with smoke until it gets through the plateau, stop adding wood and wait till it hits about 190. I do not plan at anytime to baste as in my mind when I wrap the brisket for last step it will baste itself and steam in its own juices.

Then I will take it out and put it in my cooler for redistribution of juices.

My Briskets are about 8-10 lbs and am planning on a cook time of 1.5hrs per lbs.

Cut a couple of hours later and  hopefully Wow my family!

What do yall think? Like I said I am new to smoking and would appreciate any advice or comments. Just do me a favor and explain the why behind it, I like to understand why I am doing something.

Thanks Again!

 

[pgsmoker64]

First of all, 

to the SMF.

I don't own a brinkmann but there are lots of folks here who do or have.  I'll help with what I can.

Hello yall, got some questions I would like to put forth and see what yall think. This is my first smoking venture and not sure about a couple of things.

My setup.

CAS from Walmart that my wife bought me.Ive tried a couple of times to use it on ribs, ham and 1 brisket. It is a vertical Brinkman, was charcoal fired but becuase of the tin metal it could not hold enough heat and it was painfull to manage. So i put in a turkey fryer burner with a valve built into the hose to let me regulate the gas and temp. Did some metal work to sturdy it up and took one of the inlet louvers out, Left 1 in for air to wood along with the louver built into burner. Took the charcoal pan and drilled it adding lava rock and dropped it to within 1 inch of burner for good distribution of heat and to reduce heat loss when opening the door to add wood. Removed old thermometer and added a good one, the other was off by 75 degrees!

Lastly I made an insulator hood that covers everything but the doors and the vents to reduce the amount of propane I will have to use.

This is my proposed method. I will be using packers briskets since I work at a beef packing plant I can get them for 1.35 per lb. I will trim to 1/4 inch. Score, apply mustard as a base then the rub while my smoker is heating up to 220-240. Throw it on the top grate fat side up no turning till it hits the plateau. I will have a disposible pan to catch the drippings. At this time I will start adding hickory/mesquite chunks soaked in water.  I typically don't soak the chips but that's a personal choice.  I like to get my smoke going before adding the meat then I keep it going for at least 6 hours.

Question 1. How much wood to add and keep adding? I plan on having upper louvers wide open.  Add enough to keep the smoke going Thin and Blue.  Billowing white smoke will impart a bitter flavor typically attributed to creosote.

Question 2. Should I need to worry about loss of moisture until it hits the plateau? Hence no water in a pan or cooking in pan. From my understanding of thermodynamics that stall is the BTUs it is taking to change something from 1 state to another. Water in the muscle from liquid to gas? So in theory I need not worry about dryness until I see that? Also I would like a good solid bark, cooking with a water pan seems like it would defeat the purpose.  I don't foil and I don't cook dry briskets!  Be sure to keep a good eye on your smoker temp and your internal temp. If you are slicing pull around 185 if you are pulling remove at 195 to 200.

Anyways when I see the stall I plan on taking it out and wrapping it in foil and cooking it the rest of the way with smoke until it gets through the plateau, stop adding wood and wait till it hits about 190. I do not plan at anytime to baste as in my mind when I wrap the brisket for last step it will baste itself and steam in its own juices.  Your call here.  I don't foil because I like a nice crispy bark and foiling takes away from that.  On the other hand foiling will get you through the stall much quicker if you are worried about time.

Then I will take it out and put it in my cooler for redistribution of juices.  Good call.  Double wrap in thick foil, wrap in towels, and into the cooler for a couple hours.

My Briskets are about 8-10 lbs and am planning on a cook time of 1.5hrs per lbs.  1.5 to 2 hours per pound is a good rule of thumb but don't get uptight if it takes longer as it sometimes will.  I did a 6 pound butt yesterday, it stalled twice and took 16 hours.

Cut a couple of hours later and  hopefully Wow my family!  I'm sure it will be great.  Be sure to post a Q-view of the cook.  We like to see how things come out.

What do yall think? Like I said I am new to smoking and would appreciate any advice or comments. Just do me a favor and explain the why behind it, I like to understand why I am doing something.  Keep searching our forum for suggestions, recipes, and help.  You will be amazed how helpful this site can be.

Thanks Again!

Good luck and get smokin'

Bill