Sous vide and smoked Passover brisket

[smoke83340]

So... first brisket. I smoked it [with no rub, no seasoning] for six hours at about 220 in my new MES 30 [that is why it is so clean]. I used an AMNPS maze with a mix of apple and mixed pellets. Hopper about 1/2" out, vent on top barely open. Good smoke.
First picture is at end of smoke.
Then into sous vide at 170 for 24 hours. I could not find any 2 gallon freezer ziplocs, so I cut it into two halves. I use strong magnets inside and outside to keep the SV bags from floating.
Then I used the Scarbelly cocoa-coffee-sugar-paprika rub, and finished it on a hot natural gas grill, 2 minutes on a side.
I used an NC style vinegar sauce, but added honey and diced tomatoes. Sauce was awesome.
The meat was so tender it was pretty hard to slice, it came out kind of "pulled." But very delicious, a crowd-pleaser. The leftovers made great sandwiches.
Can't wait to try this again!
.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Looks good. Curious though as to why you left the vent barely open?

 

[smoke83340]

Looks good. Curious though as to why you left the vent barely open?

The AMNPS can put out a lot of smoke. So if I constrain the outbound air, it should help draw less inbound air, consequently furnish less oxygen, and slow down combustion. Seems to work.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

The AMNPS can put out a lot of smoke. So if I constrain the outbound air, it should help draw less inbound air, consequently furnish less oxygen, and slow down combustion. Seems to work.

got ya. I know a lot of people with MES smokers have had trouble with the AMNPS staying lit due to airflow. I was just wondering if that being closed affected it at all. When I had my MES I’d leave the chip tray halfway out top vent open and my AMNPS would stay lit the whole smoke. Do you try to dry the pellets before use? And do you mean a lot of smoke or a lot of smoke flavor?

 

[smoke83340]

Hey Upnorth, I meant a lot of smoke - so much that I was concerned. I also want to experiment with narrowing the maze channel a bit, maybe with some stainless steel screen. This is a new MES30 [my old one crapped out with a short I couldn't find] and I am in an experimental stage. For some reason this new MES is not putting out smoke well at lower temps in the stock tray. On this go-round I have not dried the pellets in the microwave, I am trying to work one variable at a time.
-A

 

[smoke83340]

got ya. I know a lot of people with MES smokers have had trouble with the AMNPS staying lit due to airflow. I was just wondering if that being closed affected it at all. When I had my MES I’d leave the chip tray halfway out top vent open and my AMNPS would stay lit the whole smoke. Do you try to dry the pellets before use? And do you mean a lot of smoke or a lot of smoke flavor?

It is also hard to know what is "too much smoke" - to avoid the creosote nastiness.