Today's adventure with our little smoker

[jstine02]

Doing some testing today, this thing is fun to cook on.

 

[jstine02]

Update video

 

[Alex Douglas]

They all look very tasty!! Good job!

 

[SmokinAl]

Wow, dude!
That is a nice rig!
The Q looks pretty darn good too!
Al

 

[jstine02]

A little Q-view

Notes: This was a test cook and overall I'm happy with the results, not perfect by any means but solid 3rd cook on this new smoker. Points to note:

1) Set guru to 290, it held nearly all day between 288 and 307, we had 50+ mph winds all day gusting and some sustained for several minutes so the temp spikes were driven by that.

2) Check on meat 1 1/2 hrs in and then at just over 3hrs, decided to wrap at 3 hours and I learned I should have pushed it to 4 hours due to a few factors I will mention below. Temp at wrapping was 173.

3) Total cook time once they reached 197 and I started probing for tenderness was right around 6 hours, then put in a cooler for 2 hours.

4) I did not trim these briskets, my business partner did and I didn't realize how much of a fat cap he left on. These were prime packers from Costco and while it turned out VERY good, I would have preferred them be trimmed down more to let the bark set better. I didn't want to mess with the meat much and didn't realize the bark set on it when wrapping was setting on a thick fat layer which eventually loosened up, had I taken it to 4 hours or a bit more I may have nailed this cook for what I was looking for. He also trimmed out the hard fat quite a lot which caused these to sit a bit uneven on the rack, just something to learn from by trying to create a more level overall trim, it didn't hinder this cook but I did notice it during the cook.

5) As you can see from the photos, the point portion which was trimmed a bit more took on some great smoke, the flat didn't show a great smoke ring but it was definitely there in the flavor, again the fat cap hindrance is something to learn from.

6) Our cooker is massive, two full chimneys to get it from 58* to 280* in 40 minutes, not bad at all with that time. I also measured the time it took to go from 110 after I had the door open back up to 290, it took a bit over 4 minutes which seems pretty fast considering the size of the unit and the conditions I had it running in.

Tips, input, thoughts concerns, feedback appreciated.

Thanks guys!

 

[Steve H]

Looks great!

 

[jaxgatorz]

Brisket is one of those things you have to keep trying different things until you get it how YOU want it... That brisket looks just fine to me... good job !

 

[SmokinAl]

Your brisket looks very good to me, however I think you would have had a bit better result if you had trimmed it more. Unless you like to eat the excess fat that is on the brisket (and a lot of people do) then I would trim it down to the meat all over. I even trim out most of the fat between the flat & point. I know it seems like such a waste, but you will end up with a very good brisket with good smoke flavor, good bark, and the rub will penetrate the meat much better. If you put your rub on the fat & then cut the fat off after you smoke it, there goes all the flavor. I just did a thread on making brisket burgers with all the trimmings and I gotta say they were the best burgers I have ever eaten. And you can save some of the soft fat for making sausage. The only thing that you really can't use is the really hard fat on the side.
Al

 

[jstine02]

Thanks guys!

Your brisket looks very good to me, however I think you would have had a bit better result if you had trimmed it more. Unless you like to eat the excess fat that is on the brisket (and a lot of people do) then I would trim it down to the meat all over. I even trim out most of the fat between the flat & point. I know it seems like such a waste, but you will end up with a very good brisket with good smoke flavor, good bark, and the rub will penetrate the meat much better. If you put your rub on the fat & then cut the fat off after you smoke it, there goes all the flavor. I just did a thread on making brisket burgers with all the trimmings and I gotta say they were the best burgers I have ever eaten. And you can save some of the soft fat for making sausage. The only thing that you really can't use is the really hard fat on the side.
Al

Al, running a brisket at 290 with nearly no fat will not scorch the meat? I personally do not have an issue with running it like that but my partner gets scared when I started with the whole Hot and Fast move to see if it would hold up for vending purposes. I'm wondering if for vending purposes a very thin layer of fat would be best in order to help it "hold" for the day, in the end that is where our goal lies. I know some don't consider 290 hot and fast but it produced great results and I think it's a temp my partner can live with given the results we had yesterday. In the end it looks like a side by side "full trim" and "very thin layer trim" brisket battle is in order, just so happens I'm cooking for family gathering next week and they can be the guinea pigs :D

 

[SmokinAl]

Well that is what this hobby is all about , my friend.
Experimenting with different methods until you find what works for you.
And that may not necessarily be what works for others. The right way is your way, and through testing & experimenting you will find what works best for you. Sometimes I have to smoke the same dish several different ways to please the different tastes of my guests, and I always ask for their feedback & ask that they be honest, but constructive criticism. I want them to tell me how I can make my food better in their eyes, so as I said sometimes I have to make stuff for one bunch & different stuff for another bunch. But what I learned was to have the group come that like it one way on one day & the group that like it another way on another day. Sometimes that works, but for holidays it's a mess of different foods to try to satisfy everyone, and can get very stressful.
Al