Unmitigated disaster

[shchevy6]

Hi all, new to smoking meat. Have to say I regret venturing into this. Got a Camp Chef and have been experimenting with various cuts for about a month and nothing has come out good. Worse was today trying to smoke a brisket. After 12 hours trying to smoke a 6lb brisket and not being able to get it to the right temp I shut it down and threw it out. This sucks.

 

[DemonPit]

What were the issues you had? Maybe we can help out or reccomend things.

 

[mr_whipple]

^^^ what he said.

You can't throw in the towel that easy! I've been running my camp chef for quite a few years. I'm certain what ever problems you are having the answers are to be had here.

 

[Newglide]

What they said... You came to the right place for help. Lots of people running the same smoker and can point you in the right direction, A brisket is a big undertaking so don't let a blown brisket break you. The best way for me to learn is by screwing up (Which I do a lot, just ask my wife)

 

[uncle eddie]

I am sure you will get some great assistance from people that use a Camp Chef.

I gave up on brisket long ago...mine tasted like overcooked, dry roast. There are some things that are better at my fave BBQ joint.

You might want to start with some easy to do smokes...
- Ribs and pulled pork come to mind...
- Salmon is also quick and easy...

 

[schlotz]

Data..data...data give us the details and we'll get you sorted and on the path to good eats!

 

[jcam222]

Hi all, new to smoking meat. Have to say I regret venturing into this. Got a Camp Chef and have been experimenting with various cuts for about a month and nothing has come out good. Worse was today trying to smoke a brisket. After 12 hours trying to smoke a 6lb brisket and not being able to get it to the right temp I shut it down and threw it out. This sucks.

So brisket is the most challenging cut. What temp were you running the smoker? What temp were you targeting for the meat? Did you wrap and if so at what point and with what. You reference failing on other cuts. What cuts? As someone else mentioned learning your smoker and getting good results initially pork butt is your friend.

 

[JLeonard]

Pics of your cooker, description of your process, etc will help us help you. Man dont quit yet.

Jim

 

[Smoking Audi]

One thing I have found when looking for online videos and advise is what equipment are they cooking with. With a pellet you cannot follow advise (at least very well) from a guy cooking on an offset. Pellet is low and slow for better results. For videos I like the Mad Scientist BBQ and Meat Church videos. They will do videos for pretty much all cooking methods.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Definitely more details needed. One thing to keep in mind... even if a smoke goes poorly, you can finish in the oven. Or repurpose the end use... a dried out hunk of meat can be cubed and used in chili.

Ryan

 

[jcam222]

Definitely more details needed. One thing to keep in mind... even if a smoke goes poorly, you can finish in the oven. Or repurpose the end use... a dried out hunk of meat can be cubed and used in chili.

Ryan

agree! I've had some cooks take a wrong turn but have always been able to repurpose into a delicious meal.

 

[crazymoon]

SCH, Ask questions and folks will answer OR check out the search icon in the upper right hand corner. It will give you tons of ideas and techniques for any item you want to smoke. IMHO a pork butt is the most forgiving item for a new person getting into smoking. It may take forever to get to temp but it never is ruined as long as you get it to the right temp( I like 205*)

 

[DougE]

Which Camp Chef cooker. Pellet, gasser? If it's a pellet cooker, here you go:

Smallish piece of brisket

A lot of people have trouble with small pieces of brisket coming out dry, so here's how I do them. Even though it was pre-seasoned, I gave it an extra shot of Jeff's Texas rub. Sitting at 160~170 ish, so I put it in that pan below it along with some beef broth and beer and covered it with...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Retired Spook]

Hi all, new to smoking meat. Have to say I regret venturing into this. Got a Camp Chef and have been experimenting with various cuts for about a month and nothing has come out good. Worse was today trying to smoke a brisket. After 12 hours trying to smoke a 6lb brisket and not being able to get it to the right temp I shut it down and threw it out. This sucks.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

The hardest part of cooking a brisket is the time it takes. It will get better. You will figure it out.

 

[chilerelleno]

I cooked in Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24 for several years and turned out some pretty danged good BBQ.

So the $10,000.00 question is,
"Which Camp Chef product are you using?"

Then comes the 20 questions game about your failed cooks.

What was the common failure in all these cooks?
Smoke flavor unsatisfactory? Bark? Meat dried out?
Maintaining a stable cooking temp?

You couldn't get the smoker or the internal temp of the meat to the right temp?

What temp was your smoker?

What temp did your meat's IT get up to?

 

[JIMSMOKES]

Hi all, new to smoking meat. Have to say I regret venturing into this. Got a Camp Chef and have been experimenting with various cuts for about a month and nothing has come out good. Worse was today trying to smoke a brisket. After 12 hours trying to smoke a 6lb brisket and not being able to get it to the right temp I shut it down and threw it out. This sucks.

Don't give up! Not every cook turns out great but the next one is always better. Brisket is the one cut of meat I cook that I never know how long it'll take.
I've ordered before. LoL

 

[shchevy6]

Thanks everyone for replying. Apologies for the delay. Rather than reply to this thread, I will relay my latest experience which turned out just as bad if not worse. I will try and post pics if I can but here is the synopsis:
— using Camp Chef Windward Pro 24. Smoking the Flat only, simple salt, pepper, onion powder rub.
— started at 200, temp got to 145.
— moved temp to 225 and stalled out around 5.5 hours at 165.
— no bark at this time. Actually the meat was sweaty. Regardless, wrapped it in pink butcher paper and put it back on.
— no move in temp in for the next 4 hours
— bumped temp to 250. Got temp to 175 and it stalled again, bumped temp to 275 and after 12 hours got temp to 195.
—pulled it for rest for about 2 hours. About 14 hours total.
—when I opened the wrap, no bark and meat was soaking wet on the outside. Tried a few pieces and it was salty as hell and ironically dry on the inside.
A couple other quick things. Refrigerated overnight (18 hours) prior to starting. Meat was good as it came from a steer I had bought and other cuts (cooked on the grill) have come out well. Also checked temp probes with external to make sure i wasn’t having measuring issues. I think that is everything. Not sure what else to do, but I can say I won’t do this again given that I have wasted 2 briskets and money on 2 bags of pellets.

 

[Retired Spook]

Something tells me your thermometers are faulty.

 

[shchevy6]

It could be. I have had this smoker for about 2 months. When it was shipped, there were some parts that were bent. The hopper cover was bent, the lid did not seat properly, and the temp probe had flanges at the bottom which were bent. I am not a fan of it right now.

 

[schlotz]

First thing is to get a good calibrated wireless reporting thermometer. It's a very valuable tool regardless of what equipment you smoke on. Test your smoker with it for grate temps. This will put to bed what difference in temp there is from actual. After that, flats are different than whole packers when it comes to smoking. Believe in another thread from you (?) some members pointed to methods to help get a flat done & tender without being dried out. It can be done, they're just a bit more finicky.

Don't see any mention of how much salt you put on or when, ie night beore or right before going into the smoker.