was water pan a mistake? brisket
 

doing my first brisket.

I put a lot of hot water in the pan of my WSM.
was very conflicted about it.

water is simmering strongly now ( 2 hours in ) and the meat 10 inches above looks very sweaty. probably getting a steam bath. Am I ok ?

should I dump the water ? it would be a pain to get at because the meat probe goes thru a port in the side of the cooker and up thru the grate. I
have to pull the meat and lift that grate to get at the pan.

I always cook brisket over a water pan. Never noticed it sweating much but I usually dont peek for the first 4-5 hours (if you're lookin you aint cookin).

As long as you're happy with your pit temp you're fine. I think most people object to water because it's messy and it makes it difficult to get 275 plus temps.

You sure the "sweating" isn't coming from the fat melting?

^ +1 ...... My thoughts as well

thanks for the feedback.

not sure about the fat melting. maybe i'll dab it once with a paper towel and see if I can figure that out.

but now i'm lookin' AND touchin'. EEK !

temp is another issue.

I have one probe reading 275 and another reading 235....which is much closer to the 240 on the candy thermometer dropped into the top vent.
I have the maverick 732....but the spare probe reading hot ( 275) is from a 73.
maybe the maverick 73 probe is not compatible ?
either that or one of the probes is bad.

Temp control is important. Our WSM "locks in" at 230 with no trouble. The 230 is grate temp with a water pan. Take the pan out and we get it to 275 for chicken.

I've got a brisket on the Bandera now and the temp is ranging between 225-250.

thanks

it's been holding at 240 for an hour now. on the 732 probe near grate level.

so I think i'm in the ballpark.

Stop over thinking a very simple thing "cooking a hunk of meat!!" Get 1 thermometer to monitor the pit temp on the grate and let it cook. If you where cooking it in your old lady's oven would you have all that crap on your meat??? The only difference is the heat source. Fire management wins the day my friend. Relax go have two beer and show me a cooked Brisket.

I think most people would be shocked to learn that their oven has temp swings! If you have it set to 350 it probably swinging from 341-359 or more.

Relax. This isn't brain surgery. It's BBQ.

Last Saturday my Hasty Bake was up about 300 degrees for a couple hours while cooking, and the brisket still came out exceptional. So some movement in temperature won't hurt a thing. That's one thing I've had to get through my head over the years. I used to worry when the temperature moved 5 degrees.

I always use a water pan under my brisket. Partly to keep some moisture, partly as an insulator from the fire source.

Don't sweat the water pan ...I have always used mine without issue cooking briskets ... I never even look till the 4-5 hour mark to check for color ... Once it's to color I wrap in butcher paper till tender .... Then rest back down to 170 to slice or foil wrap into cooler for slicing later

You are good to go

thanks all

it's still chugging

a few hiccups.......but still chugging

yes. I have to chill. but that's not my strong suit.

have a great day

More beer. Not too much. But more.

How did it turn out? Any photos?