First cook: new to me offset (ride along)

nothing wrong with a little helper charcoal.. about 5-6 pieces to help maintain your fire..
 
While I, uh... learned more about fire management, the meat probe held at 195° for over an hour. I opened up the cooker to poke the brisket and asses doneness. I found that the big (point) end was pretty tender but the small end was still pretty firm. I swapped the brisket end for end and moved the probe. The small end was reading 180°.

DSC_6971-PP.JPG
 
But don't eat them, they will taste like chit!:shocked:
DownHomeQue said:
Could also place Biscuits accross the grates.. all over the cooker.. you will be able to tell the hotspots by how fast the biscuits cook
Click to expand...

ICDEDTURKES said:
And now you post this :tsk: I spent half the day with the Maverick moving probes around.. Idea is brilliant..
Click to expand...
 
looks good! probe the thickest part of the flat to test for final doneness.. Fark a Temp.. slide probe in and out.. you will know by how easily this happens when its done
 
It's off and resting. It probed tender in some spots and not in others, but SWMBO will be home soon and I want to serve for dinner. It does look good and I will try to get some plated pix. Now I need to grill some zucchini and broccoli to go with it. :D

Thanks for following along and offering a lot of useful advice!
 
After resting, I sliced some pieces off. It amazes me how juicy someting like that can be after all of those hours on the smoker.

DSC_6981-PP.JPG


Some parts on the bottom edges were hard. Would I be stretching things by calling that bark (or is it more properly labeled jerky? :wink: )

Flavor was delicious. The smoke flavor was subtle. The middle was a little firm but that's a price I pay for not wanting to wait for a late dinner.

My dinner tonight.

DSC_6985-PP.JPG


Final thoughts? Whew! That's a lot of work. Contrast that with the butts I did on my WSM yesterday. I got it started and didn't need to touch the cooker for 5 1/2 hours. The NBBD seemed like it was a near constant balancing act between a fire that was going out vs. a fire big enough to spike the temperature. The wood I used was pretty dry and that may have contributed to this. Once lit, it would burn fast. I also might have split the wood into too small pieces. I'll keep the splits larger next time. I also found the 'fire control' thread that seemed to suggest that chunks might work better than long thin pieces and that's something else I'll try. It was a bit of a stumbling first start but I'm looking forward to my next smoke. :mrgreen:
 
Great looking brisket and that must of been one great learning experience going through tending that fire.

*edit: DING 1000 posts!!!*
 
Could I get temps hot enough with just charcoal and lump? Seems like wood sticks burn too quickly and too hot at times. I wonder if I make a fire basket and use lump and charcoal with some wood chunks if that would get temps in the 250 range.
 
farklf said:
Could I get temps hot enough with just charcoal and lump? Seems like wood sticks burn too quickly and too hot at times. I wonder if I make a fire basket and use lump and charcoal with some wood chunks if that would get temps in the 250 range.
Click to expand...
I haven't tried it myself but the seller called it a charcoal grill. This is not nearly as tight as a Weber smoker so rather than control air to control temperature, you might need to control fuel.
 
HankB said:
Final thoughts? Whew! That's a lot of work. Contrast that with the butts I did on my WSM yesterday. I got it started and didn't need to touch the cooker for 5 1/2 hours. The NBBD seemed like it was a near constant balancing act between a fire that was going out vs. a fire big enough to spike the temperature. The wood I used was pretty dry and that may have contributed to this. Once lit, it would burn fast. I also might have split the wood into too small pieces. I'll keep the splits larger next time.
Click to expand...

I sometimes work on an equally "budget" offset cooker..Even once you feel you have her nailed you still get days you are "chasing"... Much like your WSM cooking on my Akorn where a 20 degree swing is huge on the offset is expected and will have you tending vents all the time if you get worked up.. Its about looking at the vent, temps and your wood as when to add..

When I cook on the offset now I run her with vents nearly untouched and just feed it wood when it needs it and fight the urge to pay attention to temp fluctuations.

Although like you I wish to make end to end more equal.. Whether I have the knowledge or ambition to do so is another story..
 
When i used my CG to cook on, i flipped the charcoal grate/ash catcher over with foil over the gap at the fire box end to act as a tuning plate. I also took some drier duct and ran it from the chimney to the grate, my temps were pretty close end to end, so something that ran end to end would help even temps out.

Brisket does look good:clap:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
New offset options - OC?
Replies
6
Views
648
bned
B
snadamo
NEW (to me) SMOKER!!!
2
Replies
26
Views
1K
bowhnter
bowhnter
J
First cook on the Franklin offset
Replies
15
Views
1K
Twangzer Mike
T
F
Honest Feedback, Charcoal cooker vs Offset
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
Lynn Dollar
Lynn Dollar
TheHojo
Offset Fire Management
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
Connor_Macleod
C
Back
Top