Beer/Meat/Victory
Full Fledged Farker
TL
R - Last Brisket Bad, This Brisket Good.
So, about a month or two ago (last brisket cook) I cooked a brisket that was almost inedible. A definite bottom 3 (possibly the worst) brisket I’ve cooked. I did what I almost always do which is to have a beer, trim, beer, season, beer, start the WSM, beer, beer, beer, hook up the digi Q and hit the sack for the evening. Well the 3 beers while waiting for the pit to heat up may have been the mistake as I accidentally left one of the lower vent wheels wide open. I slept great and got up around 7am (which is normal for me) and checked on the meat right away. While I did have a cheap remote thermo with high temp alarm right next to my bed, that also decided to malfunction and show improper temps. So the perfect storm of a mistake and gadgets not working. The WSM ran at about 350 for a good 7 or so hours. I managed to salvaged about a 3rd of that brisket to eat.
Fast forward a few weeks -I decided to take the prime Sams club packer I had in my fridge for a spin. I needed to get back in the saddle after an awful cook. This time I wanted to change things up, no gadgets, no ATC, no mess, no fuss. Just me, a cool morning, some Weber charcoal, chucks of oak, a 22” WSM, and a hunk of glistening beef. I did not fully document this cook as the disappointment was still in the back of my mind from the last brisket. No need to share all disappointments right?
I trimmed and seasoned the night before. Based on some recent posts I wanted to give Killer Hogs AP a shot and added a bunch more course pepper (I’m normally just a kosher salt/pepper guy). Wrapped and in the fridge until the alarm went off at 5am. The plan - Hot N Fast. One previous HF try a couple years back left a mediocre result. Let the WSM get up to about 290 then threw on the beef. The first hour it settled in at 275 with really no adjustment. After the cold meat warmed it rose up to about 320 for a bit then I made a tiny adjustment and got her to about 290. Didn’t touch the wheels for hours after that and it stayed between 280-290 like a champ. Wrapped in paper at about 4.5 hours. Checked an hour later, nope. Half hour, still nope. Another and another half hour, again nope. 15 mins later - oohhh there she is starting the subside. Long story long, 8 hours in she felt great and had time for a nice 3 hour rest. Flavor- fantastic. Bend/Pull- passed with high marks. It even looked like a good brisket. I’m satisfied, the mojo is back, bring me your meats, I’ll make em’ sing.
R - Last Brisket Bad, This Brisket Good.So, about a month or two ago (last brisket cook) I cooked a brisket that was almost inedible. A definite bottom 3 (possibly the worst) brisket I’ve cooked. I did what I almost always do which is to have a beer, trim, beer, season, beer, start the WSM, beer, beer, beer, hook up the digi Q and hit the sack for the evening. Well the 3 beers while waiting for the pit to heat up may have been the mistake as I accidentally left one of the lower vent wheels wide open. I slept great and got up around 7am (which is normal for me) and checked on the meat right away. While I did have a cheap remote thermo with high temp alarm right next to my bed, that also decided to malfunction and show improper temps. So the perfect storm of a mistake and gadgets not working. The WSM ran at about 350 for a good 7 or so hours. I managed to salvaged about a 3rd of that brisket to eat.
Fast forward a few weeks -I decided to take the prime Sams club packer I had in my fridge for a spin. I needed to get back in the saddle after an awful cook. This time I wanted to change things up, no gadgets, no ATC, no mess, no fuss. Just me, a cool morning, some Weber charcoal, chucks of oak, a 22” WSM, and a hunk of glistening beef. I did not fully document this cook as the disappointment was still in the back of my mind from the last brisket. No need to share all disappointments right?
I trimmed and seasoned the night before. Based on some recent posts I wanted to give Killer Hogs AP a shot and added a bunch more course pepper (I’m normally just a kosher salt/pepper guy). Wrapped and in the fridge until the alarm went off at 5am. The plan - Hot N Fast. One previous HF try a couple years back left a mediocre result. Let the WSM get up to about 290 then threw on the beef. The first hour it settled in at 275 with really no adjustment. After the cold meat warmed it rose up to about 320 for a bit then I made a tiny adjustment and got her to about 290. Didn’t touch the wheels for hours after that and it stayed between 280-290 like a champ. Wrapped in paper at about 4.5 hours. Checked an hour later, nope. Half hour, still nope. Another and another half hour, again nope. 15 mins later - oohhh there she is starting the subside. Long story long, 8 hours in she felt great and had time for a nice 3 hour rest. Flavor- fantastic. Bend/Pull- passed with high marks. It even looked like a good brisket. I’m satisfied, the mojo is back, bring me your meats, I’ll make em’ sing.
