FusoRider
MemberGot rid of the matchlight.
I just joined and need some thoughts from you experts. After having success smoking Thanksgiving turkeys the last several years, I decided this last week to broaden my experience by smoking a 14-pound brisket on my 18-inch Weber Smokey Mountain. For a first-timer, I did an OK job, not great. Everyone loved the flavor, but it was too dry — even though I thought I nailed every step. Here's how I did it — hoping you can figure out where I went wrong.
1. I got a prime-grade brisket and trimmed off quite a bit of fat, but not as much as I've seen the pit masters do on videos (hard to quantify here). I rubbed it liberally with just kosher salt and ground pepper. (Since this was my first attempt, I kept it simple.)
2. I used Jealous Devil lump charcoal, with several chunks of mesquite and apple wood. I then lit the pile using the Minion method.
3. In regard to the use of the water pan, I've seen competing methods — some people use liquids in it, others swear they get better results with the pan dry — so I decided to do a combination. I started with about a half gallon of a 50-50 mix of water and apple juice. I figured it would help flavor and moisten the meat initially, and then after boiling off after a few hours I'd get flavor from juices dripping into the foil-lined pan.
4. I put the brisket on the top grate (it barely fit on my 18-inch WSM), draping it fat-side down over three wood chunks to keep any juices from pooling.
5. I locked in the cooking temp at 250F and the WSM held it steady there for almost the entire cook. The temp briefly dipped to 225 once and, at about 3 hours, jumped up to 300 for about 15-20 minutes when I took the lid off to give the meat a spritz with some apple juice.
6. After about 5-1/2 hours, when the brisket reached 165 degrees, I took it off and wrapped it in three layers of butcher paper. I added some more charcoal to the fire, returned the brisket to the top grate (this time fat-side up) and quickly got the cooker temp locked in again at 250.
7. Because I thought the cooking time would take 14-18 hours, I had started the cook at 7 p.m. After wrapping the brisket and returning it to the cooker at about 1 a.m., I went to bed for a few hours. When I got up at 6 a.m., the cooker temp was still holding at 250 degrees. But to my surprise, the brisket temp was already closing in on 205-210.
8. So, after just 11-1/2 to 12 hours, I removed the brisket and put it in a Igloo cooler with a single layer of foil and a towel laid across the top. I then let it rest for 3 hours. (The butcher paper, by the way, was pretty well soaked with fat.)
9. When I pulled the meat out of the cooler and cut into it, I could see that it was overcooked. Not terribly bad, but with not a lot of juice running out of it. I did the test of cutting a slice to see it if would flop over my finger, and it was a little more firm than desired.
10. So, how did I dry out a 14-pounder in 12 hours when the temp was locked in at 250? I used a ThermoPro with 2 probes to monitor the temp, but a couple of times — including the last time at 7 a.m. — I also poked it in several places with a hand-held thermometer to make sure I had good temp throughout (and juices ran out). Did I poke it too much? Should I have taken it out of the cooker sooner — at, say, 195 degrees? Should I have let it cool more before placing in the cooler? And why did it cook so much faster than the 1 to 1-1/2 hours per pound that all the recipes and videos estimate?
Your thoughts would be much appreciated.
1. I got a prime-grade brisket and trimmed off quite a bit of fat, but not as much as I've seen the pit masters do on videos (hard to quantify here). I rubbed it liberally with just kosher salt and ground pepper. (Since this was my first attempt, I kept it simple.)
2. I used Jealous Devil lump charcoal, with several chunks of mesquite and apple wood. I then lit the pile using the Minion method.
3. In regard to the use of the water pan, I've seen competing methods — some people use liquids in it, others swear they get better results with the pan dry — so I decided to do a combination. I started with about a half gallon of a 50-50 mix of water and apple juice. I figured it would help flavor and moisten the meat initially, and then after boiling off after a few hours I'd get flavor from juices dripping into the foil-lined pan.
4. I put the brisket on the top grate (it barely fit on my 18-inch WSM), draping it fat-side down over three wood chunks to keep any juices from pooling.
5. I locked in the cooking temp at 250F and the WSM held it steady there for almost the entire cook. The temp briefly dipped to 225 once and, at about 3 hours, jumped up to 300 for about 15-20 minutes when I took the lid off to give the meat a spritz with some apple juice.
6. After about 5-1/2 hours, when the brisket reached 165 degrees, I took it off and wrapped it in three layers of butcher paper. I added some more charcoal to the fire, returned the brisket to the top grate (this time fat-side up) and quickly got the cooker temp locked in again at 250.
7. Because I thought the cooking time would take 14-18 hours, I had started the cook at 7 p.m. After wrapping the brisket and returning it to the cooker at about 1 a.m., I went to bed for a few hours. When I got up at 6 a.m., the cooker temp was still holding at 250 degrees. But to my surprise, the brisket temp was already closing in on 205-210.
8. So, after just 11-1/2 to 12 hours, I removed the brisket and put it in a Igloo cooler with a single layer of foil and a towel laid across the top. I then let it rest for 3 hours. (The butcher paper, by the way, was pretty well soaked with fat.)
9. When I pulled the meat out of the cooler and cut into it, I could see that it was overcooked. Not terribly bad, but with not a lot of juice running out of it. I did the test of cutting a slice to see it if would flop over my finger, and it was a little more firm than desired.
10. So, how did I dry out a 14-pounder in 12 hours when the temp was locked in at 250? I used a ThermoPro with 2 probes to monitor the temp, but a couple of times — including the last time at 7 a.m. — I also poked it in several places with a hand-held thermometer to make sure I had good temp throughout (and juices ran out). Did I poke it too much? Should I have taken it out of the cooker sooner — at, say, 195 degrees? Should I have let it cool more before placing in the cooler? And why did it cook so much faster than the 1 to 1-1/2 hours per pound that all the recipes and videos estimate?
Your thoughts would be much appreciated.
