Kaiser's First Brisket Blitz! No Pron yet

[KaiserKrebs]

I finally got my Akorn Kamado assembled last week, and did a test cook on a spathcocked yard bird. It was pretty decent, but after months of reading post after post, and articles and watching YouTube videos. I desire to go for broke on a brisket!

Going to cook tomorrow, here's my pre-flight planning. 11.80lbs packer brisket. USDA select, could only find flats in Choice around my neck of the woods. It's nicely thick in the flat, and pretty flexible too, and if I picked correctly it's a left handed one as well. :shocked: Going to use MeatHeads big bad beef rub, KF Blue, and Hickory Chunks, a water pan, pit temp goal of 275-300 degrees, planning to foil @ 150 and let cook until thick part of flat probes like butter. Test @ 190-203 degrees

If that magic happens, will let rest in faux Cambro for 2 hours. Planning on getting cow to the coals by 0700

I've been following a lot of BluDawgs posts for the newbies, and I sense that he knows of what he speaks ... Hopefully using some of those pearls will keep me from Farking it up.

[IamMadMan]

Waiting to see the pictures...

Sounds like a great plan.

[Ron_L]

Enjoy the cook!

The only thing that I would change is when you foil. I wouldn't do it as a specific temperature. I foil when the bark it the color that I like. If you do want to foil by color I think 150 is too early.

[Bludawg]

I Wrap at the end of the 4th hr don't know about no temp

[KaiserKrebs]

Got some pron finally, I've been keeping a cooking log, and I feel like I'm chasing temps a little too much. Three hours in the breakdown is this. Meat on smoker at 7:23 am PST, cooker was @ 240 degrees, meat temp was @ 55 degrees. 1st hour smoker was 264 deg. Meat was at 124 deg. 2nd hour smoker was at 280, meat at 150 deg. 3rd hour smoker is at 276 deg. and meat is at 164 degrees. I have only made very small adjustments on the top vent of the Akorn, maybe my charcoal arrangement or lack of is the problem. I'm ok with where it's running as my range wanted to be 275-300 degrees.

the last pic is the brisket after 1 hour, I'm going to foil at the four hour mark, as at this second the Maverick is telling me the meat is at 166 degrees. Keeping fingers crossed, it sure smells good though.....I'm pretty anxious. Trying not to burn a hole in my maverick's screen by staring at it too hard.

[KingofTheCoals]

Nice!!!! You're gonna love that cooker. Tons of good info on here. Look forward to seeing more of your cooks.

[KaiserKrebs]

Four hours in, just spritzed the brisket with 50/50 water and Worcestershire sauce. Foiled as well, smoker is at 299 degrees, and meat is at 173 deg. Temp on the cooker spiked when I had the lid open for foiling, but I choked it back. I think the meat stalled about 170 there was a lot of water and juice on top when I foiled.

Five hours in now, cooker is running at 299 deg. And meat is at 184, should I start probing at 190 or let her go to 203? Roughly an hour left on my est. cook time, could it possibly be ready? Or should I just go with a probe test.

[KaiserKrebs]

Ok Gents, here she is! hit 202 degrees right at the six hour cook mark, waited another five minutes and probed for doneness....it probed like buttah, I checked twice to be sure. Now resting in the faux cambro, wrapped in foil and towels. I'm hoping it will be amazing, curious what its going to look like when I slice it. The cooking log was a nice rference, but I was alittle stressed over the seemingly wide fluctuations in the pit temp. I was able to reign it in, but didn't expect that from the Akorn. Only climbed a few degrees over 300 for a few minutes.

When I pulled the brisket it seemed as if there were still a lot of unburned coals, and hickory chunks in the fire box. The divot in the top of the brisket was where I trimmed the fat cap a little too much.