Brisket Faux Smoking Starts Tomorrow

I have decided to experiment with "faux smoking" a brisket on my CharBroil Big Red natural gas grill starting tomorrow. Got a stainless steel Master Forge chip holder for mesquite wood chips. Will use one burner at the right hand end of the grill for heat and cook at the left hand end. Picked up an inexpensive digital thermometer to readout cooking temperature. The probe is for meat temp but I am planning on inserting the probe rod through a potato so that it rests slightly above the grill surface. Picked up my 10 lb. brisket from Sams tonight. May make about a 60/40 cut on the brisket and just cook the 6 lb. section since this is an experiment. Plan on cooking about five hours, then foil and back on for two hours. Then into the cooler. Will not be getting fancy with the rub relying on black pepper, kosher salt and a little cayenne. Will post pics as the process progresses. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

I use my three burner Char-Broil Big Easy gasser all the time as a smoker. I take the small cooking grate out of one ene, take the hood off the burner and set a SS half-hotel pan on the framework over the burner. Chunks go in the pan. I only run the burner under the pan. I set up wind baffles on each end because of the rotisserie holes.

Below are initial pics from preparation of the brisket for the Big Faux Smoke now scheduled for tomorrow. Rub was a simple mixture of salt , black pepper, light sprinkling of cayenne, and garlic powder. Was trying to test the method more than fancy seasoning.

Sealed brisket from Sams
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=56444&stc=1&d=1313187621

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=56444&stc=1&d=1313187621

Uncovered brisket
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=56447&stc=1&d=1313187621

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=56448&stc=1&d=1313187621

Seasoned Brisket
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=56449&stc=1&d=1313188191

Not using propane...natural gas! Not something I plan on doing a lot of as my Backwoods Fatboy arrives next week.

gtr said:

Would faux smoking be called fauking?

Click to expand...

If so, then the grill becomes a fauker!:-D

Got a late start! So dinner will be late! Finally started about 9:00 a.m.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=56456&stc=1&d=1313256723


http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=56457&stc=1&d=1313256723

Everything is going well except temperature control has been a bear. Had to go to Max on right end burner and throttle with the two middle burners. Will have to turn meat because it is sitting over one of middle burners. Temperature fluctuated initially from just below 200 to 250 before changing to three burner strategy and adjusting burners. Temp is finally varying between 235 and 225. Grill top is just not insulated well enough to adjust to changes in the cloud cover over the sun or wind conditions. Thinking about putting an old blanket over it.

I just found that out as it started raining and the temp dropped like a rock due to heat loss through the shell cover. I covered it with a tarp and the temp really shot back up. Realized that the tarp was blocking the vent in the back and trapping heat. So I am re-learning temperature control with the tarp covering the vent and only one burner now running. Should work better in the long run with no direct heat below the meat.

Results Were Just Faux Faux

Although the results from my Big Faux Smoke look OK, the best thing from the smoke is what I learned.

You will notice that there is no smoke ring on the brisket. And there was only a minimal smoke flavor. I concluded that most gas grills are just not well equipped to smoke meat. You want to smoke meat get a smoker! LOL!

Temperature stability was a nightmare. And although I thought the temp ran cold more than it did not, that apparently did not balance out. All of the estimates I got indicated that it would take about 11-12 hours at 225 to smoke my ten pound brisket. Imagine my surprise when I pulled the brisket to foil at nine hours and found it already slightly over done. But there was a learning for my upcoming smoker adventures to start checking the meat temperature early particularly if you are using new equipment.

All in all probably a worthwhile experience but not one I would recommend anyone repeat.