Talking About Briskets!

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flexstar

Knows what a fatty is.
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I have cooked many briskets on a large Egg and most have turned out well. Since being very interested in a stick burners, particularly the Shirley 24x36 Patio versionI have watched many YouTube videos on cooking briskets, butts and other protein on a stick burner. It appears to me providing the fire is managed well that cooking a brisket on stick burner is easier maybe more straight forward than cooking on a Egg or Kamado type grill. Am I dreaming or do I have a point? Cause, I find cooking a brisket on an Egg isn't easy. I look forward to your comments. Thanks!
 
I haven’t cooked on a ceramic smoker, but from what Ive read I thought it was pretty easy to maintain temps on them because they have great insulation? Depending on the stick burner, I definitely would say its the more difficult way to cook brisket, the learning curve is much higher since you need to learn how your pit will react and what temps it likes to cook at and tending the fire. I have been cooking on a COS and it is quite the pain to keep a low temp and clean fire. Having the Shirley would be a huge step up in making it an easier cook though.
 
Having a stick burner and having had a kamado I'll say that kamado brisket or cooks in general are waaaay easier than a stick burner. As easy as it is to run stick burners, they require tending and it's more of an involved cook. They definitely turn out superior bbq though.
 
ssv3 said:
Having a stick burner and having had a kamado I'll say that kamado brisket or cooks in general are waaaay easier than a stick burner. As easy as it is to run stick burners, they require tending and it's more of an involved cook. They definitely turn out superior bbq though.
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This, I have already had to nuke my firebox once today (weed burner) because I got a little side tracked and my coal bed burned down more then I would like.

The Egg was easy once it was dialed in.
 
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Maybe you should tell us what isn't easy on the ceramic. It should be boring. The shirley is easy but not set forget easy.

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What is hard about making a brisket on an egg? Are you talking about burning the sides because the meat is too large or what? I have used family's kamado grills and they are easy to cook on.
 
From the OP: "I find cooking a brisket on an Egg isn't easy"
Not to offend the OP but I saw that post and my immediate thought was troll. I don't know of anyone who says temp control on ceramic is harder than an traditional stick burner.
As said earlier, I find cooking on the BGE so easy that it's boring.
 
OK guys thank you for your comments. Once I get my Shirley and get a few cooks I'll give a objective report. One quick question though! How much heat are you loosing on a Shirley 24x36 Patio by open the door to spritz the meat? On an Egg I read you loose 30 minutes of heat by doing this. Thanks!
 
flexstar said:
OK guys thank you for your comments. Once I get my Shirley and get a few cooks I'll give a objective report. One quick question though! How much heat are you loosing on a Shirley 24x36 Patio by open the door to spritz the meat? On an Egg I read you loose 30 minutes of heat by doing this. Thanks!
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In my opinion you dont need to sprits a brisket at all. They have so much fat in them they basically sprits themselves, just put a water pan in there if you are worried about it being to dry. But to answer your question, if you are going to sprits every hour, you will prolong your cook for sure, the shirleys will definitely retain the heat with how thick the metal is though. Again, I personally wouldn’t bother to sprits.
 
Yup!

No need to spritz. I've tried spritzing on a stick burner for kicks and it's totally unnecessary.

As for the egg, anytime you open the lid you introduce more oxygen and you leave that lid open long enough you'll have a raging fire. So you actually gain more heat instead of losing it.
 
I agree with the above. All you need to do with the BGE is put the brisket on, wrap part way through, and pick it up when done. It's about as simple as it gets.

I'll take a brisket off my Shirley way before any of my BGE's. It's way more work on the Shirley than it is the BGE. The flavor is far superior off the stick burner.

BGE temp will go up anytime you open the dome. It won't ever go down. It sounds like something is wrong with your setup or you need to double check your thermometer accuracy. The temp gauges should be checked once or twice a year. That could be your issue. Your temp gauge could be off or shot.
 
flexstar said:
OK guys thank you for your comments. Once I get my Shirley and get a few cooks I'll give a objective report. One quick question though! How much heat are you loosing on a Shirley 24x36 Patio by open the door to spritz the meat? On an Egg I read you loose 30 minutes of heat by doing this. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I don’t think you really “lose” much heat at all on a ceramic kamado given the thermal mass and heat retention properties. I would be more worried about causing a spike in temp from the introduction of a bunch of air when opening the lid on a kamado. I haven’t cooked on a Shirley 36” but my 24x60” would recover within a minute or two of closing the door.
 
I think the technique of temp management/fire control is different for ceramic and steel smokers.
With the ceramic you should bring the temp up to your target gradually until it's stabilized at the desired temp.
The key is to get to a stabilized temp.
With the steel you should look for a slight overshoot of the target temp and gradually bring it down to a stabilized target temp.
Another important point is to NOT chase the temperature. There will be small spikes or decreases every time you open something or add something like wood or cold meat. Let the pit get back to a stable temp before trying to correct something that may not need correcting.
 
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