My First Brisket (And on a Weber Kettle)

You did a nice job!

Looks good mate, nice first effort.
That called taking the bull by the horns

H-Towner said:

I swear on all that is good and holy that the 18" didn't exist when I was looking at Slow n Sears a few weeks ago. That or I stink at shopping.

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I'm pretty sure that product was very recently added to the ABC product line.

Brother I commend you for even attempting a brisket on the 18". I've cranked out some edible ribs on an 18 incher, but I'm too much of a wienie to attempt a brisket.

Way to go buddy.

Nice first cook. Nobody got sick and nobody died....
Lots of great info here. I sat back and kept quiet for almost 4 years before I had enough good and bad cooks to contribute in a positive manner with confidence.

H Towner.....you're just fine setting the piece to the side like that on that small of a cooking area....on an 18" WSM (bullet) the meat is much farther up above the fire, but here, it's right dang there.....
Here's some examples of this thinking:

Ribs down the center, two small chains of charcoal burning opposite directions....



Starting off w/ the strip of meat above a blank area or unburned coals, as the coals burn along, rotate the grate to where the ends of the piece are above the ALREADY spent charcoal / wood....that way, you're never directly above the burn...

Same general idea applies to what you did......set to the side & rotate the grate around following the burn of the chain to keep it indirect..........

Set for above (a bit more coals were added before cooking)



Them ribs came out just fine....



Same general idea for brisket...this is on a 22" so there's some more room to work....15-3/4# trimmed piece.....moving the grate around....following the burn....





Pretty big, so did have to add coals...



just fine in the end...



hope that helps some......the standard size kettle would give you more elbow room, so at least check around & see what ya can find....

H-Towner said:

I'm gonna keep an eye out on CL for a 22"

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This just made it to the list of potential quotes on my headstone.

H-Towner said:

1buckie,

That's good info! Thanks! I'm glad to see I wasn't too far out in left field. What kind of grill temperatures did you keep for those cooks?

I'm gonna keep an eye out on CL for a 22", and maybe when I feel like I've got time for a project, figure out where to find a food-grade drum. A UDS looks like a fun build (except for surface prep; I hate sanding and painting.)

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260~275 is the standard sweet spot for a lot of those type things.....

tenpenny_05 said:

"I'm gonna keep an eye out on CL for a 22""

This just made it to the list of potential quotes on my headstone.

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Mine's: "Died of thick, heavy sauces....."

H-Towner said:

Thanks everyone for you replies. For posterity, I'm going to summarize the key points of advice here and add it to the original post, too.

1. I need bigger equipment (haven't I heard that before), and it doesn't have to be expensive.

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A bigger rig is nice, but I certainly would keep your 18, provided you have space for it. The smaller cooker is nice, if for no other reason, that it burns less fuel. I got a Jumbo Joe for Christmas and used it a ton this winter. Now that the weather is getting warmer I'll be using the Performer and the 26 quite a bit, but the Joe will still see work for smaller cooks.