Frustrated after wasting $45 on beef brisket on a OKJ Highland... Trade it in for a WSM 18?

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magbarn

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I'm a newb to BBQ, been 'fake grilling' on a weber genesis for the last 10 years and as most ignorant Californians thought that grilling was barbecuing! I then visited my wife's family in San Antonio and ended up trying some Brisket that was to do for!

I wish I found this forum sooner before blowing $299 on a OK Joe Highland offset... I bought $40 worth of KBB (big mistake it seems...) for fuel, a chimney starter and several bags of mesquite. I then went to Costco and picked out a 14 lbs Prime 'packer' with the 'ends' according to the butcher.

I let it get to room temp, trimmed some of the fat off,and covered with just salt and lemon pepper after using olive oil on it to make it stick

Started up a full chimney and dumped it in the FB. I then through a bit of the mesquite chunks directly on top of the charcoal and this made tons of smoke. The stock thermometer was showing 300 or so was when I placed the brisket. The temps then rapidly dropped into the 200's range. Over the next 10 hours I grew extremely frustrated as I continued to throw pound over pound of KBB into the firebox which only seemed to just bump up the temp to 225F or so and then quickly back down. The only time the temp went higher was when I threw more fresh mesquite into the FB, which by the time I was almost out. I basically went through almost 40 lbs of KBB for the 10 hours and my Brisket came out tough despite reaching 195F at the thicket when checked with a temp probe.

The brisket had some good smoke flavor but was tough and chewy... :doh:

I've now spent over 10 hours going through this forum and others and I'm about ready to haul this 200 lbs waste of metal back to Lowes.
According to posts here, I'll have to spend $75 on a coal basket, $85 on a custom made baffle to distribute heat more evenly, seals & latches for the doors, or just spend >$1000 for a better made offset smoker.

After the 'mods' detailed above, the $300 smoker is now over $500. Are all those mods really necessary or can I do things on the 'cheap' I don't have access to a welder for 'hook-ups' or should I just get a WSM (as this seems to be pretty good without mods and uses much less fuel than 40 lbs of KBB!), or just eat at 'Lucille's' (unlike Texas, BBQ places are rare in CA)

Thanks in advance!
 
First off Brisket is the Hardest of all Q to get Right. Pork butt the Easiest.

Second off that is a stickburner and will run much better and cheaper on firewood. Wood burns HOTTER.

If you want to cook on charcoal - trade it or sell it and build or buy a UDS or buy a WSM.

You can get it cooking fine for cost of firewood and $20-$40 of steel plate.
 
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Sorry but what you have is stick burner. Go to pitbarrelcooker.com and order. You'll be a patio hero the day it arrives with about 8 pounds of quality briquettes and a beer can size amount of your smoking wood.

I suggest you keep the stick burner. Give it a fair shake and use it as intended- with wood the primary fuel. Cook some chickens, pork butts a ton of different appetizer's etc. and smoke some Spam. Seriously Spam.
 
Tough and chewy = undercooked.
Don't cook to temp, cook by tough. Pull it when a probe goes in like a hot knife through butter.
Cook a butt - relax, it's just BBQ.
 
If it was easy everyone would do it.

Give it time my friend. Frustration's happen, just don't forget to learn from them.

Ditch the charcoal, or use a little to get your small wood fire burning.

Or keep it and get a charcoal cooker like Smitty said.

Your brisket wasn't done yet. Probe the thickest part of the flat. When it slides with very very little resistance the chunk o meat is done. Temps mean nothing as every single brisket is different. Use them as more of a guideline if you must use them at all. "probes like warm butter" Don't forget to rest it. then,.. enjoy. --the longer the better.

Regards,

Kevin
 
Relax, take a breath.

Like smitty said its a stick burner, it works best on wood splits. If wood is too hard to source or you dont want to feed it every 45 min than its probably not for you.

The only mod i would suggest is a baffle and it wont cost you $85.

Im willing to bet the brisket wasnt ready when you pulled it. Many round here dont go by finish temp but by "probe tender". 195 is on the very low end of that and it can be over 210.
 
Do Not extend chimney to grate, line it with anything, add a charcoal basket, worrying about Sealing it Up. Latches are OK but not really needed.

Do run a fire grate 3-4 inches off of firebox floor for ash to fall thru. Do run exhaust full open and intakes 1/2 open to full open to achieve good airflow and draft.
Do add some sort of plate ( BluDawg used 2 pieces of broiler pan from an old stove in his offset) 1/2-3/4 length of cook chamber 2" under cooking grate and Do move it around till temps even out. Do try a water pan ( I run them) to see if it helps even out Temps even tho some will say no water pan. :shock:
 
Brisket is a darn tough cut. Got to say for a first real bbq cook you got balls. :)

If you still got it cube it up and throw in a pan with baked beans in brown sugar and add bbq sauce and some hot dry rub. It will make it moist and save it. I had to do this recent as I botched a brisket. It happens.

WSM are great smokers. I like my 14.5" WSM and it is great. I have a 22.5" and it is ok but not as good as the 14.5" . I hear the 18.5" is the best of both worlds for space and fuel efficiency. The WSM is a great pit.

I don't own a stick burner but everything I hear is you have to really work for it. It is supposed to be worth it but I think for a first pit it is not ideal. Get a WSM and relax. It is a good starter pit.
 
Learn to crawl before walking, no one learns good bbq overnight. Get a wsm, there are plenty of info on how to turn out great BBQ on them.

I'd suggest doing what smitty said...start with things like pork butt, fatties etc...
 
Welcome to the fold, I am sure you can get a story like yours out of everyone here.

I thought a WSM was good, then i bought my second, and now we have 3 18.5's and a 22 and a catering business, they are great pieces of equipment.

Don't give up on the stickburner......but if you are are going to make a change, WSM all the way.

Smoke on
 
I've cooked on both the 18.5" and 22.5" and love them both. I own the 22.5" and my brother owns the 18.5", besides having more room on the bigger one, I didn't notice any difference cooking briskets on them.
 
Of my 4 smokers, one is an OK Joe's and is worthless without some mods. Lots of gaps will need sealing is the main issue. You can use the grates that came in the firebox to hold the charcoal up so air will flow under it. Tuning plates and a charcoal basket are nice additions, but not 100% necessary if you practice cooking on it a bit.

Yes, it is designed as a "stick burner" but many folks, myself included, use charcoal as the heat source and add sticks of wood for smoke and flavor

Mine had so many ill fitting parts that I would not even attempt to use it without using red rtv silicone to make a gasket around the door edges and sealing it up where the firebox bolts to the cooking chamber. The firebox it's self bolts together and had gaps between the two pieces, so I welded the firebox halves together

A decent remote thermometer with a probe is a must have accessory to monitor temps in the cooking chamber and internal temp of the meat you are cooking. A dual probe is best, but a single will do in a pinch


Remember, time and internal temps are only a rough guide and each piece of meat can be different. For brisket and pork butt, a probe should slide in like it's going in warm butter. Ribs are exposed bone ends and the "bend" test.

Don't give up yet. Grab a pork butt next time as they are the easiest cook you can do to gain experience.
 
As other's mentioned, you chose the hardest cut of meat to smoke and what I'd considera cooker with a tougher learning curve (stick burner).

I can't say enough good things about the WSM as well (plus you can pick them up at the big box). It's rock steady, easy to learn and use and something you can buy and get started right away. UDS, pitbarrel cookers are the same thing, rock steady an another great choice.
 
Welcome neighbor!!
Look up a local wood supply and get you a couple 40# bags of oak.
That's a safe wood to start with. Watch Then like the others said cook a chicken, a fattie, pork butt, try a rack of short ribs. Type in Aaron franklin and a couple of his videos. His stuff is real helpful.
 
2 pages and although referenced no one out right said "build a UDS"
 
I love my wsms but I'd advise cooking on your stick burner before you jump ship and buy an entirely different smoker.

As others have said, brisket is the hardest meat to cook. I started on butts, then went to ribs, then chicken, then brisket. By then I knew my smokers very well and have not royally screwed up any meat thus far.

For Rusty, give the 22 some time. I bought a used one on Craigslist and got 5th on ribs the following weekend out of 41 pro KCBS teams. Just apply the same knowledge from your 14 and enjoy the extra space. Lots of people use the 22 wsm weekly with excellent results.
 
Weberlamp said:
Welcome to the fold, I am sure you can get a story like yours out of everyone here.

I thought a WSM was good, then i bought my second, and now we have 3 18.5's and a 22 and a catering business, they are great pieces of equipment.

Don't give up on the stickburner......but if you are are going to make a change, WSM all the way.

Smoke on
Click to expand...


Do you cater using your smokey mountains?! If so that's pretty cool man!
 
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