Raihze
Found some matches.
I was so excited to cook my first brisket on my new WSM 22 (upgraded from the 14). I got a 9 pound prime packer from Costco (the only other one available at the time was 23+ pounds/$95). I trimmed it the night before and rubbed it early the next morning (Weber Steak & Chop + McCormick Montreal Steak).
I went for a minion method with 4-5 good chunks of mesquite towards the middle, under a single layer of briquettes. The charcoal container was about 80% full with Kingsford Competition briquettes. The chimney was super hot when I dumped it in (a little too hot I think), most of the briquettes just ashed over and glowing. When I came back to dump water into the water pan, I noticed that the wood chunks had ignited. I got the dome on and choked it down for a few minutes to kill the fire. After about 20 minutes with the bottom vents 1/4” open and the top vent all the way open, it was holding fairly steady at 275.
I got the meat on, fat down, and left it alone for 3 hours. The first time I checked, I noticed juice pooling quite a bit on top, so I propped it just a tad on a wood chunk to let it run off. I checked once or twice over the next two hours and spritzed it with water where it looked like it needed some moisture. At about 5 hours in, I couldn't keep the temp below 285 (It was sitting in direct 105 degree sunlight. When cleaning up the next day, the dome thermometer was reading 180 with no heat source in it). I closed all bottom vents and finally top to get it back at 275. Right after that time the bark finally looked good and the flat internal was at 180. I wrapped it in peach paper and continued on at 265-275 until the flat hit 200, at about 9 hours total. Probed it and the probe went right through the flat without resistance. Pulled it and let it rest, still wrapped, in a cooler for a little over two hours.
Opened it up and the bark looked great. I eagerly cut in and can see before I even taste it that the flat is super dry. The smoke ring was minimal, likely because most of the wood burnt off early due to the chimney being too hot. A pencil thick point slice bends a bit but the ends are not vertical. Pulls apart easy, but I could tell it was dry when pulling. The point is better, but its got more of the extra fat slimy juiciness rather than actual juiciness. Ate some, used the rest for a stew.
I know briskets are an art and this was just the first try, but it was disappointing. My thoughts on what may help: 1) I think at 8.9 pounds, even though it was prime, it might have been a bit small and dried out a little quicker 2) Perhaps I could have wrapped it sooner, but I am not sure on that. I have been told that I should have around 165, but the bark with still a bit light then. While it looks blackish in the middle picture, you can see in the cut picture that it was a dark mahogany for the most part. 3) I think I should have started checking it around 190 or so as it was so small. It was tough to poke the thermometer through the paper and probe it well, but I think this may have been the key. 4) Going to try fat up next time as the WSM kicks off a lot of moisture from below and that might help keep it moist 5) It was running a little hot at ~275 the whole time, but this is the Franklin recommended temp for brisket more or less. I am going to try for 225-250 range next time, keeping it out of the sun or doing it overnight. 6) Also going to not let the chimney get too hot before dumping it on.
Any input would be appreciated, thanks!
(I couldn't figure out how to embed pictures, so I have attached them and included the imgur link: https://imgur.com/a/fMauzdH ).
I went for a minion method with 4-5 good chunks of mesquite towards the middle, under a single layer of briquettes. The charcoal container was about 80% full with Kingsford Competition briquettes. The chimney was super hot when I dumped it in (a little too hot I think), most of the briquettes just ashed over and glowing. When I came back to dump water into the water pan, I noticed that the wood chunks had ignited. I got the dome on and choked it down for a few minutes to kill the fire. After about 20 minutes with the bottom vents 1/4” open and the top vent all the way open, it was holding fairly steady at 275.
I got the meat on, fat down, and left it alone for 3 hours. The first time I checked, I noticed juice pooling quite a bit on top, so I propped it just a tad on a wood chunk to let it run off. I checked once or twice over the next two hours and spritzed it with water where it looked like it needed some moisture. At about 5 hours in, I couldn't keep the temp below 285 (It was sitting in direct 105 degree sunlight. When cleaning up the next day, the dome thermometer was reading 180 with no heat source in it). I closed all bottom vents and finally top to get it back at 275. Right after that time the bark finally looked good and the flat internal was at 180. I wrapped it in peach paper and continued on at 265-275 until the flat hit 200, at about 9 hours total. Probed it and the probe went right through the flat without resistance. Pulled it and let it rest, still wrapped, in a cooler for a little over two hours.
Opened it up and the bark looked great. I eagerly cut in and can see before I even taste it that the flat is super dry. The smoke ring was minimal, likely because most of the wood burnt off early due to the chimney being too hot. A pencil thick point slice bends a bit but the ends are not vertical. Pulls apart easy, but I could tell it was dry when pulling. The point is better, but its got more of the extra fat slimy juiciness rather than actual juiciness. Ate some, used the rest for a stew.
I know briskets are an art and this was just the first try, but it was disappointing. My thoughts on what may help: 1) I think at 8.9 pounds, even though it was prime, it might have been a bit small and dried out a little quicker 2) Perhaps I could have wrapped it sooner, but I am not sure on that. I have been told that I should have around 165, but the bark with still a bit light then. While it looks blackish in the middle picture, you can see in the cut picture that it was a dark mahogany for the most part. 3) I think I should have started checking it around 190 or so as it was so small. It was tough to poke the thermometer through the paper and probe it well, but I think this may have been the key. 4) Going to try fat up next time as the WSM kicks off a lot of moisture from below and that might help keep it moist 5) It was running a little hot at ~275 the whole time, but this is the Franklin recommended temp for brisket more or less. I am going to try for 225-250 range next time, keeping it out of the sun or doing it overnight. 6) Also going to not let the chimney get too hot before dumping it on.
Any input would be appreciated, thanks!
(I couldn't figure out how to embed pictures, so I have attached them and included the imgur link: https://imgur.com/a/fMauzdH ).
