First Brisket on the new BlueSmoke Smoker offset stick burner...

[cayenne]

Alright,

Well, I think I reached the image limit on that other thread and at the time I'd not pulled my brisket from the ice chest and cut into it yet.

First thoughts....NOT BAD for my maiden voyage over all.

But one thing, I notice the this has FAR LESS smoke flavor than I was expecting.

I'm chalking this up to maybe the fact I was using Oak (TX Post Oak to be exact)...whereas in the past I'd always smoked with hickory...some times mixed with mesquite.

I think hickory has a more intense flavor than Oak? (Thoughts out there?).

Also, I think next time, I need to try to get maybe more "Dirty Smoke" in the first few hours of cooking...? As you read on other thread, I had my problems learning fire management in this big beast of a heavy offset, but the one problem I did NOT have...was running clean smoke.

I actually need to figure how to impede the flow on my smoker which has an excelling draw. I guess close the stack damper a bit. I ran it last time generally with the door only about 1/2 inch open as it was....

I think I'm going to have to build the fire BIG and HOT to start with and then impede it a bit to smolder a bit more?


Anyway, that was my chief complaint.

This was also my very first time EVER to try to trim a brisket. In the old days....I just open the vac-pak, rubbed it and threw it on.

I watched Chud and other YT videos and tried my best to emulate what I saw. I bought a decent victoriianox (sp?) knife like I see the butchers using...and it was sharp and so easy to handle.

My chief lesson learned on this time...is I need to be MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE in my trimming next time. I had much more fat than I needed.

I did take the fat trimmings and put in a bowl in the smoker and made a bit of beef tallow rendered from it. I poured a bit of that in my butcher paper when I wrapped the brisket.

(I'm saving the oil soaked paper for helping light fire next time).

One thing I noticed on my smoker, first food run...the wireless probes I had in the flat and point ends...initially showed VERY different heats. I had the flat about 4-5 inches from the collector and the point facing the firebox.

The flat was MUCH higher reading on ambient temps than the probe at the point?!?!?!

Anyway, by the end of the cook, they equaled out for the most part and both registers about 203F when I took the meat off the fire.

The flat to me...seemed a bit dry. Not bone dry, but I thought it should be juicier.
The point...well, while quite good and I think close to texture I wanted...had a bit too much fat.

I thought I took off the large pockets of fat, but I missed one badly....but I will say, on the areas where I got the trimming right (1/4")....well, I think some of you might remember me on another thread saying I just did NOT like eating fat....where I got it trimmed right on this, it had been properly rendered and was not like the big "globs" of wiggly sh*t I can't stand...and to me it was all edible, bark and all, and I did not need to peel it off to eat.
(I know..some of you shuddering at the thought of that, I can feel it).

I think I need to wrap with more tallow...the entire meat side of the brisket could have been a bit more moist.....VERY edible and good, but kinda picking nits here.

This was my first time to really learn how to properly slice a brisket...how to take the flat off and then rotate the point 90 degrees and slice it. In the past, I'd just usually pulled excess fat off point and chopped it all in the food processor.

This time, internal fat, rendered properly....and while I did pick off the BIG fat pocket I missed, I did slice it into nicely edible slices.

So anyway, I have some things to work on, but again, for maiden voyage, I'm quite happy.

Also including one picture of my chicken here, as that I ran out of image room on other thread before I could post it.

Chicken came out great....next time, I plan to plan for time to brine it first (always better IMHO)...and I'm going to spatchcock it.

Anyway....any and all comments and suggestions GREATLY appreciated!!!

cayenne

 

[cayenne]

Oh...PS. I think I managed to find a few "burnt ends" and those are in the middle front of my serving tray shot at the end.

Prior to this, I'd never known just what they were....

 

[SkaterSmoker]

When I first got my 1975 I struggled to get smoke flavor. I was using very dry hickory <10%, just like kiln dried wood, and running my pit with the stack wide open. Now I use white oak that's usually around 20% moisture in the center of the split. Moisture at that level will give your food much more smoke flavor. Moisture content is more important than the type of wood in my experience.

Burning wetter wood is tougher to execute. You don't need to intentionally add dirty smoke, but just burn a clean fire with wetter wood. You'll need a large coal bed, and bigger fire to do this. I start with a huge coal bed. I use a chimney full of lump, then add 4-6 splits. The temp will spike to 375-400, but once it comes down to my cooking temp, I add the food. This usually takes an hour from start to finish. Just keep adding spilts with plenty of airflow to keep the fire and coal bed healthy.

Next, I close the stack damper down about 2/3 to slow the airflow down, giving more smoke flavor. Your pit may vary on how far you need to close the stack damper. I cooked about 50 briskets in the last year, and settled on 2/3 closed.

Important to note, cooking like this on my 1975 creates a lot of radiant heat with the big fire on the right half of the cooking surface, so I only use the left half with these settings. The difference in smoke flavor is very noticeable though, so worth it.

Here are two YouTube shorts I made with how I start my fire and how it looks throughout a cook - a video summary of what I just explained above.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Q-I2qiRV1-I?si=pJRE9v8o3U8U8DED
https://youtube.com/shorts/2GLxGE_iNd0?si=JP92gOmihLHs5Bo1

 

[K.W.]

…
Anyway....any and all comments and suggestions GREATLY appreciated!!!
…
cayenne

:mrgreen: Search smoke scouts on YouTube and watch his videos. They are very helpful.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Man! That all looks Great!

 

[Big George's BBQ]

I would say your first Brisket was a success. You want clean not dirty smoke. Dirty smoke can give you a nasty taste

 

[cayenne]

When I first got my 1975 I struggled to get smoke flavor. I was using very dry hickory <10%, just like kiln dried wood, and running my pit with the stack wide open. Now I use white oak that's usually around 20% moisture in the center of the split. Moisture at that level will give your food much more smoke flavor. Moisture content is more important than the type of wood in my experience.

Burning wetter wood is tougher to execute. You don't need to intentionally add dirty smoke, but just burn a clean fire with wetter wood. You'll need a large coal bed, and bigger fire to do this. I start with a huge coal bed. I use a chimney full of lump, then add 4-6 splits. The temp will spike to 375-400, but once it comes down to my cooking temp, I add the food. This usually takes an hour from start to finish. Just keep adding spilts with plenty of airflow to keep the fire and coal bed healthy.

Next, I close the stack damper down about 2/3 to slow the airflow down, giving more smoke flavor. Your pit may vary on how far you need to close the stack damper. I cooked about 50 briskets in the last year, and settled on 2/3 closed.

Important to note, cooking like this on my 1975 creates a lot of radiant heat with the big fire on the right half of the cooking surface, so I only use the left half with these settings. The difference in smoke flavor is very noticeable though, so worth it.

Here are two YouTube shorts I made with how I start my fire and how it looks throughout a cook - a video summary of what I just explained above.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Q-I2qiRV1-I?si=pJRE9v8o3U8U8DED
https://youtube.com/shorts/2GLxGE_iNd0?si=JP92gOmihLHs5Bo1

OH thank you for the comments...I'll give this a try next run!!

And I'll check out the YouTube links here shortly.

Greatly appreciated!!

C

 

[cayenne]

But need more smoke flavor...

I would say your first Brisket was a success. You want clean not dirty smoke. Dirty smoke can give you a nasty taste

Well, thank you.

Like I'd mentioned, I cooked with really clean smoke...and I didn't get much smoke flavor IN my meat...not like I'm used to eating.

I'd seen some YT videos, where some folks, I think even Franklin were saying that doing a bit more "dirty" than clear blue....especially at the beginning is what they do to make sure they get enough smoke flavor into the meat...but not BAD dirty and not al through the cook so as to avoid that "acrid" taste you can get.

I'm thinking I need to experiment and find that happy balance....

That you for the reply!!

cayenne

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Looking forward to your reviews

 

[SweetHeatBBQnSC]

Glad to hear how much fun you are having with the new toy. Food and smoker look great.

 

[creek bottom]

YUM! Looks fantastic! I'd say you've got it dialed in!

 

[Vision]

I think hickory has a more intense flavor than Oak? (Thoughts out there?).

Absolutely. Hickory is strong with that signature "twang" smell to it. I think it's the king of bbq woods.

Oak has a medium bodied smokiness to it and I think it's one dimensional and kind of boring. I've always scratched my head as to why Texans and their ardent followers seem to take such pride in saying they're using post oak. Post Oak is white oak which often is used for fence posts. It's oak and nothing exciting IMO.

If you want less smokiness than hickory I'd recommend pecan over oak.

 

[cayenne]

Hickory for sure...

I think hickory has a more intense flavor than Oak? (Thoughts out there?).

Absolutely. Hickory is strong with that signature "twang" smell to it. I think it's the king of bbq woods.

Oak has a medium bodied smokiness to it and I think it's one dimensional and kind of boring. I've always scratched my head as to why Texans and their ardent followers seem to take such pride in saying they're using post oak. Post Oak is white oak which often is used for fence posts. It's oak and nothing exciting IMO.

If you want less smokiness than hickory I'd recommend pecan over oak.

Ok then it wasn't just me with the hickory thing....

I'm pretty much stuck with a cord (or so) of whatever oak we get in Louisiana...I had such a difficult time finding anyone that sold firewood down here I'm thankful for what I could get.

That being said...I DO want that more aggressive smoke flavor...hence my talk about maybe at the onset of my pit sessions, I'd try to "dirty" up my smoke a bit....

I love my first run and this new smoker is awesome...but I want to add a good bit more "Punch" to my finished product....to me a brisket going for 8-14+ hours should have a lot of smoke flavor.

And when I was young, growing up in TX (Greenville, Prairieville, etc)....I ate BBQ that I think was done with mesquite?

As that when I've done brisket WITH mesquite, it tasted like I remembered.

Oh well...I'm rambling now.

Thanks for your reply!!

C

 

[blackdogbbq21]

Before i had an offset i used a charcoal smoker with wood chunks. I recall thinking my food wasn't smokey enough when i first started using the offset. I think i was used to the smoke of smoldering wood chunks being more intense.



A little dirty smoke early in the cook will add smoke flavor. Make sure the wood you are using isn't kiln dried. Dense logs or logs with alot of bark early in the cook will help.

 

[Connor_Macleod]

Also, to "dirty up" your smoke a bit, you can press the new splits down into the coal bed a little when you add new splits. This reduces the amount of air in contact with the new splits, causing smokier combustion. I think Jirby's fire management video on youtube talks about this concept.

 

[Fsonicsmith]

So many different approaches. Dirty smoke to me means a tendency to creosote/off-flavors.
With my 94 gallon 48x24 direct flow Shirley I believe in a large coal bed and then just adding very judicious small pieces of wood every twenty five minutes or so, damper about half closed and fire box vent about half closed. The damper on the Shirley smoke stack is a paradox-it is not flat and does not lay flat atop the stack unless fully closed. It has a lip around the cap that slows down the output but does not choke it down very much. Bottom line-every smoker is different and you need to do your best to learn how your smoker cooks. The more you use it, the more you learn it. I have a fancy digital camera I rarely use. Every time I DO use it, I need to learn how to use it all over again. Avoid that at all costs with your smoker.
With mine, the top shelf is indispensable. It allows me to reposition my cook not only laterally but vertically. With a direct flow there is no such thing as even cooking all along the lower plane lateral to the smoke/heat/current collector. And yes, that end near the collector will be second-hottest, second only to a spot about one quarter of the way closest to the firebox, GENERALLY speaking.
The wood does matter. I agree it is not so much the type of wood as the moisture content, density, and size. I don't see how it is possible on a smaller direct flow (less than 250 gallon) to get a clean burn with large diameter splits. Split them down so that they burn more efficiently-more surface area for ignition. As to density, if a split feels like balsa wood it is worthless. It is going to burn hot, the spike will be short, and it adds nothing to the coal bed. You want to judge each piece of wood and stick (pun) to those with solidity and heft.

 

[Lahawk1]

I think hickory has a more intense flavor than Oak? (Thoughts out there?).

Absolutely. Hickory is strong with that signature "twang" smell to it. I think it's the king of bbq woods.

Oak has a medium bodied smokiness to it and I think it's one dimensional and kind of boring. I've always scratched my head as to why Texans and their ardent followers seem to take such pride in saying they're using post oak. Post Oak is white oak which often is used for fence posts. It's oak and nothing exciting IMO.

If you want less smokiness than hickory I'd recommend pecan over oak.

I hear this from people a lot. But my guess is they have never tasted meat smoked with actual Post Oak. There are lots of species of oak that look very similar to Post Oak but have a totally different smoke flavor. White Oak does not produce a flavor even close to true Post Oak. If you buy wood that is commercially sold (store bought) it has been kiln dried and will have very weak smoke flavor. Most of my friends that I have brought true Post Oak back from Texas beg me to bring them more.

 

[SkaterSmoker]

I went to Texas in January on a BBQ tour and the first thing I noticed is the smell of the smoke when outside the restaurants. It was strong campfire smell. I was like "my backyard doesn't smell like this when I'm cooking". I immediately ditched the dry wood I was using and got some local white oak that was 20-25% moisture in the middle of the splits, and now my backyard smells like it should, and the brisket I cook is just as smokey sweet tasting as those restaurants.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

For extra smoke take your brisket scraps (trimmings, silverskin, etc) and throw them directly into the bed of coals. This will cook off and give you a grilled flavor. When I'm cooking on my offset I aim for thin, blue smoke, but if there's a bit of white smoke here and there I don't mind. The brisket trimmings into the firebox really helps add that additional flavor punch.

Something else to consider is that when you've been tending the fire all day your palate tends to get overwhelmed by smoke. This leads to the pitmaster often not being able to taste smoke flavor on the meat...until they have leftovers the next day, and the smoke flavor comes through full force. I often do a long 6+ hour hold of the meat when I'm finished cooking it, and will change my clothes, shower, and take a nap. When I wake up my palate is usually refreshed, and the meat tastes quite smokey when I eat it for dinner.

Just some things to think about with an offset and how they're different from other smokers. Again, white smoke is just fine as long as it's still a thin white smoke, and there's not too much of it. But if your smoker is belching out thick, acrid white smoke, then that will be a problem. I'd suggest messing around with pork butts and dialing in your technique in terms of achieving a smokier flavor profile...much cheaper than experimenting on brisket.

Good luck moving forward and congrats on the new smoker. I've seen your posts for the last few months and I remember that anticipation / excitement when waiting on a new offset smoker.

 

[Vision]

I hear this from people a lot. But my guess is they have never tasted meat smoked with actual Post Oak. There are lots of species of oak that look very similar to Post Oak but have a totally different smoke flavor. White Oak does not produce a flavor even close to true Post Oak. If you buy wood that is commercially sold (store bought) it has been kiln dried and will have very weak smoke flavor. Most of my friends that I have brought true Post Oak back from Texas beg me to bring them more.

I'll keep an open mind but Post Oak is a species of White Oak. Just saying.