Happy New Year from MN. Smoking 10 lbs of brisket as we speak and holding steady at about 205 in -10 degrees. Was holding at 220 at -5 before I put the meat in. Set at 240, but I'll actually pretty happy considering the ambient temp.
Happy New Year to you too jaegertc. That is a mite nippy and I too would be happy with that temp. Don't forget to post a picture of the finished product. We like to drool here.
Welcome jaegertc!
Temp fell to -17 overnight and the DBS is struggling to maintain temp. May have to finish off in the oven.
Welcome, good to see Minnesota representing so well lately. I also struggled with the temps considering the weather this weekend and I wasn't smoking during the worst of it like you are.
Brrrrrrrr.....
I'm the type of guy who likes to start and finish in the smoker.
But if the Bradley won't cut the cheese maybe wrap with some blankets.
Sitting in a nice warm house smelling smoke all day also sounds good! ;D
Quote from: TTNuge on January 02, 2010, 07:06:06 AM
Welcome, good to see Minnesota representing so well lately. I also struggled with the temps considering the weather this weekend and I wasn't smoking during the worst of it like you are.
Yeah, I saw your post the other day. I took the the meat out and have it in my oven @ 235. As soon as I closed the vent (after removing the thermometer probe), and a little sunlight hit the smoker, the temp shot from 170 to 220, and climbing. Go figure.
Hi jaegertc and welcome. Happy New Year.
Can't wait to see the finished product.
Welcome jaegertc - hope that brisket comes out smokin' good.
Perfect thread! Just bought my first smoker. A Bradley BT1S1 (got for a great price at Cabela's for all those interested, $279!!)
I too am in Minnesota (what part of MN are you from?) and was just going to ask about how cold is too cold to use my smoker...Yet come to think of it, I have an unfinished basement that has a bathroom fan already vent already ran outside, should work pretty good to vent the smoke out. Might try it just for seasoning the smoker since it doesn't need to run for too long.
Quote from: Sweet35th on January 02, 2010, 04:47:14 PM
Perfect thread! Just bought my first smoker. A Bradley BT1S1 (got for a great price at Cabela's for all those interested, $279!!)
I too am in Minnesota (what part of MN are you from?) and was just going to ask about how cold is too cold to use my smoker...Yet come to think of it, I have an unfinished basement that has a bathroom fan already vent already ran outside, should work pretty good to vent the smoke out. Might try it just for seasoning the smoker since it doesn't need to run for too long.
Sounds like a good plan You just might have to raise the smoker up near it but heck I'd it even withstand the yelling if it didn't work just to see if it did. ;D ;D ;D
If you do an overnight like I did, I think you will want to keep the vent closed and pick a target temp well above your "target" temp, if you know what I mean. And us a remote thermometer with an alarm.
Also, I started preheating using the main element and smoker element about two and a half hours before I put any meat on and had the water in a 9x13 tray heated up.
Quote from: jaegertc on January 02, 2010, 10:40:18 PM
If you do an overnight like I did, I think you will want to keep the vent closed and pick a target temp well above your "target" temp, if you know what I mean. And us a remote thermometer with an alarm.
Also, I started preheating using the main element and smoker element about two and a half hours before I put any meat on and had the water in a 9x13 tray heated up.
Negative. You never want to smoke or even cook with the vent closed. That moisture and smoke have to get out or you have problems. If you are smoking and close the vent you will back the smoke up into the SG and plug it with gummy, sticky muck and you will get a mucky juice running down all inside the tower getting on the heat element and burning it out or causing a fire and you will get the gooey juice running out into the slider control for the temp and screwing that up also. If you are past the smoking stage and are just cooking and you close the vent the moisture won't be able to get out and you will end up with the same result. Keep the vent open at all times when in use. The only time the vent should be closed is when not in use.
Edit: I forgot to mention that you will also get a black rain inside the tower that will ruin your food.
Quote from: Quarlow on January 03, 2010, 01:43:21 AM
Quote from: jaegertc on January 02, 2010, 10:40:18 PM
If you do an overnight like I did, I think you will want to keep the vent closed and pick a target temp well above your "target" temp, if you know what I mean. And us a remote thermometer with an alarm.
Also, I started preheating using the main element and smoker element about two and a half hours before I put any meat on and had the water in a 9x13 tray heated up.
Negative. You never want to smoke or even cook with the vent closed. That moisture and smoke have to get out or you have problems. If you are smoking and close the vent you will back the smoke up into the SG and plug it with gummy, sticky muck and you will get a mucky juice running down all inside the tower getting on the heat element and burning it out or causing a fire and you will get the gooey juice running out into the slider control for the temp and screwing that up also. If you are past the smoking stage and are just cooking and you close the vent the moisture won't be able to get out and you will end up with the same result. Keep the vent open at all times when in use. The only time the vent should be closed is when not in use.
Edit: I forgot to mention that you will also get a black rain inside the tower that will ruin your food.
Silly Canadians, always making sense... ;D
;D ;D
Wow cousin Q, it's nice to see you have a mild opinion on this ;D ;D
;D ;D Just trying to help but you know us Canadians, we don't get to excited about much. :D :D
Just reporting results. It was very cold the night/day I did my brisket and had some issues keeping temp above 200 in the early a.m. I mostly kept the vent nearly closed, although not all the way because of the temp probes running through the vent. I did have some condensation, although I'm sure not nearly as much on a dry,cold day as a humid, summer day.
I have pics, but have not uploaded to a web-based server yet (wish we could upload directly from our computers).
I got a very nice, dark bark and the flavor was great. I used Ray Lampe's recipe this time. My only issue is that it could have been a little more moist, but that could have been the result of the fact that I did not serve it for alittle more than 24 hours after the brisket came out of the smoker.
By the way, another great toy I picked up was a Gander Mountain meat slicer - nice, even slices and fast. Felt like I was behind the deli counter.
ja congrats on a finish smoke.
Closing the vent will actually lower the cab temp and build up condensation.
If you are not going to serve your brisket up for awhile, don't pre slice it.
Glad it worked out for you.
Quote from: classicrockgriller on January 04, 2010, 10:17:33 PM
ja congrats on a finish smoke.
Closing the vent will actually lower the cab temp and build up condensation.
If you are not going to serve your brisket up for awhile, don't pre slice it.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts (even the strongly expressed ones). It's finally warming up here in MN, so I'm hoping to generate some better temps from the Bradley this weekend (I'm thinking about brining and smoking a turkey). classicrockgriller, I did not slice until the day after I smoked the brisket (still have a third of it frozen in the freezer). Here are some pics of the brisket:
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_rj18K97DI80/S0ar8z5WccI/AAAAAAAAACE/Xvz4BxSJVpc/s400/2010-01-02%2019.27.14.jpg) (http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rj18K97DI80/S0ar1D28XxI/AAAAAAAAAB8/36Bo8z2cnn8/s400/2010-01-02%2019.27.27.jpg)
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_rj18K97DI80/S0asJu-QffI/AAAAAAAAACU/fJtjcZRXSSI/s400/2010-01-02%2019.27.44.jpg) (http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rj18K97DI80/S0as5t5i3xI/AAAAAAAAACk/rqPmQLTMByI/s400/2010-01-03%2018.35.50.jpg)
Nice work of Art!
Nice Bark.
Congrats!