My first brisket, wish me luck

DonOtt · July 12, 2015, 06:37:31 AM

My son purchased a brisket from a local butcher and we split it in half. I have 1/4 of it going in the smoker today, about 4 pounds.

I made a rub following the most popular ingredients, applied and threw it in the fridge overnight. Up at 7 a.m. to get it out of the fridge to warm up and prepare things. They are calling for rain today so the smoker went under the umbrella. Pre-heated the smoker to 250 and set up the pucks for a 4 hour smoke. 1 hour of Mesquite, 1 hour of Apple and 2 hours of Pecan. Not sure of the combo but will keep my fingers crossed.

Brisket went in at 9 a.m. Temp dropped to 205 but back to 225 after about 15 minutes....not bad.

Will try to insert a couple of photos, if I can remember how to do it ;D

KyNola · July 12, 2015, 10:11:17 AM

Set up looks good. Noticed one thing. Your probe monitoring the tower temperature is not going to give you an accurate reading of the heat your brisket is being exposed to because the probe is positioned far above the rack where the brisket is cooking. I would suggest you bring it down to the rack where the brisket is located,(run it through the door) attach it under that rack but positioned where no juices from the meat can drip on it.

No offense nor disrespect intended. Just an observation.

Good luck with the brisket. It looks good.

DonOtt · July 12, 2015, 10:58:53 AM

No offense taken. We are all brothers and sisters of the smoke on here ;D

I'll have to use the information for the next smoke. IT of 183 last time I looked.

Ah, what the heck, I can go move it now. Will be an interesting experiment.

DonOtt · July 12, 2015, 04:42:52 PM

And we're done. Waited until IT hit 196 and took it out. Have to say, it was rather yummy :)

I was watching the IT carefully but got busy in the garage and missed 186 - 195. Looked up and it was at 196 so I ran in the house to get it out. Foiled and toweled and put it in the oven to rest.

Aschenbrenner · July 12, 2015, 06:09:52 PM

I'm new to the Bradley world and curious to know if there's a rough rule of thumb as to the decreasing temperature per rack as you get higher up in the chamber. I see where some creative smokers are installing a fan to better circulate the smoke and temperature!

Wildcat · July 13, 2015, 03:22:59 AM

Quote from: Aschenbrenner on July 12, 2015, 06:09:52 PM
I'm new to the Bradley world and curious to know if there's a rough rule of thumb as to the decreasing temperature per rack as you get higher up in the chamber. I see where some creative smokers are installing a fan to better circulate the smoke and temperature!

Negligible difference with empty cabinet. Big difference as the meat volume increases and even more so if meat is cold.

Smoker John · July 13, 2015, 10:17:44 AM

Brisket looks like it turned out great

piratey · July 13, 2015, 12:48:49 PM

I was smoking jerky yesterday, and had a probe hanging down among the jerky strips, slightly below them, and it was measuring about 15 degrees cooler than the probe that was above the jerky , below a rack of almonds that I was smoking at the same time. As the jerky warmed up over time, the difference between two probes got smaller and smaller, down to 5-8 degrees.