First Brisket Smoke In Progress

I picked up a 4.97 lb. flat beef brisk this afternoon. Being my first brisk, I didn't go to crazy, so I put some kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder for a rub.

I used the minion method of starting up the smoker. I put about 35 Royal Oak briquettes in the chimney, and started it up. I laid out a bunch of briquettes in the basket, and placed 4 chunks of cherry wood in the midst of them.

Once the coals were lit, I spread them amongst the unlit ones, poured boiling water in the water pan, and threw the brisk on.


Currently, the temps are hovering around 120, which is making me a bit nervous. Although, I need to remember slow and steady.

I started with the fat side down for about 1 hour and then turned it over.

I'm shooting for a smoker temp of 220-250.

*******UPDATED AS OF 5:26pm EST****************

For some reason this site was down, so I couldn't keep updating this.

As of right now, things are looking good. The smoker didn't get above 160 with water in the pan, so I poured it out, and foiled it and now it's running steady between 200-250. For some reason, I've never been able to run this thing with water in the pan. I've been spraying an EVOO & Apple Cider mix on the brisket every hour, to keep it moist.

I've gotten the brisket to 170 and I just foiled it completely and I'm waiting for it to hit 195.

I'll keep updating.

-Chris



I'll have pics once it's all done.

Well what did it taste like Brother

It's still smoking. The smoker started to drop in temperature, so added some more briquettes. Currently, the smoker is at 170, and the brisket is at 178. I've got ways to go. I should see a spike in temps as it's smoking pretty good now. Before I added briquettes, there was very little smoke.

Hey Burbs,

I'm still puzzled as to why your smoker runs very low with water. Do you have pics of your setup?

What are you looking for specifically?

Maybe something not completely as it should be. It happens when first putting the unit together. It could also be the spot where you have it sitting on. Do you start with boiling water in your water pan?

Happy Thanksgiving!

jenks_24 wrote:Maybe something not completely as it should be. It happens when first putting the unit together. It could also be the spot where you have it sitting on. Do you start with boiling water in your water pan?

Happy Thanksgiving!

What I did was, I got the chimney going, poured it on the coals, and assembled the stacker with the boiling water in the pan. That was my big mistake! Now today, I'm smoking baby back ribs, and I used the minion method, and after I poured the lit coals in the basket of unlit coals, I let them warm up for about 20-25 minutes, then I assembled the stacker and let that get up to temp. I didn't use water, instead, I foiled the water pan, kinda like you foil potato salad. I didn't push the foil inside, I had the foil go across the top. I've seemed to have maintained temps very well today.

Live learn I guess!

Chris