I agree. And don't misunderstand me...I like smoke flavor...I just don't like that to be the dominant taste that whacks you between the eyes...IMHO ribs especially can get too much smoke...I don't use the heavier smokes like hickory on my briskets because I don't wrap mine...I find that 12-18 hours in mesquite/oak is plenty of smoke and with the dry rub gives them a great smokey bark...
I cannot stand hickory and beef. I do the mesquite/oak as well. Sometimes pecan/oak. Even then with a brisket I usually only hit it with smoke for the first 4-5 hours and then finish it with just charcoal or a mix of oak and charcoal if I'm low on charcoal.
I don't use charcoal but my pit has an open firebox next to the closed firebox that has a steamer built in for adding steam to the firebox...I can shovel burned down coals into the pit firebox without adding a lot of smoke if I want to...
I think that B2B would agree that the smoke in the picture (the stack on the right) is what you want yours to look like.
That's correct. Thin free flowing white to light blue. Once you get a whiff of that thick yellow smoke you'll know its not right.
how in the can you guys keep a steady temp. of 225 for 12 to 18 hours?
is the heat source something other than the wood?
Nope, just wood. It helps to have a good pit...I have multiple dampers so I can "tune" my temperature almost down to +/- 5 degrees.....and worst case if I get too much fire I can flip the top of my firebox open and spill heat...
It also helps to have friends and lots of beer.
Flue control and a good pit. You can make good Q on any pit but the better the pit the better the temp control you have. For example my little 125 dollar job I keep on my patio is serviceable but I can't keep my temps below 250 because of the ty flue design.
You have to monitor your pit regularly or get one of those piggy back charcoal holders that automatically dumps coals at pre-determined times.
On an 18 hour smoke I usually add charcoal or wood every 3 hours. With good lump I don't have to add for 5-6 hours. I'd image with a super nice pit you could get away with every 7-8 hours if you build your fire correctly.
The more you smoke the more you get to know your pit and how it responds to time and flue position.
ok...but how often do you check the temp?
how often do you have to add wood?
aren't you constantly having to check?
we're talking 12 to 18 hours here.
I like cooking exactly at 210, so I am not playing with much fire...I never open the cook box lid till I think the meat should be ready but I'm messing with the smoke box at least once an hour...raking coals down, adding a piece of wood, etc.
we may have similar smoker/grill. mine is the small barrel shaped with the smaller attached firebox.
i bought the thing thinking i'm going to be the best bbq'er from across the pond. didn't happen. not much "fine tuning" can be done with this thing. constantly too hot or too cold. a major pain in the ass.
how accurate is your temp gauge? mine can be as much as 70 degrees off. that wouldn't be such a bad thing if it was consistently 70 degrees off. i have to put another gauge on the inside, which means i'm always opening the lid.
you must really trust that smoker.
I've done briskets in 7-8 hours at 250 or so, turned out pretty good. Still really juicy, cooked perfectly, nice crust, color on the inside. I don't have a charcoal setup, but a gas grill. I just make smoke packets with pecan/oak from the yard, and switch them out every 90 minutes or so. I know some consider it sacrilege to smoke with gas, but it turns out pretty damn good - it's also a badass grill and was given to me, so I'm not about to plunk down more cash on it. My extra money goes to fund my homebrewing =]
My pit has big dial thermometers that I can see from the house, but I can cook on pits without thermometers too. I have found that if I can hold my hand on the lid of the pit for 4 seconds before my hand gets uncomfortably hot that the temp is perfect.
I like my briskets about 10# which normally needs a pit cook time of 12-15 hours depending on the meat. I don't like to get up early unless I am hunting or fishing. What I normally like to do is cook brisket Saturday and serve on Sunday. I will start the fire Saturday morning and get the briskets on about 9am. I will check them about 9pm. I cook by temperature. If they are 195 internal I will pull them off then. If not, I will leave them on till they get to 195. Then, I pull them off and wrap them in a clean towel, and put them in an ice chest. I have a "brisket" chest that is just the size of a brisket and I can stack up to 4 of them in there if necessary. They spend the rest of the night in the brisket chest. Sunday morning I will fire the pit up again and wrap them in foil and put them in the warmer at about 150 for a couple of hours...then slice right before I serve them.
It'll work fine. Do this
Get a chimney starter from Academy. The good silver one not that black piece of crap at HEB. Stop using fluid.
Fill it up 3/4 of the way with charcoal. Don't light it. Then dump it in the hot box's lower grate. That's your starter bed.
Then fill up the chimney starter and light it. Once its good and rolling add the full load on top of the bed of charcoals.
Set your flue on the hot box to be set at about 1/2 way closed. Then open the damper all the way on the exhaust end of the smoker.
15 minutes later. Put the meat on and add about two handfuls of wood to your charcoals.
If you're way too hot close the hot box flue a little if you're only a little hot close your exhaust damper a little. If you are running lean open the flue a bit until you settle in.
Checking once an hour is pretty conceivable but once you get dialed every few hours is manageable. I add about two handfuls of charcoal and one handful of wood every 2-4 hours.
You don't need a ton of wood to get a good smoke going. Little at a time.
HEB carries relatively accurate digital thermometers. One probe rests on the grill grate next to the meat. One is inserted in the meat. They're pretty good when I've seen them used. No more than 15 or so degrees off.
You need to put in a good temp gauge. Doing it blind is fine but a good temp gauge makes life easier.
I have 2 thermometers on the cookbox
heavy pit=even temperature. Mine is built where the heat comes out of the firebox, across under some heavy steel pans (that slope to drains) for about 4 feet, then does a 180 and comes back across my meat to the stack at the other end...theres about 1000# of steel just in the cook box part of the pit...the lid alone weighs 150#. It takes an hour or two to get it up to temp but it's pretty easy to hold it there once I get it there...
thanks guys. you've given me the courage to attempt this wild animal called "brisket".
195 degrees in the center, huh? it won't be too dry?
the lid weighs 150 lbs?
that explains the weighted pulley system.
Rule of thumb is 50 minutes a pound and you add 15 minutes to the cook time every time you open the lid. If you are uncertain get you a remote probe digital meat thermometer...insert the probe in the meat and hang your thermometer outside the pit.
195 is prefect for brisket. 205 for pulled pork. Don't do what I did and panic when it stalls. It always seems to be a steady rise to 150 then hover for what seems like forever. Then it'll start to climb. I've had 12 pound briskets take as long as 22 hours. Just relax and go with it.
Make sure to let it rest for at least 30 minutes if not 45 before cutting away.
If you are concerned about the brisket drying out put a pan of water in your cookbox under the grate at the firebox end. Keep filling it with boiling water as needed. I have my cooker set up where I can add steam to the firebox.
this is great information.
I can't speak for "steam" but the pan of hot/boiling water in the bottom of the pit is a great idea. It increases the humidity. Moisture seeks dry air. Including the moisture in your meat. By upping the humidity or moisture content of the air surrounding the meat its less likely to seek dryer temperatures.
I admit I don't do it all the time (too lazy) but it does help.
all about the "smokin tex" imo
pork ribs at 225 for 3.5 hours, then 1.5 hours covered, maybe finish them for a few minutes on the grill to get the color just right.
slathered in an italian dressing/brown sugar/salt/pepper reduction
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