My first wood/charcoal fire brisket = total failure :(

[TL Parnell]

Ok,

First of all, thanks to all of yall who posted nice things about my new smoker. It is nice to feel the love that makes the Texas BBQ Forum such a great place!

So...I spend all day Friday seasoning my new smoker with a couple of logs of peach wood and a whole bag of charcoal. I coated the insides with cooking oil and let her go. While doing so, I kept an eye on how the temperature goes up and down as the fuel burns and I try to get a good idea of when new wood/charcoal should be added and what not.

Saturday morning, I pick up a nice 8 lb choice grade brisket from Costco. It was the most "floppy" brisket I could find.

At home, I rubbed it down with a rub I had gotten at Rudy's. Afterwards I coated it with mustard and rubbed it again. I let it rest for a couple of hours while I go and start a fire.

I started the fire with a whole chimney of charcoal. I used cattleman brand charcoal. It was on sale at Home Depot and it claimed to have no fillers..etc. After the coals have burned down to ash, I put them in the firebox. I dropped a couple logs of peach wood, opened the firebox intake and stack as far as they would go and waited till the main chamber hit 250.

When chamber hit 250, I put in the brisket. I positioned it furthest away from the firebox with the thick part facing the fire. Closed the lid and monitored the main chamber temp.

Here is where I had problems. When I noticed that the temp had dropped to 220 or so, I would add another log and/or charcoal. The temp would stay down for about 15 minutes or so and then start jumping back up. There were a couple of times where the temp would go up to 275. I tried to close the intake of the firebox all the way, but the only way to lower the temp of the main chamber was to open the lid. Sometimes, I wouldn't catch the temp dropping until it was below 210 and at times the temp would drop to 190 before the fire brought it back up. I started close the stack to regulate heat when it dropped too low while a new fire was getting going. Anyway, I have never cooked with wood/charcoal for so long and fighting the temperature fluxes was very time consuming and a bit nerve racking.

After 6 hours, I turned the brisket around and continued to do the temperature dance. At this point, I put a thermometer in the thick part of the flat. The brisket measured around 160 at this point.

At the 10 hour mark, I was starting to run out of fuel. I was having trouble keeping the smoker above 220. I was worried that the smoke taste was going to be too strong, so I stopped using the wood and went with straight charcoal. At this point, the brisket was nearing 190.

After about 1/2 hour, the brisket temp started to drop. I read that this is typical of briskets entering the plateau stage, but I got a bit worried when the brisket dropped to near 170.

Fearing that I wouldnt have enough fuel, I wrapped the brisket in foil and put it in a 300 degree oven and cooked it until the internal temp reached 200.

After it hit 200, the time elapsed was only 11 hours. I pulled the brisket from the oven. I put it into a cooler and let it rest for a couple of hours.

The result was that the flat was rubbery and based on prior briskets that I have done, it looked like it was still undercooked. The rub that I used, Rudy's Rub, was too spicy and the pepper flavor was overwhelming. I will never use Rudy's Rub again. It had a nice pink smoke ring and the smoke flavor was not overwhelming (a fear of mine). The brisket had a nice crust, but then again, the Rub killed it.

So, here are the things I need to do next time:

- control temp better. Im hoping that this comes with experience, but it seems that I spent a lot of time trying to adjust the temp. Should I have soaked my logs before putting them in?

- foil after 160. I really wanted to be able to make the perfect brisket without foiling, but being my first brisket, I realize my expectations were a bit high. I have had success foiling before, so Ill probably go back to that.

- use my own rub blend. I guess I learned my lesson by trusting store bought rubs. Or perhaps use a better store bought rub.

- start earlier. Im thinking starting at 6am is better than starting at 1pm due to my sleep schedule.

Any other tips yall can share? Should I not concern myself with the internal temp of the brisket and worry more about how tender it is when I pull it? Any tips to taming my fire? Any good combinations for rubs? What else did I do wrong? Thanks!

Im trying again this weekend. Ill post pics as soon as I get them uploaded.

-ikiru

*enjoy the sauce*

I will tell you a few things that will help you if you will listen to me. !st thing, do not buy a trimmed brisket, they are too lean & will be dry as a powder house! GET THE FLOPPIEST ONE POSSIBLE & Season it with "FIESTA BRAND" brisket rub & let it marinate awhile.Get you some oak wood, pecan wood & some mesquite if it is available to you. Build you a good wood fire in the firebox, let it burn down to coals & then put your brisket on the pit as far away from the firebox as possible, just keep enough wood on it to keep the temp right, I cook my briskets at 275-300, FAT SIDE UP! NEVER SMOKE A PIECE OF MEAT LONGER THAN 3 HOURS!!!! After it has been smoking around 2 1/2-3 hours, put it in a roasting pan FAT SIDE UP & cover it until you can take the backside of a butcher knife & scrape the layer of fat & will slide off easily when ya put the backside of the blade to it, then it is done!!! Just maintain your heat to the 275-300 range & you'll be right proud of yourself if you follow my directions! If I can help ya anyway, lemme know. TLP