Smoking Barbrcue Thread

I made a pastrami last week. It turned out pretty good.

I need to rethink my binder for my rub. After pulling it in and out of the fridge over a few days, the rub was pretty much gone.

I confess, I sous vide the brisket for 30 hours before smoking to keep it from getting too dry. Pastrami doesn't need that deep smoke.
 
Brisket I smoked yesterday. New pit, still learning it. Temp got hot, around 350° an hour or so in. Hit the stall early at 5 hours. Internal temp hit 200° at 10 hours. 12 pound brisket. Had planned 12-14 hours if I could have kept the temp correct.

Still was tasty and pretty tender. Ended up resting 14 hours. Longer than planned. Had people coming at noon today, so I had to wait to slice it up. Not bad after that long of a rest in my warming drawer at about 140°. 8-12 hour rest will turn out a really good brisket.

IMG_8738.JPG
 
I watched some guy test temperature jumps and stability. The most effective way he said was to close the outflow on the chimney.

With the heat rising, a semi closed fire box just gets the air pulled in quicker.

I had always done a little bit of both, but he had the app that showed temps over the whole smoke each time.
 
X Misn Tx said:
I watched some guy test temperature jumps and stability. The most effective way he said was to close the outflow on the chimney.

With the heat rising, a semi closed fire box just gets the air pulled in quicker.

I had always done a little bit of both, but he had the app that showed temps over the whole smoke each time.
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Interesting. Most people on the barbecue forums. etc., say that, unless the wind is so crazy that your fire is out of control, you should leave the exhaust full open at all times. Control the fire through the firebox damper and/or door. Mine has no side door on the firebox. It does have a nice feature on the bottom, an ash dump. So, I can control airflow through the side damper and that ash dump.

I had more success with that later in the cook. The reason, by the way, to leave the exhaust full open is to have the maximum convection in the cook chamber which will also promote cleaner burning wood. Cutting off the exhaust tends to lead to smoldering wood and rancid smoke.
 
I know. That is what everyone says.

I'll try to find the video. He measured his temp the entire cook every time. Showed the results
 
horninchicago said:
Brisket I smoked yesterday. New pit, still learning it. Temp got hot, around 350° an hour or so in. Hit the stall early at 5 hours. Internal temp hit 200° at 10 hours. 12 pound brisket. Had planned 12-14 hours if I could have kept the temp correct.

Still was tasty and pretty tender. Ended up resting 14 hours. Longer than planned. Had people coming at noon today, so I had to wait to slice it up. Not bad after that long of a rest in my warming drawer at about 140°. 8-12 hour rest will turn out a really good brisket.

IMG_8738.JPG
Click to expand...
Where is...oh wait...I do see a feint hint of a smoke ring in there ;)

Best thing about smoking different meats is that even the failures still tend to be pretty damned tasty.
 
mb227 said:
Where is...oh wait...I do see a feint hint of a smoke ring in there ;)

Best thing about smoking different meats is that even the failures still tend to be pretty damned tasty.
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Wasn't a failure, I would say, just not as I had planned. And keep my smoke ring out of this lol.
 
At it again. 12 lb brisket. Had 2 additional tuning plates made. So far, rock steady temps across the pit and easier to hold 250°-275°.

Man, it is a real pain in the *** to downsize pics on this site to 2 mb. :whiteflag:

IMG_8787.JPG


IMG_8789.JPG
 
I’m cheating
Got a Traegor
But damn it works great
So far I’ve done beef ribs and pulled pork, DEEE-Lish!
Got 1st of 3 tri tip roasts on now
Trying Salt Lick vs John Henry vs my own rub
 
My tri tips were great when hot off the grill but tend to dry out within an 1-1/2 hours even when wrapped in foil. Still tender and tasty, just not as juicy. Kinda like my ex wife
 
KillerHorn said:
I’m cheating
Got a Traegor
But damn it works great
So far I’ve done beef ribs and pulled pork, DEEE-Lish!
Got 1st of 3 tri tip roasts on now
Trying Salt Lick vs John Henry vs my own rub
Click to expand...

how does the ring compare?

i use a wood chip masterbilt for my salmon and pastrami. the ring is not as pretty and thick on briskets for me.
 
X Misn Tx said:
how does the ring compare?

i use a wood chip masterbilt for my salmon and pastrami. the ring is not as pretty and thick on briskets for me.
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I have req teq bull and bullseye pellet smokers/grills to use when I'm feeling lazy. In my opinion they dont do the same job as my offset smoker in developing the flavor and bark. However, it works perfectly when I don't want to stay up all night tending a fire. I put my meat on at about 10p then wake up and wrap at 5-6am.

If I'm smoking for my family I usually use the bullseye. If its a gathering of friends I always use the stick burner.
 
Morning. Back at it. Prime brisket. Oh, finally figured out what Dion meant many months ago on sizing down pics.

IMG_8841.JPG
 
Vol Horn 4 Life said:
I have req teq bull and bullseye pellet smokers/grills to use when I'm feeling lazy. In my opinion they dont do the same job as my offset smoker in developing the flavor and bark. However, it works perfectly when I don't want to stay up all night tending a fire. I put my meat on at about 10p then wake up and wrap at 5-6am.

If I'm smoking for my family I usually use the bullseye. If its a gathering of friends I always use the stick burner.
Click to expand...

yeah that's about right.

by the way, those traeger smokers are high quality cheaters. they have a few that i would love to have.
 
horninchicago said:
I think a smoke ring being an indicator of quality barbecue is a myth.
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it definitely affects flavor (not overall quality). my dad makes one of my three favorite briskets. and i can always tell a flavor difference compared to his ring. but he's a fantastic smoker, so I notice his more than most.
 
X Misn Tx said:
it definitely affects flavor (not overall quality). my dad makes one of my three favorite briskets. and i can always tell a flavor difference compared to his ring. but he's a fantastic smoker, so I notice his more than most.
Click to expand...
I may be wrong, but I think the cleaner the smoke, the less of a ring you may see. You will still have a very good smoke flavor, however.
 
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