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First Brisket Timer....in Tulsa

noid1037
noid1037 Posts: 33
edited June 2012 in EggHead Forum

Read many of the posts for beef brisket and tonight I will be going down the road to cook up a packer that we picked up at Food Pyramid last night.  This morning I trimmed the 14 lb brisket and put on a simple rub.  I used the premise of Big Bad Beef Rub on the Amazing Rib website, put a few twists on the rub for personal flavor.  First rubbed olive oil on the meat and then the rub on both sides.  Right now the somewhere around 12 lb brisket is sitting in an aluminum covered pan in my keezer.  Sometime around 10 PM the egg will be brought to life along with the BBQ Guru Party Q and the Maverick smoker/meat thermometer.  The egg will be burning Cowboy brand lump along with cherry chunk soaked in red wine for several weeks..  The plater setter is ready, the lump is in place, the accessories are ready.... Time will tell whether it will be a success tomorrow or a horrible nightmare...

I believe I will spray the brisket periodically with apple juice after several hours of it sitting on the egg.  

I will keep the information coming and keep posting photos as it goes along tonight and tomorrow.  

Wish me luck and hope it does well!

BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

Tulsa, OK

Comments

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,170
    Sounds like you are ready to go-personally I would skip the apple juice spray as I have not seen a benefit from that exercise-but to each his own.  WRT wood chunks-I'm sure you have more than one soaking and disperse them throughout the lump.  Plenty of lump and since you have the electronic temp controller, this should be "a no-brainer".  Enjoy the journey and end results of this adventure.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    edited June 2012
    Countdown...10...9...8...7...6...5 We have ignition ...4...3....2....1     Liftoff !

    Godspeed, Noid1037 !
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • I'm with cap on this one. Skip the spray. Don't open the dome until its ready. The sweet stuff is more for competition teams. Not my deal but give it a rip if you want. no need if you do all the other stuff right.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Duganboy
    Duganboy Posts: 1,118
    Noid that is a great price on the hunk of beef.  I'm in KY and we pay a lot more than that for choice brisket. Agree with others about not spraying the apple juice.  Just let the smoke and the egg do their magic.  If you are like me, your first one will be awesome and then the next 10 will have you wanting to drown the damn things.
  • Noid that is a great price on the hunk of beef.  I'm in KY and we pay a lot more than that for choice brisket. Agree with others about not spraying the apple juice.  Just let the smoke and the egg do their magic.  If you are like me, your first one will be awesome and then the next 10 will have you wanting to drown the @#!*% things.
    so true. They are finicky little bastids.


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    You don't seem skeered. Spray it but open the daisy and spray from there dude.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33
    Well the fire is up and running... I have quite a bit of lump in the Egg and I cleaned out all the nooks and crannies....Also attached is a shot from earlier today with the fireplace going getting ready for a long night.  Next shots will be of the brisket, I will do that shortly...  also one of the Keezer.  Thanks to all for the comments and well wishing.  I figure it will be a good night of chilling and monitoring.  The electronics help with the process thats for sure... I also calibrated the dome thermometer with boiling water this afternoon so I figure I have all the technical work done.. Now its the artistry.

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33
    Okay here we go... an hour into the cook.  The meat has been placed on the Egg grate with the plate setter under the 12 pound brisket.  Then I put some Shiner Bock beer in the pan... unconventional but an interesting coolant.   The temp on the Egg was really good around 275 or so with the open cover at the starting of the Egg.  Then closed the egg and it cooled to around 240.  The platesetter had not been put on yet and was making sure the  overall temp was equalized.  I added the Apple chuck and kinda stirred the lump to incorporate the apple chuck.  this took the temp down as I added the platesetter, the aluminum pan, the grid and the brisket.  After an hour now the temp has risen and stabilized.     Right now the brisket is 86 and the smoking sensor is 243.  Will repost in another hour and follow... any questions?

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33

    An update.... sitting around drinking some Shiner Bock (Keg-real point) and loving that the Kings beat the Devils in game II and the Thunder tied up the series in the NBA Western.... lastly the brisket seems to be doing well.... if anyone has second thoughts let me know... heres some more pics.. The fireplace isnt really needed but nice ambiance for the egg and hopefully we can chill for a few more hours.... I will sleep but Im kinda stoked that the brisket is moving to "perfection" :)


    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33
    alright a few hours into the cook.. I took some time to chill.  Kids and wife were asleep.  So I decided to sit down next to the Egg and fireplace for a few moments.  Broke out a Cohiba that I do enjoy.  Temp is rising smoothly for the brisket and the internal temp is holing steady.   The BBQ Party-Q are about 10-15 degreess lower than the Maverick temps and 15-20 lower than the calibrated temp from the BGE temp sensor.   Will keep on top of this setup and continue to update.  Enough of the Cubans and beer, I want to make sure this Brisket kicks ASS!  Long ashes to all!

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33
    Quick question.... what temp should the brisket get to for follow up and ensure its fully cooked before its removed.   

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • GlennM
    GlennM Posts: 1,359
    He must of dozed off on the deck? No news for hours!
    In the bush just East of Cambridge,Ontario 
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,170
    Quick question.... what temp should the brisket get to for follow up and ensure its fully cooked before its removed.   
    Not to be a smart-a$$ but it is done when it is done and that is when a probe slides in and out of the thickest part of the flat like butter.  Generally in the 185-205*F range but each hunk is different. You can foil, towel and cooler (FTC) if finished eraly.  Don't slice til ready to eat as it dries out quickly-and slice against the grain.  Enjoy this journey-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33

    Had an issue about two hours ago.  I will explain my solution... what would be a better way next time?

    The Egg fire was not up to speed.  The temp dropped to about 160 degrees and I opened the egg up and had to stoke it, I used a MAPP torch to heat up and area.  Then reset all the parts to keep the cook going.  Currently the temp is all good at 225 on the remote sensor.  Meat temp is 158.  Should I pick up the temp some or keep it where its at?  

    Is there a right way to get the fire going?  There is plenty of lump in the egg but just didnt travel to the next piece during this long cook.

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,170

    Don't know when you plan to slice and eat but you are a long way from the finish-line unless your fire died just as the brisket was exiting the plateau.  The desired finish time will be the driver here.  You can crank up the temperature to around 300*F or so on the dome to punch it home or use the Texas crutch (google for more details) and foil it now while on the BGE but if you aren't eating til late in the day I would "stay the course".

    WRT-the fire restart-there is no right or wrong way to go there-as long as you are confident you have adequate fuel (lump) and air-flow (cleared grate holes and ash collection pit) then you are fine.  Not sure why the fire didn't travel but you are back in business.  Of course, the above are just my opinions and we all know what those are worth :)>-

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33
    Also just a few minutes ago, there was an important battery swap out on the BBQ Guru PartyQ.  The four AA batteries were not spinning the fan but the unit was still displaying the information, just wasnt really working.  All is going ok and back to "normal".

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33
    We plan on eating around 4 o clock CST.  Would be okay for now I guess.  I might bring the temp up some just to make up for some lost time on the cooling down.

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,170
    Could the loss of battery power have contributed to your loss of fire...I don't use the external controller so no experience there.  Just wondering-and with 7 hours til time to slice and eat you should be okay but you can always jack up the temp as you note-foil, towels and cooler (FTC) will hold that beast for many, many hours if you finish early.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33
    Sounds like a winner!  I am leaning to the BBQ Guru to the culprit of the lack of fire and heat in the Egg this morning... one of those things I thought about last night replacing and it jump up and bit me in the rump.  We are back on the road!

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33
    The cook continues.  Right now the brisket is at 194 degrees and doing well.  Egg is at 245-250 and coming into the stretch.  Getting all the other components of the good meal together and hope all is good.

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,170
    I'm sure it will be "all good".  If you have the inclination, make yourself a few notes about the cook so you can build on the experience next time-or grab another adult beverage and get ready for the eats or both:)
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33

    I wanted to end the thread on the cook that happened a few weekends ago.  It went Hugely successful.  This was my first brisket.  It was  just awesome.  I would put it up against many that I have had from many other places.  I was VERY surprised and since this day have tried another one---more on that.  The temp of the meat was consistently throughout the brisket from 203 to 200 degrees.  I turned the top of the meat with a fork and it was easy to twist...I wrapped the meat for about 90 minutes to 2 hours in AL foil/towel and then put in a cooler.  When I removed it and cut into the brisket the juices were FLOWING..... the meat was moist, very tender and wow no one was disappointed.   If I could do this burn again minus the BBQ Guru batteries having a failure I would do it in a heartbeat!   I would focus on buying a 14 lb brisket and from my world there will be no failure... Now comes the other side of the story.... to come in 3-2-1...


    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33

    This brisket was bought because the other ones in the store were 20 lbs and 40 lbs.... I didnt want to spend all weekend cooking a piece of meat....so my wife bought a 9+ lbs piece of brisket.  

    We had it sit for a week in the keezer and I bought a cryo pac of pork butt.  The pork butt/bone in were two pieces that averaged around 7 lbs.  I started all three piece of meat in the Large BGE, I didnt know who would wrap up first but thought the brisket would be first.  

    Started the fire and got it setup... on Sunday morning.  The Maverick temp probe was put in the largest of the pork butts.  

    The total cook time was from 8am to around 3pm.... I took the Brisket off first.  By the time the fat was trimmed off it was quite a bit lighter than the original 9 lbs.  

    I used a Dizzy Pig rub on the pork butt and a Plow Boys Bovine rub on the brisket.  

    I wasnt totally thrilled with the brisket but it was pretty moist and good flavor from the Acadian Oak, a little different than the apple I have done so religiously in all my other cooks.

    Thanks to all for all the well wishing and thoughts... seems like this process is down like clock work and now its time to have fun and do some different works. 


    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK

  • Rich_ie
    Rich_ie Posts: 268
    I see a brisket on my egg soon!  Nice job Noid looks tasty. 
  • noid1037
    noid1037 Posts: 33
    I was "warned" by a very seasoned BGE owner not to try the brisket that it was alot of work and would not a good reward at the end.... after doing two of them I hope I am not tempting the gods and the third one and all after will be be that much better... if someone is waiting to smoke a brisket... buy one on sale or heck throw caution to the wind but monitor the cook during the whole time... dont go to sleep and hope it stays on.  Make sure you know how to keep a fire going before you try one for a low and slow cook, thats my big advice.  Monitor the temp and keep the fire going.  If you do this all the other pieces will come together.  Dont be afraid, use my motto... "Cant means you havent tried".... I say that to my kids every single day!  If we lived this way we all would be much more successful.  

    BGE Large... Go get 'em! "Cant means you haven't tried."

    Tulsa, OK