Another Newbie - First Brisket

DAP

Hey All,
I have been cooking a 7lb brisket since about 11:00p @ 250 degrees. About ten 9-10 hours into the cook the egg started to loose temperature. I decided to pull the brisket and add more lump charcoal. There was still charcoal in the fire box, but it seemed like the fire had burned just the middle of the charcoal rather than buring all the charcoal evenly throughout the box. Once I stirred the charcoal, the fire stoked up again. Is there a method to load the firebox for long cooks so that you don't have to stir the charcoal during the cook? I hope I didn't ruin my brisket by pulling it out for 15 minutes while waiting for the fire to stoke up.

Any ideas or suggestions you all have to help me avoid this in the future is appreciated!!

I'm heading out for a few hours. Hopefully I have the fire undercontrol :ohmy:

BBQMaven

use a wiggle stick...
go to the search above this post and type in wiggle stick or wiggle rod

Billy Grill Eggster

Welcome, wiggle stick (coat hanger with leg about 3" long stuck up through the lower vent in several places) and START your fire in several spots with a full load of charcoal. Full load means half way up the fire ring or more. Not just the lower fire box.

Meat should be fine with only brief trip off the heat.

FearlessGrill

Hi,

The easy answer to your question is to light your fire in a few places (I usually do 4), and allow it to spread a bit before shutting down your vents to get your temp to 250 or whatever low temp you are using for a long cook. This prevents the sort of straight down burn you describe.

In terms of building your fire, before doing any long cook, take the insides out of your Egg and thoroughly clean out all the ash that has accumulated under the firebox. Refill the firebox with fresh lump, starting with a couple of layers with the largest pieces you have. This allows clear airflow through the holes around the bottom of the firebox, helping to keep your temp stable. Then, fill the rest of the firebox and halfway up the fire ring with additional lump.

Check out the description of how to build a fire here for more info. http://www.nakedwhiz.com/elder.htm#fire

Hope this helps,

-John

Unknown

Next time try lighting your fire in more than one spot.

DAP

Thanks Guys. I appreciate the tips. Sounds like a wiggle stick or hanger will do the trick. So, I make sure I understand, you don't open the egg and stir the coals with the wiggle stick from the top, rather you stick it up through the vent and through the coal grate. Thanks again.