Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

First Brisket in the Egg

that_dude_Dave
that_dude_Dave Posts: 55
edited June 2013 in Beef
I've smoked briskets before, but this will be my first with the Egg, and the first time time starting one and letting go all night. I have a 10 pound brisket that I rubbed with a homemade blend of paprika, hot chili powder, sea salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, cayenne, and a hint of Vietnamese cinnamon. If you haven't tried Vietnamese cinnamon, do so, you'll never go back! (incidentally, Costco has a big container of it right now for like 3 bucks! but they call it Saigon Cinnamon)

So I cleaned the ash out of the egg, topped off the lump, and have some cherry chunks soaking. Yeah, cherry might not be the most traditional wood to use for brisket, but I like how it smokes and I like how it tastes. I'm hoping to get the Egg fired up here in the next hour and let it go all night around 240-250. Hopefully I've read enough here that I don't end up screwing the pooch. I'm going to try the FTC method when it comes off tomorrow around noon and let it sit until dinner time. 

image
St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

XL and MiniMax

Comments

  • BeerIAm
    BeerIAm Posts: 21
    Good luck Dude!  When I cooked overnight for the first time last weekend, I kept waking up to check on it!  I wasn't trying too, it just kept happening.
  • good luck. No need to soak wood btw. just throw it on dry and it will smolder just fine in the egg.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Thanks guys. My wife is skeptical, especially of the FTC method. She wants to be able to go out and do stuff tomorrow and thinks we'll be tethered to the house with this. 

    I have some dry cherry chunks also, should I just use those? 
    St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

    XL and MiniMax
  • Thanks guys. My wife is skeptical, especially of the FTC method. She wants to be able to go out and do stuff tomorrow and thinks we'll be tethered to the house with this. 

    I have some dry cherry chunks also, should I just use those? 

    nah-the soaked are fine. Does not hurt, just does not help either. I FTC'd a brisket for 7 hours this week and it was still hot when cracked.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • ah yes, this grasshopper still has much to learn :)

    St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

    XL and MiniMax
  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
    Dave, looking forward to seeing some pics later today of how this turned out.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
  • Well, I can tell you this much, it has turned out to be pretty much a disaster. I put it on last night at 11:30, and hung out until midnight getting the temp set just right at 248º. I went out at 5:30 this morning and it was cooking at nearly 450! So... I have no idea what happened, but the inside temp of the meat ranged from 208-214º and the outside it about as black and crispy as can be. Maybe there is something salvageable in there, I wrapped it in foil and towels and tossed it in the cooler where it can sit until lunch time I guess. This was an expensive cut, so if it's completely ruined I'm going to be more than disappointed. I got it at a local meat market instead of at Costco like I should have and ended up paying twice as much. :(
    St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

    XL and MiniMax
  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
    Sorry to hear that. Hopefully it will still work out.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
  • I really wish I knew what cause the spike in temperature. Maybe it was a bit too windy last night and it overfed the air supply? I expected there to be a temp change in 5 hours, but not up 200 freaking degrees. I guess what sucks the most right now is that I don't feel like I can trust it to hold a temperature and I'll have to babysit it the entire time I want to cook something slow and low.
    St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

    XL and MiniMax
  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
    I don't have one yet but you should consider getting a maverick or digiq to monitor and/or control your temps for the low and slows; especially for an overnighter. I'm sure others on here can add there thoughts on the merits of each of the many options.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
  • Yeah, my wife was talking about me getting one for Fathers Day, don't recall the brand but it had the remote thing and a couple other cool features. 
    St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

    XL and MiniMax
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162
    edited June 2013

    A key to success for me and the over-night cook; I start the fire at least two hours before putting the meat on and make sure it is stable temperature-wise for at least an hour (no change in the vents) before starting the cook.  That way I have confidence that things are solid once I check-out for the night.  I generally wake-up once during the night to check but if I did the prep work right all it is is a check.  The few times I rushed the above process, I had to do a couple of mid-course corrections.  FWIW-YMMV.   

    With regard to the brisket-based on your temps I'm betting there will be a good amount that is better than salvageable. 

    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.
  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,951
    edited June 2013
    I agree with cap. They are supposed to look like meteorites when they come off and 208-214 is not the end of the world for temps. My guess is that it will be fall apart tender (little overdone) but still very flavorful. Go get some cheap white hamburger buns and your favorite sauce and get ready for some great chopped beef sammies. If it falls apart when you slice it, chop it up with a little sauce and eat. I think you might be better off than you think. 450 is hot, no doubt, but you did save it right in the nick of time. The rest in the cooler will help settle it all down. Might be OK here.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • ...Go get some cheap white hamburger buns and your favorite sauce and get ready for some great chopped beef sammies. If it falls apart when you slice it, chop it up with a little sauce and eat....
    I took this advice last week as part of my Flat was pretty dry; made up my own sauce and chopped her up - GREAT sandwiches!
  • The bark (and I need to use that term very loosely here since it was more like petrified bark) wasn't very thick, and it looked like it should be easy enough cut off for the most part. I'll take a pic of the black mess when I get it out of the cooler later, I was in a hurry to get it wrapped up this morning. I'm sure there will be a decent amount of good meat under the burnt husk, it felt very tender when the thermometer was going in and it was still pretty juicy. I might be able to get 4-5 pounds of good stuff out of there. 
    St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

    XL and MiniMax
  • just wait and see what it looks like once out of the cooler. That has a way of softening up the bark. Mine can look like pure carbon when i take them off but they really even out during the rest. It may look black and burned but that's where all the flavor is. Under that, it's just a roast. Try to salvage any that you can to mix in with the chop if you decide to go that route. Lots of people cook brisket hot. 450 is really hot but places down here do them at 400+ and cook them in 4 hours. it may not be as bad as you think.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    I've done a few that hot on accident. They turned out great.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • Well this is an embarrassing pic here... no real redeeming qualities to speak of with this brisket. I was able to get the center of it out, mostly shreds, gonna have to drown it in sauce and make some sammies... Learned a couple things, the most important one is to NOT buy a 60 dollar brisket at my local meat market and instead go for a bigger one for 25 bucks at Costco
    image
    image
    St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

    XL and MiniMax
  • there is no real flavor to the shreds, either, I could have gotten the same results from some crock pot
    St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

    XL and MiniMax
  • yep- it's just a roast under the bark. Sorry man.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • danv23
    danv23 Posts: 953
    Don't quit.  If you ever have any questions let me know.

    The DudeThis is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. And, uh, lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder's head. Luckily I'm adhering to a pretty strict, uh, drug regimen to keep my mind, you know, limber.

    Walter SobchakNihilists! *uck me. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos. 

    Cumming, GA

    Eggs - XL, L, Small

    Gasser - Weber Summit 6 Burner

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162
    Dnag-sorry 'bout that.  But time to get back on the horse-see above about stable-you can get there without any controllers if you choose.
    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.
  • hapster
    hapster Posts: 7,503
    We've all been there... and I'm sure there is more flavor there than you are giving yourself credit for, we are all our own worst critics.

    That being said... don't be afraid to try another one. Maybe start it early in the morning when you can stay with it to see how the temps run.

    For this one, I'd freeze some and save it for some stew, chili, or as pizza topper
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    Cen Tex and I know where to get a few briskets if you need another one.  :ar!
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • Louscap- "A key to success for me and the over-night cook; I start the fire at least two hours before putting the meat on and make sure it is stable temperature-wise for at least an hour (no change in" I'm going to try. This on my next overnight cook. Any suggestion on wood or lump divisions? Seems like I'd need to add somewhere down the line unless it's stacked correctly. Thoughts?
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162

    No need to add wood during a cook depending on BGE size.  I have run 22+ hours on a single load with plenty of left-over lump.  What follows is a great link for getting a long run on a BGE- (may be a bit excessive but the concepts always work):

    http://www.nakedwhiz.com/elder.htm  the main site is a wealth of info as well.

     

    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.
  • I'm gonna try again this weekend, you know what they say about getting back up on the disgusting burned pice of ****... wait, that's not right.... anyway, hopefully this time it goes better
    St. Louis Barbeque Society certified competition judge

    XL and MiniMax
  • Terrebandit
    Terrebandit Posts: 1,750
    It would seem better to err on the side of a low temp than a high temp? After seeing this, I'd probably neck things down pretty good before hitting the rack, even if there would be a chance of losing fire. At least I might sleep better. The cook would take longer, of course. I did a butt for 14 hours during the day, and I had to fiddle with the vents every couple of hours or so to keep it around 250.
    Dave - Austin, TX