After the long cook....

Nu-Guy

Did my first brisket last weekend. About a 18 hour cook. Indirect at 220 to 250 degree. It came out wonderfull and surprised a number of skeptics. Like to thank all on the forum here who shared their knowledge...NB, Tim, Dr.Chicken. I did have a question though. When cleaning up Mr. Egg, I noticed that the 6 chunks of hickory that I used for smoke were not completely consumed during the cook? Is that normal? The chunks were placed directly on top of the fire at the start of the cook.
Thanks!

Dr. Chicken

Nu-Guy,
I think that's normal. I usually do an overkill on the "smoke" source. My wife will jump my case quicker if it does not have "a good" smoke flavor than if it has too much, so I pile the wood on. I either leave the half burnt pieces for fuel next time or if its really in good shape, save it for generating smoke the next time. I really had to chuckle over the Memorial Day weekend! My brother and his wife were visiting and I cooked 1.25" thick pork chops the first night. My wife complained about the lack of smoke, and my brother complained about too much smoke! See, different strokes fer different folks! There was wood chunks left over then too.[p]Nope, you didn't do nuthin' wrong! Jest the way the wood burns! I think der's a soap opera named dat! No, no! It's "Just As The World Turns"! Dern! I thought fer a minute the world wuz takin' notice of us Q'ers![p]Congratulations on the brisket results! It sure makes a believer out of you, doesn't it?[p]Dr. Chicken

sprinter

Nu-Guy,[p]I usually have some left over after a long cook also but I've never been accused of skimping on the smoke. I lay it on pretty think when I'm cooking. I got a tip one time to bury some of the chunks or chips in the lump so you get some smoke during the latter part of the cook as well. Dont bury it too deep as when the meat is too hot it doesnt absorb any more smoke anyway. But, a third of the way into the lump pile should add some flavor. Just a FWIW, take it out, burn it with the next fire, doesnt make much difference. Congrats on the brisket, sounds like it was a success.[p]Troy

Nature Boy

Nu-Guy,
No turnin' back now! Now you know what magic can be done to the toughest cut of meat there is. Congrats on the success.[p]I usually do most of my smoking with a couple chunks at the beginning of the cook. I usually bury one good sized chunk right deep in the fire, and put some lump on top. Then I put one or two more a few inches deep, but only a couple inches away from the current small fire. They are usually all gone. Starting the meat before you get up to cooking temps, and slowly bringing the temps up while you have good smoke, seems to give plenty of smoke flavor (though maybe not enough for Sprinter and Dr. C!!).[p]Cheers
NB

sprinter

Nature Boy,[p]Yeah NB, when I saw him say that he had 6 chunks of wood on the fire, my heart warmed up to him immediately. If his definition of chunk and my definition of chunk are the same Nu-Guy and I are going to get along just fine. Love that smoke flavor. I tell you what, I've fallen in love with cherry lately, haven't found anything that it doesnt go well with. Yummy.[p]Troy

Nu-Guy

sprinter,
Oh, I like the smoke ya. That cherry sounds sweet. Thanks for the tip.

Nu-Guy

Dr. Chicken,
I was a little nervous at first, but when Mr. Big held the temp all night long I had an inklin that good eating was in store. The brisket was a stubborn one, staying at 164 until about 15 hours into the cook. Mr. Big finally won out and I pulled it off at 190 degree. Yummy.

Nu-Guy

Nature Boy,
When doing a long haul like that I can see why these folks have got a second egg so life can continue while the long cook takes place :-)

Nature Boy

Nu-Guy,
I use my small egg much more often than I figured I would. A great accompaniment for Mr. Big. The 200 bucks I spent is long forgotten (go out to dinner a few times....200 bucks).[p]Hesitate not. Adopt now.
NB