Just got my LBGE

MaskedMarvel

Stabilizing the Egg and adding the plate setter water and meat should NOT change anything. If it was truly stabilized the temp will slowly creep back up to your correct setting.

I never stabilize without the plate setter and water in there. Just to be sure.

My Egg with 1/2" vent and half a petal daisy wheel is a rock solid 225*. Set yours around there and get some rest. Without a Maverick or something to wake you up if there is a problem you aren't going to get any sleep without just having faith that the Egg will work this out for you. Heck. Even with a Maverick I still wake up lol.

IMHO the water helps circulate heat and smoke more evenly but won't affect how the dome thermo behaves.

nolaegghead

I'm happy to help.  Thanks tj

hondabbq

Down to 288. I hope it levels off soon.

hondabbq

I have a Maverick on order as well. I dont think I will do this again until I get it.

I am just nervous that i didnt choke it out. It is still pumping out heat and steam from the top, but it is cooling down outside. 

Just curious can you see any red when looking in your vent at the bottom?

 

Down to 275. Feeling better now. I slightly, and I mean slightly opened the daisy wheel just a a hair. If it holds in 10 minutes I am off to bed.

Tjcoley

If both top and bottom vents are still open somewhat - go to bed.  Check it in the morning.   20, 30, degrees variance won't make a lot of difference.  Make sure you report back (with pictures) of the result.  

MaskedMarvel

275* is too high for my taste. For a ten pounder you can easily go 25*+ lower and be better off. You just don't want the Egg below 195* lol.

What time are you serving on Saturday?


Yea. If it's dark out you usually see a glow in the ash chamber.

My first brisket was almost done blindly. No Maverick. No experience. The Egg took great care of me. My family frequently debate if that first one was the best we had.

hondabbq

MaskedMarvel said:

275* is too high for my taste. For a ten pounder you can easily go 25*+ lower and be better off. You just don't want the Egg below 195* lol. What time are you serving on Saturday? Yea. If it's dark out you usually see a glow in the ash chamber. My first brisket was almost done blindly. No Maverick. No experience. The Egg took great care of me. My family frequently debate if that first one was the best we had.

 

I am going in blind to this as well. I have only done chicken breasts yesterday for dinner.

nolaegghead

Cen-tex shoots for 275-ish temps for brisket.  That's totally within acceptable parameters.

hondabbq

Well looks like the panic is over. 10 minutes later and it went up 4 degrees so I kicked it back to what it was and then a hair lower as well. Hope that will knock it down to maybe 260 or so. The vent is almost closed and the daisy is practically closed. I can still see steam coming out of the daisy so it is still taking air.

 

Thank you to you all for the assistance tonight. I hope I do the forum proud. If you dont hear from me tomorrow morning Ill have an egg for sale.

MaskedMarvel

nolaegghead said:

Cen-tex shoots for 275-ish temps for brisket.  That's totally within acceptable parameters.

Just reassuring the guy that falling asleep and having it be lower wont hurt anything. My temps are lower.

nolaegghead

MaskedMarvel said:

Cen-tex shoots for 275-ish temps for brisket.  That's totally within acceptable parameters.

Just reassuring the guy that falling asleep and having it be lower wont hurt anything. My temps are lower.

That's cool, you're right.  200-300 is fine overnight.  He can adjust in the morning to hit a target time.

hondabbq

Well its 330 am set my clock just in case. Temp was down to 175. Opened it up and there ws only 2 ember. Relighting as we speak. This thing better be good.

hondabbq

630 am dog needed out so I figured why not check since I am dressed. It was holding at 280 from a few hours earlier. It was at 275 and I kicked it back a hair and it went up a few degrees. My vent is 1/4" and 1/4 daisy petal.  I dont know if I can get this thing any lower without snuffing it.

double

Stop chasing an exact temp... If it goes up or down 20 or so degrees it doesn't matter chasing a precise temp will drive you crazy.

henapple

My first over nighter was a "nightmare" but muddled through and after 20 hrs...had my best Boston butt ever. The guys on this forum will guide you. One thing I try to do is start a small section of lump and once it gets glowing I start closing or adjusting vents. It's easier to increase the temp than wait for it to come down. If it drops to 170 try a blow dryer to bring it back...doesn't take long. HH taught me to run it a little higher at night to avoid the dreaded drop. Get a maverick and learn it...it's great. Amazon...$60. Good luck, sure it'll be tasty.

One more. Try small cuts first so if you ruin your first one you're not out as much money and time.

hondabbq

So not having a Maverick or the like I decided at 12 noon i would take a temp. 12 noon for me was the 14 hour mark. ( Although I did have some issues overnight which may have affected the cook time.  The flat and the point were both at 180. The thermo slid into the point without effort of any kind. The flat had some resistance to it. I also did the fork test and it did not trun very easily as I would have thought. Having never tested meat that way I am unsure of how it should be or how much resistance ther should be. I will let it go for a few more hours to bring it up to the illustrious 195 ish area. I definitely need an external thermo.

hondabbq

Well just took the brisket off. I was so excited I forgot to take pics. Sorry boys and girls. The flat is now doing the FTC thing until 5pm when we eat. Just put the burnt ends back on with some sauce and back on the egg for 2 hours. I will take pics of it when we eat tonight..

 

lousubcap

@hondabbq-"The thermo slid into the point without effort of any kind. The flat had some resistance to it. I also did the fork test and it did not trun very easily as I would have thought."  Excellent call to let it run longer-the point will always "finish" first-lots of fat...Thus the reason the thickest part of the flat is the "doneness indicator".  I'm sure it will turn out great-

nolaegghead

Nice, looking forward to hearing about dinner!

hondabbq

Well heres the verdict.

 

Upon cutting the flat I had a nice smoke ring. Positive.

Bark was tasty and not too crunchy. Positive

Burnt ends were exellent. Positive.

Overall flavor was good. Not too smoky, good beef taste. Positive.

Flat was very dry on the side opposite the point. Negative.

My drip pan was dry when I opened it up to remove the brisket.  That might be paprt of the cause.

How much water do you put into your drip pan for a 14 hour cook?

I did watcha  video and a guy put 2 cans of beer into his. I put about the same, but when I was having issues with the temps last night I thought I had too much moisture and emptied most of it.

I will trim and save the meat for another application like maybe a shephers pie or beef pot pie.

Nothing ventured nothing gained. I did learn alot about my egg and the cooking techniques. By no means do I think I know it all after 1 long cook, but I do have a better perception of it.

I want to thank all of you who offered tips and advice during my crisis last night, and those just offering general advice. I am sure it wont be the last. LOL.

 

Looking forward to Jerk Chicken later this week.

 

nolaegghead

four outta five ain't bad.  Brisket is hard to do, everything needs to be near perfect to get the flat juicy (unless you "cheat") - that includes the quality of the meat, weight, temps, etc..  Looks like you jumped in two feet first and I think you'll be expanding your cooking skills in the near future.

R2Egg2Q

Nice job! Sounds a heck of a lot better than my 1st brisket cook.

lousubcap

@hondabbq-that's a winner in my book-as Nola says above-a challenging cook. For the "dry flat".  Chop it up and mix in with your favorite Q sauce and use in sammichs-will be about the best you have had and much better than sacrificing to a "pie".

hondabbq

nolaegghead said:

four outta five ain't bad.  Brisket is hard to do, everything needs to be near perfect to get the flat juicy (unless you "cheat") - that includes the quality of the meat, weight, temps, etc..  Looks like you jumped in two feet first and I think you'll be expanding your cooking skills in the near future.

What is this cheat you speak of???

henapple

R2Egg2Q said:

Nice job! Sounds a heck of a lot better than my 1st brisket cook.

Likewise. The learning curve takes some time...I'm still working through it. I've had some hits and some, put a s in front of the hits....but I'm enjoying it.

yellowdogbbq

Sounds like you did well on your first brisket.  It takes time to learn temp control on the egg but with a little practice you'll have it down in no time.  Ribs are a good cook to do in an afternoon (5 hour cook) and can help you learn low & slow temp control.  I like a dome temp of 275-300 because my egg will hold it forever and I don't have to worry about the fire going out.  When I was new at egging I always tried to hold a dome temp of 250 and had nothing but trouble keeping it there, just me.  I found out that a little higher temp was easier to hold and the food tastes the same, always great.  Have fun and remember to always take pics.