Regulating Temperature / Smoking Brisket

Hilewis13

I have smoked many a things on the BGE, but this is my first time smoking brisket.  I am having a hard time regulating the temperature down to 225.  after I got my fire ready and had the egg temp down to what i thought was 225, after i put the meat on it steadily climbed to 295.  My other problem is that my dual probe thermometer reads 295 and the thermometer on the BGE reads 195.  I thought there would only be a 25 degree difference.  i've had the brisket on for about 1 hour now, and the temperature is already up to 135.   I am beyond nervous that my brisket ain't gonna turn out like it is supposed to. any guidance on where i went wrong, and advice on doing this the right way next time? 

lousubcap

All instruments calibrated?? For me, 225*F on the dome is a crap-shoot.  Most BGE's have a stable sweet-spot in the 240-260*F range.  That said, every cook is a journey unto itself.  Don't know your desired finish time but you have a stall in front of you.
Given you have smoked with your BGE before, then whatever is on the cooking grid doesn't matter to the BGE.  It will respond as before.  Air-flow is air-flow and that's the temperature driver.  
BTW-welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  

dstearn

If you can stabalize the dome at 250 assuming you have calibrated your gauge, then you grate level should be around 225. Make sure that ramp up your temp slowly. Lower vent should only be open 1/4 inch.

Grregger

For long low and slows I make sure not to clean out the fire box beforehand but rather start with some leftover ash still in the egg to restrict air flow.

Theophan

Make sure that the dual probe temperature probe isn't in a "hot spot" like near one of the openings in the plate setter/"ConvEggtor" which could make it read unrealistically hot.  But maybe the dome thermometer has gotten out of calibration, and no kidding, it really is a lot hotter than it's reading.  When this cook is over and everything has cooled down, take that thermometer out and have it read the temp of boiling water, and in a glass packed with ice and a little water.  It ought to read pretty close to 212 and 32 (unless you're pretty far from sea level altitude).  If not, rotate it to adjust.

I agree that it often seems easier to cook at 260 or so, but I've been cooking ribs at around 200 several times recently and haven't had much trouble keeping the temp stabilized.  I've been amazed at how close to closed I've had to keep top and bottom vents.

One more thing: on a low and slow cook, I usually only light one place in the charcoal, whereas for a hot grill cook I light several places.  If you have several fires in the lump, that might make it harder to keep the temperature low.  One slightly hotter fire keeping it 200 might be easier than several smoldering/guttering fires.

gdenby

I used probe therms early on. Had the same sort of confusion. Early in low temperature cooks, the temperature is very uneven all over. The dome therm is in the "shadow" of the cold meat. Probes near the meat read maybe 50F colder than the dome, but probes a little closer to hot air coming up the sides read 60 - 70F higher.

Eventually, one learns to use the dome as a "rule of thumb."

As above, 225 is low, and hard to maintain. On top of that, when the brisket hits the stall temp, maybe 150+ internal, it will stay there for hours. If your dome temp is higher, the stall happens later, and is shorter. Above 325F, it doesn't even happen.

Brisket is notoriously difficult. There's a video out from Aaron Franklin, current master brisketeer, where he shows how to tell if the piece is of low quality because it was not cut and served quickly enough. The sweet spot is quite small.

VooDuuChild

Doing my first brisket right now.   When researching I read that you should completely clean out the egg, and when adding new coal to load it up good and in a pyramid shape.  Then just light at the top of it....letting it spread from there.  It can take a couple hours to really  all even out

jtcBoynton

Theophan said:

...  

But maybe the dome thermometer has gotten out of calibration, and no kidding, it really is a lot hotter than it's reading.  When this cook is over and everything has cooled down, take that thermometer out and have it read the temp of boiling water, and in a glass packed with ice and a little water.  It ought to read pretty close to 212 and 32 (unless you're pretty far from sea level altitude).  If not, rotate it to adjust.

....

Why wait until the cook is over to check the calibration?  Just lift the thermometer out (using gloves of course) and then do a calibration test.  The spring clip was never installed with the thermometer, right?  As many say, the spring clip should find its way to the trash before the thermometer is ever used on the egg. I think the clip is a holdover from the manufacturers making their thermometers for metal grills (where the clip is sometimes useful). If the clip is being used, you better wait until after the cook.

BIll-W221

What's wrong with having the spring clip on ?

Cookinbob

225 can be tough to hold. It is a very small fire, and once the ceramic is hot, it is slow to come down.  Close the vent to 1/16" and it will drop though. You will hit a stall around 170 or so. 

BTW, how big is the  brisket? Full packer or just a flat?  Makes a big difference!  

JRWhitee

I have never been able to hold 225, 250 is easy though.

jtcBoynton

BIll-W221 said:

What's wrong with having the spring clip on ?

It's not that it's so wrong, but not needed. Some people like to be able to rotate the thermometer so the target temp is straight up (for ease of seeing the setting from a distance).  There is some concern that rotating a thermometer with a clip in place could impact the calibration.  Some people like to cook pizza at high temps. It is easier to switch to a high temp thermometer if there is no clip in place.  Some people like to crank up the temp on occasion for a clean burn. Again easier to remove the thermometer to protect it if the clip is not in place.  I switch back and forth between using the bge thermometer and an iGrill2 temp probe. A clip would be in the way.  

Gravity will hold the thermometer in place. I can't think of any advantages to using the clip so it just seems unnecessary to me. 

BIll-W221

Interesting, thanks for the info