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Burnt my brisket - what happened?

This is not my first time, I have done this successfully in the past.

Put the brisket on at 7:30PM, dome temp at 222 - 235, drip pan with water underneath. Checked at 2AM, things looked OK, but I moved the brisket slightly. Woke up at 7:15AM, dome temp now at 400!, water evaporated, most of brisket overdone.

I can't figure out why there was that spike in temp. I had wood chucks along the sides of the egg, on top of the coals. I used about the same amount of wood, but in the past i have not put it all on the sides.

Any ideas?

Comments

  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490

    IMO that is part of the downside of a water pan. If the water evaporates, you have a big spike in temp.

    Temp spikes can happen if there is some kind of air obstruction that gets cleared. For example, if you have something clogging up the bottom vent but that burns and falls through, then you have more air flow and it jumps up.

    If I have my vents set to something that I know should be around 300, but it is "stuck" at 225 or so, then I know eventually the egg will probably get to 300.

    Since you had such a big swing, my best guess is it was a combination of these two. The water pan was lowering the dome temp reading, and you had an obstruction clear that caused more air and a hotter fire.



    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665

    are you sure it was really overdone, i dont see that it could have been at 400 for too long at all, maybe a couple hours. i do hot and fast brisket cooks close to that temp and it still takes 4 to 5 hours to cook it

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,168

    Another vote to lose the water but keep an air-gapped drip pan. If you went with the cap down you should have been able to salvage at least the point. Now if just a flat then that could have been well over-cooked. FWIW-

    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.
  • td66snrf
    td66snrf Posts: 1,821

    Are you sure your top vent didn't slide open when you checked on it?

    XLBGE, LBGE, MBGE, SMALL, MINI, 2 Kubs, Fire Magic Gasser
  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 7,597

    As soon as the water evaporates your egg temperature will skyrocket

    South of Columbus, Ohio.


  • David911
    David911 Posts: 11

    Thanks everyone. I sliced it up, it is not completely ruined, but I will have to supplement it with something else for dinner.

    I need to be more careful with the water, though I think there must have been some air gap to get it that high in temp - maybe something got stuck and the lid didn't seal completely, or maybe some blockage cleared. Vents were set close to the minimum.

    Oh well, live and learn.

  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457

    Your fire was struggling to maintain temps with the water pan(big O heat & energy sucker) Water steamed away, fire got happy that it didn’t have to work so hard which resulted in higher than planned for temps.


    Glad the protein was totally hosed


    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814

    water evaporated

    Best way to deal with that is to not start with any water.

    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
  • David911
    David911 Posts: 11

    On the silver lining side, I hacked off the really dry pieces and made chili with the rest, it turned out awesome!

    Chili was:

    2T duck fat

    2t cumin

    1T oregano

    2 clove garlic

    2T flour

    1 cup strong beef broth

    4T ground new mexico dixon chili

    1 cup salvaged brisket

    Saute garlic for 1 min, add cumin oregano flour, cook till brown. mix chili and beef broth, add to garlic and cook over very low heat 5 min. Add brisket, continue cooking 10 min over low heat. Cool in pan for 10 min before eating.