First Brisket on the BGE (some issues with consistent smoke)

HappyChuck

First crack at brisket and I am pretty happy with the result!!

Pretty much stayed true to Franklins recipe and kept it simple. The issue that I am running into is keeping steady smoke going. Of course, the Egg maintains temp like a champ, but i felt like I had to keep opening the vents to get smoke going again and then it would go back out. Any best practices on this?

Any help would be awesome, I definitely want to take another shot at it soon.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Well it looks great. I have smoke issues with my egg as well. Sometimes too smoky, sometimes no smoky. That’s the one drawback to me of the bge. It’s pretty good most of the time though. 

lousubcap

However you got there-that is a home-run, especially for your first attempt.  Congrats.

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Above all, have fun.

BTW-that is about the most squared up brisket I have seen in the package in a long time.  The smoke deal; I load wood chunks up and down within the lump load and start forward of center-line and tend toward the back and right of center as that is the general burn path I see. I cannot predict the smoke ring outcome.  So, go again and see how it turns out. 

jtcBoynton

How are you judging the smoke?  The best tasting smoke is very hard to see. Best way to judge is smell - NOT by sight.  Always remember that you are adding smoke for taste - too much is not good, bad tasting smoke is not good.

Review the info from Amazing Ribs to get a basic understanding of what to aim for:
https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/grill-and-smoker-setup-and-firing/what-you-need-know-about-wood-smoke-and

General rule of thumb:  The easier it is to see the smoke, the worse it tastes.

Theophan

You didn't say what temp you were smoking at.  I get more and better smoke when the temp is 250°-275°.  I've even had the experience of seeing more smoke when raising it even higher.  If you were keeping the temp at anything less than 250°, I'd urge you to raise it.

But in general, I find that I get several hours of visible blue smoke, and that the bottom line is that the meats I smoke are plenty smoky for me.  That last chucks I smoked for Pepper Stout Beef I almost worried were TOO smoky (but it wound up great).

unoriginalusername

That looks really good. 

I cook at 270 now and place the wood chunks under the lump. This is how it turned out from last weekend using this method ... wrapped in butcher paper after 5 hours 

decent smoke ring throughout 

bikesAndBBQ

How much smoke wood did you use?  What temperature was the egg?  I think by opening the egg to get smoke going, you just gave it some bad smoke as the fire stabilized again. On a long cook, I layer the smoking wood throughout the charcoal.  It will never be an offset, but I get good smoke flavor. 

Photo Egg

You mention not visually seeing enough smoke but never mention your brisket lacking in smoke flavor or what type of wood you are using for flavor or if you are using chunks of wood or chips or how much.
More details would help.
Just judging by the photos, I would take your outcome every time.

pgprescott

Amaze-in smoker makes those smoke tubes that folks use for cold smokes that one could add on the cooking grid to add smoke if desired. I’ve read guys with pellet grills use them when they are used to offset levels of smoke with some success. 

HappyChuck

Appreciate the feedback all!!

Some great insight as well! Got some great stuff to implement on the next cook!