Brisket results

Cat

[p]Thanks again to all who offered advice and comfort during my brisket trials yesterday. You know the punch line: it was absolutely delicious. [p]I took it off when the flat hit 181, wrapped the whole monster in 2 layers of foil and a warm towel, then stuck it in a cooler. Three hours later (internal temp 160) it was still piping hot.[p]Despite earlier misgivings, I had no trouble separating point from flat. The flat could have been a shade moister, I thought. But my guests (including a good ole girl from Ft. Worth) declared it perfect. And the point was incredible - sliceable but ready to fall apart, and very juicy.[p]This adventure confirms that the Egg forgives all! I'm no longer intimidated by whole briskets; as JJ told me (thanks big brother), they're not hard just time-consuming. If you haven't tried one yet, you're missing a major Eggsperience.

RhumAndJerk

Cat,
Out of curiosity, do you think that the beer in the drip pan made any difference?
RhumAndJerk

JohnL

Cat,
Congrat's on the brisket. I knew it would turn out delicious. I just picked up a brisket a few minutes ago weighing 10.5 lbs and I have it marinating now. It's going on about 6 or 7 pm this evening. I've done briskets on the old brinkman smoker, but this will be my first on the BGE. I think after marinating, I'll put the left over marinade in the drip pan, adding about 16 oz of a good homebrewed stout I have and see how that turns out. If you have any pointers, let me know.[p]John

Fritz

Cat,[p]Glad we both had successful briskets yesterday. JJ is entirely correct. A brisket is not hard, it just takes some time. We did not open the BGE until it was done. Ofcourse I had only a 5#er, not quite as large as yours.[p]Again, congrats.[p]Fritz

Fritz

RhumAndJerk,[p]We put *nothing* in our drip pan and did not have any other ceramic mass in the BGE either. just layed the rubbed meat on a v-rack and set in dry drip pan. We opened the BGE 11 hours later and it was done. No beer in drip pan. Beer in cook after 5:30 pm though. :-)[p]Fritz

Cat

JohnL,[p]In my experience, marinades or other flavorings in the drip pan have no impact on the flavor of the meat. Just fill it up with water and save that good homebrew for the cook! [p]Best wishes for your first Egged brisket -[p]Cathy[p][p]

Cat

Fritz,[p]Congratulations to you too! I'm going to do brisket more often, now that I know how hard it is to screw up. ;-}[p]Cathy

JJ

Cat,
Happy for you!

Cat

JJ,[p]Thanks, Bro. The only thing more fun than cooking it was eating it! Leftovers for dinner.[p]Cathy

Unknown

Cat,[p]Congrats on a well done cook. I did a 5# brisket over the 4th weekend and it was very good. I cooked the chunk for 20 hours at 210-220 degrees and the last hour at 235 degrees (dome temps) and pulled it when the temp hit 200. Everyone said that it was the best that they have ever had and I have to agree. After having messed up several times in th past I found that you just don't want to rush. The amazing thing is that I still had about 1/2 the lump left over...[p]Larry

Cat

Larry Jenkins,[p]Did you do it direct? I used a water-filled drip pan, which takes a lot more lump; I flamed out before the cook was over and had to refuel. [p]Cathy

Unknown

Cat,[p]Hi, I did the brisket on a rack over a dry drip pan (cookie sheet). I have used water filled pans in the past when I made a turkey and all I have noticed is that they take longer and use more lump as you need to burn it faster to maintain the temperature. The nice thing about water in the pan with a turkey is the smoked gravy.[p]From what I have seen on other BBQ forums it appears that I'm cooking my briskets longer then most. I don't use any foil and I cook at a low temperature which may be the reason it takes longer. I use a Polder to determine the temp and remove it when it's done...[p]Larry

Cat

Larry Jenkins,[p]Thanks - I'll try it without the water next time.[p]Cathy

Nature Boy

Cat,
I too need to do more experimenting without the water. CW explained it well to me when he said water is a heat sink. So I guess that means it soaks up energy, and only gives off a certain amount. As opposed to ceramic which throws out heat without a 212 limit.[p]I had a bad experience with drippings burning that created an undesireable smoke flavor, and have been maybe too overly cautious since then. I use water with all of my indirect cooks now.[p]Always room to grow.
NB

Cat

Nature Boy,[p]Do you have to refuel during a 20-hour cook? I went through a full firebox of lump in about 16 hours, and that was with a dome temp of 225.[p]Maybe I should use less water. Although that means refilling the pan more often.[p]Cathy[p]

JJ

Cat,
Using water in a drip pan does nothing but waste charcoal. Line the drip pan with aluminum foil and forget it. I use a 12" deep dish pizza pan with 3 2" L-brackets attached to it for a drip pan and never experienced any bitter taste from the dripping. Remember you are cooking at only 250*.

Cat

JJ,[p]I'll try that with my next brisket. My drip pan is similarly constructed - a most excellent one from our friend Mr. Toad.[p]Thanks![p]Cathy

Unknown

Cat,
I read the details of your big adventure :-) and cant help but think if you would have just left it alone and maybe brought the temp down 15 degrees or so at 3:30, the brisket would have turned out just fine in another few hours.
Im sure you had a reason for doing it your way but....
I do agree with JJ,(GASP) :-) that a water pan just wastes fuel.
Dylan

Cat

Q.N.E. tyme,[p]But then it wouldn't have been an adventure. ;-}[p]Cathy

Char-Woody

Q.N.E. tyme, Das one of da basics of BBQ..wasting fuel :-)[p]C~W

JJ

Dylan,
Good to see you lurking here on the BGE forum. You are always welcome to look around, speak your peace and voice any input you like. You will not be flamed or ridiculed like the EGGers are on Mr. Basso's forum. We will not flame you when you come here and attempt to degrade posters on the BGE forum. Again welcome to the forum that welcomes all and not just a select few in their private clique (oops, I mean metal head) forum.

Nature Boy

Cat,
I think I will try that route also. I guess the bad experience I had with drippings burning was when I did chicken at 375. The taste was so bad, I have been paranoid.[p]But, like JJ is saying, 250 shouldn't smoke up those drippings too bad. And come to think of it, when I did Elder's brisket at 270 over a naked pizza stone, the drippings cooked on the pizza stone the entire time, but no unpleasant flavors were present.[p]BTW, in regard to your earlier question...Even when I have used water, I have not needed to re-fuel.[p]Let the waterless experiments begin.
NB