Notes On First Brisket

WooDoggies

On Monday I finally got to cooking that first brisket.
I decided to use NB's Eggfest 2000 recipe for no other reason than it just looked plain good...mmmmmm moooolasses! The 6lb flat marinated for 14 hours and just before it went on I layered the top with srips of bacon to supplement the thin fat cap.[p]I gleaned all the gems from the great discussions over the past few weeks on briskets, dome vs. grid temps, h2o in drip pan or no, foil or not, stalling in the plateau, so on and so on yadda yadda... and I took notes throughout the whole cook. I tried to be as detailed as I could for all of you retentive-detail-heads :~) and for reference on my next brisket. Glad I did and I learned alot.[p]The Setup:
~Large BGE using C~W's lo and slo firebuilding method, Cowboy Brand Lump filled to about 3" below main grid with a couple handfuls soaked pecan chips and one small chunk of white oak .
~15"x11"x2" drip pan filled with 1" near boiling water set on main grid. No firebricks underneath.
~brisket grid (supported by two bricks)extended 4" above main grid.
So, brisket was 3" above water and 2" above lip of drip pan.
~To monitor the air temp just ABOVE the MIDDLE portion of the meat, I angled a Polder probe into the side of beef so that the notched probe tip (where it measures temperature) protruded 1/2" above the surface of the meat. I chose that area to record temp because I only had one Polder and it seemed like a good compromise location.[p]Due to complications unrelated to BBQ, the brisket went on at 11:30am.
The barometer read 30.16 inches. Humidity 27%. It was very windy and about 38F. I tried to write down the temps every 15 minutes but missed a few. I also forgot to write down where I tweaked the vents but they kinda correspond the temp. changes.
I was surprised at how closely the dome temp and air temp above the meat paralleled.[p]D= Dome Temp
P= Polder Air Temp [p]11:30 D 140 1:15 D 230 3:30 D 230
P 122 P 231 P 228[p]12:00 D 180 1:45 D 220 4:00 D 225
P 165 P 215 P 224[p]12:15 D 225 2:15 D 225 4:15 D 225
P 230 P 215 P 222[p]12:30 D 235 2:45 D 220 4:30 D 225
P 233 P 210 P 226[p]12:45 D 240 3:15 D 230 4:45 D 225
P 237 P 219 P 224[p]1:00 D 240
P 237 [p]After the 4:45 reading I moved the probe and inserted into the thickest part of the cut. Was the first opening of the egg. No mop.[p]M= internal meat temp.[p]5:00 D 225 7:30 D 205 10:00 D 260
M 161 M 170 M 182[p]5:15 D 215 7:45 D 200
M 161 M 170[p]5:30 D 215 8:00 D 190
M 161 M 168[p]5:45 D 220 8:15 D 195
M 161 M 167[p]6:00 D 210 8:45 D 200
M 163 M 167[p]6:30 D 215 9:00 D 195
M 165 M 167[p]6:45 D 225 9:15 D 215
M 167 M 168[p]7:15 D 210 9:30 D 230
M 168 M 170 [p]At 10pm I gave it the fork test and stuck the probe in another area which read 185 so I pulled it off and tented it with foil on a cutting board. After 40 minutes I sliced thin. The texture was tender not chewy, moist and full of beef flavor. The smoke flavor was strong but not too strong to cover up the flavor of the meat.
The marinade made a nice crust but not as carmelized as I would have guessed. Maybe keep it on a touch longer next time for that.
Next time I'll will possibly eliminate the wood chips and use less spice so the flavor of the meat will be even more prominent.
Overall, very happy with how it turned out. Went to bed with a full belly.
My fingers are tired now.[p]WD

WooDoggies

Dang! All of my nice charts got smooshed after submitting.
They should read as follows:[p]11:30
D 140
P 122 [p]12:00
D 180
P 165 and so on...[p]Sorry for the confusion. I aint typing no more!

Nature Boy

WooDoggies,
Smooshed or not, it is some great info! Looks like the particuar setup you had was damn good, as the dome and cooking level were so close! I also had much better results without the platesetter. Were your firebricks, that you used to elevate your second grate, the thin splits? Or the fat ones?[p]Congrats on the success, and thanks for posting your observations for all.[p]beers!
NB

Bordello

Nature Boy,
When I did my ribs the other day,using the inverted setter, the dome and grill temps started out very close but as the cook went on the difference grew apart by as much as 55°. Of course I did open it to mop now and then. Wonder if a few well placed holes in the setter would allow for more even temps.??????????
New Bob

Nature Boy

New Bob,
Some you can get have a big hole in the middle. Though most set a drip pan there.[p]Beers!
NB
[ul][li]some platesetters[/ul]

Spring Chicken

New Bob,
I also pondered making a plate setter with a hole (or holes) in it. One thought was to make the hole so that a steel or ceramic insert could be put in when the situation required a solid surface, or perhaps a diffuser plug that would allow the heat without the flame to sorta fan out and reach the troublesome area. My Mom used to do ceramics and I kinda understand the process a little but not enough to make a prototype. Personally, I think it would work.

Bordello

Spring Chicken,
I believe the setter is used mostly for low and slow (except pizza) so I don't see why a "few" holes would hurt much. I guess the worst that can happen is one would have to get a new setter if it didn't. I will ponder it and given enough "V" make give it a stab.
Happy Egg-n,
New Bob

WooDoggies

Howdy Nature Boy and Thanks,[p]The 2 kiln bricks were fat halves. Just enough to support the 2nd grate. [p]I was pleasantly surprised how closely the dome and polder temps were to each other througout the cook... only off by a few degrees most of the time. After all the talk on the subject, I thought they would be off by as much as 30 degrees. Just testimony to the super efficient design of the ceramic.[p]Makes me wonder tho, I used just 2 small support bricks and maintained very close dome and meat level temps. Why are others not getting close temps? Could there be such a thing as too much ceramic mass inside the egg? Could it be constricting airflow?
Does starting the fire on top of the ceramic grate and adding lump on top more evenly distribute the heat of the fire? Dunno. Too many variables. But for now I'm going to stick with this setup![p]Thanks for all your help prior to the cook...and great recipe! [p]Beers back atcha![p]WD
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