Smoke ring on brisket

Unknown

Cooked my 2nd brisket today after I cooked my first last Sunday. I wanted to see how I could improve on it. This one was much better - it had a 1/4" fat cap on it while the other one had been trimmed of most of the cap by the butcher, so this one was much more moist.[p]Through no accomplishment of my own, it turned out wonderfully. The Egg did all the work with the cook taking 11 hours for a 6.3 lb brisket which was rubbed with Gilded Splinters and Dizzy Dust. The polder finished off at 209 degrees. I smoked it with 5 chunks of pecan wood, and I must say that my favorite part was the burnt ends. They were blackened, moist, and crunchy with intense, concentrated flavor. I piled a bunch of them on an onion bun with a little hickory BBQ sauce and I couldn't believe how good it was.[p]Brisket is my new favorite cut of beef for the BGE.[p]I did not notice a smoke ring on either brisket and wondered if that is normal. I had heard in the past about this red ring and am wondering if a smoking temperature below 200 degrees for an extended period of time is what brings this about. Any thoughts from you brisket experts.

Nature Boy

Paul B.,
Congrats on the successful cook! My smoke rings seem to vary, and I have not found a pattern. The one my buddy Kenny and I cooked this weekend had a beautiful 1/4 inch deep ring. I used 3 fat cherry chunks, and a couple sugar maple chunks, and let the smoke thin some before i put the brisket on. Average cooking level temp was prolly around 230. [p]I hear starting with cold meat can help the smoke ring. Check the archives on "thebbqforum.com", as they often have discusions on smoke rings.[p]Brisket is my favorite cook as well. Nothing like it.
Cheers!
NB

Unknown

Nature Boy, thanks for the tip on the smoke ring site.[p]The other cut of meat that I have not tried yet is a Boston butt for pulled pork. I will probably try it this weekend. I was trying to save the most time-consuming for last. I am sure that this will be my favorite cook for pork.[p]How many times do you find that you need to fill up the fire box with new lump for a Boston butt? Do you fill it to the top on all occasions.[p]Thanks for the advice. One of these days I'll be as experienced as you, but in the meantime I'll take all the advice you're willing to give me.

GaDawg

Paul B.,
Fill it up to the top of the fire ring, not the fire
box, but the fire ring. You won't run out.
Chuck

Spring Chicken

Nature Boy,
I did not get a good smoke ring on my last brisket although I placed a number of chunks of pecan & apple wood around the edge of the fire box. There was plenty of smoke coming out the top for at least an hour and a fair amount of it was coming out where the seal was flattened, so I thought I had plenty of smoke. I had the daisy wheel shut to only a small crack to contain the smoke as much as possible. I was cooking at 250 degrees for about 6 hours but I noticed some unburned wood chunks when I finished the cook.[p]Do you soak your wood first? If so, how long? I have heard different stories on which is best, dry or wet. I know soaked wood will produce a lot more smoke but is it good smoke or bitter smoke?[p]I sure would like to see a nice smoke ring on the one I plan to cook on August 10th. I want to show off my Egg and my cooking skills. Any help / advice would be appreciated.[p]Spring Chicken
Spring Texas USA

Nature Boy

Howdy Spring Chicken,
I never soak my wood chunks. It just doesn't make sense to me. You want the wood to burn, not smolder. From what I have learned, the thick visible smoke is not really necessary, and I have found if I don't let the smoke thin to a nice thin stream, then the smoke flavor tastes stale to me. Heavy smoke is not needed for a smoke ring.[p]I think the lump alone will even give you a good smoke ring. If there is a layer of fat, then you will prolly not get a smoke ring on that side. Cool meat helps. And maybe starting at 220 and working up to 250 will help. Like I said though, I have not had consistent results, and still have plenty to learn on this subject. Hopefully others join the discussion![p]Cheers, Springmang!
Chris

Cajun

Spring Chicken,[p]Personally, I soak my chips / chunks in water at least a half hour before putting on the coals. I get a decent fire going, then put on the smoking chips I will use, then the grill and meat go on. I keep the temp below 200° for about a half hour, then slowly bring the egg up to my cooking temp (usually another half hour).[p]One thing I forgot to mention. I usually will put my meat in the freezer for an hour before I put it on the grill. That was a suggestion a forum member gave me and it seems to work very well.[p]Good luck[p]Cajun

djm5x9

Spring Chicken:[p]My best smoking is from dry wood chips or chunks of wood that have been chopped into smaller pieces. I smoke at low temperatures for about thirty minutes to an hour to assure good absorption before raising the temperature for cooking.
[/b]

Unknown

Spring Chicken,
A lot of smoke and size of smokering are not one and the same. It is the nitrates in the burn that create the ring.
Taking the brisket from the frig and keeping the pit temps low the first 3 to 4 hours should do the job for you.
Soaking won't help with ring and you can go bitter in taste.
If you start at pit temps of 200 to 225º and stay that way for 4 hours you should be fine.
Jim

djm5x9

Jim:[p]Had any interesting cooks on your new BGE yet?
[/b]

Unknown

djm5x9,
With the help of CW in doing some repair right now and I have a catering for 75 this Saturday, so I hope to up and cooking by Monday.
Jim

Spring Chicken

Jim Minion,
Thanks Jim. If it works I'm going to make like I knew that all along. [p]Spring Chicken

Spring Chicken

djm5x9,
What you say makes sense.[p]Spring Chicken

Spring Chicken

Cajun,
I tried it with soaking one time but it didn't work for me. It could be that I was cooking at a higher temperature from the start, and was using near room temperature meat. The cooler meat just may do the trick. [p]From what I gather, there is more than one way to achieve the perfect brisket. I think I will try them all.[p]Thanks[p]Spring Chicken

Spring Chicken

Nature Boy,
No doubt there is much to learn and I plan to learn as much as possible. [p]I have determined that three things are very important in the process of cooking anything on the Egg.
1. You want it to taste good
2. You want predictability with no surprises
3. You want consistency in all your cooks[p]I know my body and clothes can pick up the wonderful aroma of a wood-burning fireplace in just a few seconds of placing another log on the fire, regardless of the amount of smoke being generated. I guess that proves that a smoke flavor can be obtained without a heavy dose of smoke.[p]I suddenly feel so smart.[p]Spring Chicken

Buck

Paul B.,
I read in an earlier post that smoke will not absorb into your meat after a surface temp of over 120 deg. Like many of the others stated low temps to start with. I start my brisket at 180 deg. with 6 good size chunks of pecan, for an hour before raising the temp to about 220. This works well for me, and gives a good smoke ring where there is no fat. I hear that cherry wood will give a darker ring as well. Good luck.

Unknown

Nature Boy,
What's the significance of a visible smoke ring? I usually see one when I do brisket on the Weber water smoker.[p]Hope to have a ceramic cooker some time soon.[p]pastor_chuck