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Maiden Voyage

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SmokeOnTheMountain
SmokeOnTheMountain Posts: 51
in EggHead Forum
Finally got my new BGE XL setup, first timer on an egg but have experience with offset smokers. Just threw on a Brisket for the maiden voyage, looking forward to see how it turns out.Just a little guy my wife picked up at the market the other day. Weighed just above 9lbs after trimming it up a bit. Figuring about 11-12 hours total cook time. With an hour rest dinner might be a little on the later side tonight but nothing too crazy.
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  • EggMcMic
    EggMcMic Posts: 340
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    I remember when my gasket looked that clean! Good luck and enjoy. Let us know how it turns out.
    EggMcMcc
    Central Illinois
    First L BGE July 2016, RecTec, Traeger, Weber, Campchef
    Second BGE, a MMX, February 2017
    Third BGE, another large, May, 2017
    Added another griddle (BassPro) December 2017
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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,533
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    Nice! Welcome to the forum.  Looking forward to see the finished meateorite.
    canuckland
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,393
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    Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  You will appreciate the ease of the cook compared to feeding sticks to the off-set.  I will be interested in your assessment of the flavor profile compared to your stick burner outcomes.  
    Above all, have fun.   
    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.
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  • bluebird66
    bluebird66 Posts: 2,733
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    Welcome aboard!!
    Large Egg with adjustable rig, Kick Ash Basket, Minimax and various Weber's.
    Floyd Va

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  • mEGG_My_Day
    mEGG_My_Day Posts: 1,653
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    Welcome - that is a bold maiden voyage! :o   I think my first cook was hamburgers.  Let us know how it turns out.
    Memphis, TN 

    LBGE, 2 SBGE, Hasty-Bake Gourmet
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  • SmokeOnTheMountain
    SmokeOnTheMountain Posts: 51
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    Ok, smoked the brisket for about 12 hours. Pulled it off to rest for about an hour before slicing into it. First thing I noticed was there was almost no smoke ring on the brisket anywhere. Compared to my offset where I would get a nice deep smoke ring. I chose to do this one naked and didn’t wrap throughout the entire process. Pretty happy with how it turned out, fed six adults with everyone going back for seconds and almost no one used BBQ sauce. Some differences between the offset and this one on the egg. First, I feel like I’m going to have to do more in the egg before I give an honest opinion because this one may have just been luck. Second, with that being said I feel like this one came out more uniform in consistency. Whether that’s because of less heat loss and better temp control the egg offers, or luck. Third, I felt that this was just as flavorful as on my offset but more clean. I never took a bite that felt too harsh or bitter from too much smoke. With my offset I felt that sometimes certain bites would taste like I was biting into a lump of charcoal instead of meat because it was so Smokey.
    Any thoughts or input? Words of advice for the next go around?
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  • SamIAm2
    SamIAm2 Posts: 1,898
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    Looks great and as you suspect, more time with egg to get more comfortable. Don't think you need advice. I'd eat all that I could handle. Welcome to the forum.
    Ubi panis, ibi patria.
    Large - Roswell rig, MiniMax-PS Woo; Cocoa, Fl.
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    Looks good.  My only suggestion is to figure out how to cut where it's across the grain in the point.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • billt01
    billt01 Posts: 1,530
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    doesn't look there is a Deckle on that one, just a flat looking at the size and the cutting board its resting on...
    Have:
     XLBGE / Stumps Baby XL / Couple of Stokers (Gen 1 and Gen 3) / Blackstone 36 / Maxey 3x5 water pan hog cooker
    Had:
    LBGE / Lang 60D / Cookshack SM150 / Stumps Stretch / Stumps Baby

    Fat Willies BBQ
    Ola, Ga

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  • kindaquick14
    kindaquick14 Posts: 94
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    Did you use any wood chunks / chips with the charcoal?  Or just straight charcoal?
    Columbus, OH - XL BGE and Medium BGE
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,393
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    Nailed that cook right there.  Thanks for the assessment on the flavor profile.  Obviously your knowledge base easily translated to the BGE.  And yes, the elusive smoke-ring is just that with the BGE.  Great result.  
    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.
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  • evie1370
    evie1370 Posts: 506
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    Great job, I personally think smoke rings are overrated. Taste/bark and consistency matter much more. Since many came back for seconds I would say this was a definite score! I also rate my Briskets on how many use BBQ sauce.

    Medium BGE in Cincinnati OH.

    "

    "I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me. " Duke of Wellington, Battle of Waterloo.
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  • R2Egg2Q
    R2Egg2Q Posts: 2,136
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    Welcome aboard to a fellow Nor Cal Egghead.  Excellent job on your first cook on the Egg!
    XL, Large, Small, Mini Eggs, Shirley Fabrication 24x36 Patio, Humphrey's Weekender, Karubecue C-60, MAK 1-Star General, Hasty Bake Gourmet, Santa Maria Grill, Webers: 14" WSM, 22.5" OTG, 22.5" Kettle Premium, WGA Charcoal, Summit S-620 NG

    Bay Area, CA
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  • SmokeOnTheMountain
    SmokeOnTheMountain Posts: 51
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    @kindaquick14 I used hickory chunks, and just the BGE charcoal that came with my egg. Lump is something else that is still new to me after having the offset, I only ever used Oak with that and no charcoal.

    @nolaegghead I realized I was cutting it in the wrong direction after I made it about halfway through. Was in a rush to get people served at that point. Rookie mistake, and beer may have helped.

    @billt01it was packaged as a full brisket, when I trimmed it up a bit I never came across the deckle, and after cutting it there was no huge chunks of unrendered fat anywhere. This brisket was definitely more flat then point though, the point section of it was quite small in comparison.

    thank you all for the input. Very pleased with the BGE and became an instant fan over the day yesterday. Was very nice to be able to smoke some quality meat and not having to worry about maintaining the fire every 45 min or so like my offset. Could actually play with the kids and eat lunch without having to stop too frequently. Already talking about getting a smaller BGE to do smaller cooks (burgers, single pork butt, steaks for just the four of us).
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  • mEGG_My_Day
    mEGG_My_Day Posts: 1,653
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    That looks tasty - well done. (And I wouldn't worry about the smoke ring as long as flavor, bark and moisture were on point)
    Memphis, TN 

    LBGE, 2 SBGE, Hasty-Bake Gourmet
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  • ewyllins
    ewyllins Posts: 461
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    Great job on your first cook. Curious..what temp were you at?
    O-Town, FL

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  • kindaquick14
    kindaquick14 Posts: 94
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    Can't really go wrong with hickory on brisket.  I tend to use hickory, or sometimes go with a mix of pecan and oak for brisket and prime ribs.  Looks good and welcome to the board!
    Columbus, OH - XL BGE and Medium BGE
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  • SmokeOnTheMountain
    SmokeOnTheMountain Posts: 51
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    @ewyllins it was at 250 at dome for most of the smoke. I hit the stall at about 166 IT and was there for about an 1.5 hours. At that point I bumped it up to about 290 dome to push through the stall. Once I hit 170 IT I put my vents back to where my 250 setting was and left it there until done. 
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  • Skrullb
    Skrullb Posts: 666
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    Nice looking brisket! Overall, the BGE doesn’t need a water pan, but I’ve noticed on the Egg and my gas smoker that I get a much better smoke ring while using water. It really means nothing, other than looking good, in my opinion. 
    I'm in Fredericksburg, VA, and I have an XL and a medium. 
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  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
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    Skrullb said:
    Nice looking brisket! Overall, the BGE doesn’t need a water pan, but I’ve noticed on the Egg and my gas smoker that I get a much better smoke ring while using water. It really means nothing, other than looking good, in my opinion. 
    Moisture/ water is in fact a key component to the chemical reaction which creates the pink ring. Bingo. 
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  • SmokingPiney
    SmokingPiney Posts: 2,282
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    Smoke rings are for show. That's a fine looking brisket, @SmokeOnTheMountain. 

    You're off to a great start on the Egg. 
    South Jersey Pine Barrens. XL BGE , Assassin 24, Weber Kettle, CharBroil gasser, AMNPS 
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  • sirlancealot
    sirlancealot Posts: 506
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    SmokeOnTheMountain said:
    @kindaquick14 I used hickory chunks, and just the BGE charcoal that came with my egg. Lump is something else that is still new to me after having the offset, I only ever used Oak with that and no charcoal.

    @nolaegghead I realized I was cutting it in the wrong direction after I made it about halfway through. Was in a rush to get people served at that point. Rookie mistake, and beer may have helped.

    @billt01it was packaged as a full brisket, when I trimmed it up a bit I never came across the deckle, and after cutting it there was no huge chunks of unrendered fat anywhere. This brisket was definitely more flat then point though, the point section of it was quite small in comparison.

    thank you all for the input. Very pleased with the BGE and became an instant fan over the day yesterday. Was very nice to be able to smoke some quality meat and not having to worry about maintaining the fire every 45 min or so like my offset. Could actually play with the kids and eat lunch without having to stop too frequently. Already talking about getting a smaller BGE to do smaller cooks (burgers, single pork butt, steaks for just the four of us).You go boy everything looks good and as far as getting a smaller egg at least you got the biggest one out of the way
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