My first brisket cook went down this past Sunday, and I want to share a few notes on the Bronco and the brisket. Thanks to those of you who pitched in on my previous post for all the help! And thanks to all those who have posted great info to this site.
I filled the Broncos charcoal basket with a mix of B&B briquettes and char-logs. I used one tumbleweed starter to light the fire at 4 am. At 5:15 am, the brisket went on the smoke. As with my past long-cooks using the Bronco, it took the next hour to stabilize the fire around the 250º temp. Spikes and dips were probably caused by the coolness of the meat and the hickory chunks igniting. For the next 9 hours, the temps held stable with only slight adjustments. My cook range was between 230º and 260º. I pulled the meat from the smoker at the 9.5/ 10-hour mark and cooked some beans.
After 12 hours, I closed the baffles to extinguish the fire. When I checked the basket after the fire was out, there seemed to be enough charcoal for at least one more, maybe 2 hours of cooking.
Basket before and after the fire:
With the brisket, I let the cooker do its thing. I did not open the smoker or spritz the meat until the 3-hour mark. I spritzed again at the 5-hour mark and then every hour.
I never wrapped the brisket. It seemed to breeze through the stall at first. But it stalled.
A professional checking the bark:
My hand-held probe thermometer failed on me around 190º. The digital probes were in place but, I had no idea if I got them into the proper position. To check for doneness, I probed, hoping for that butter feel. I also had to rely on the visual clues I learned here. Probing the flat never felt like butter- or I was too late.
So how it turned out:
Honestly, it was probably the tastiest beef I had ever made. However, the first four slices from the flat were dry, and the bark was slightly overdone on the fireside -fat side down. I should have taken it off the smoke at 9 hours. As I sliced midway through flat, pic above, things got spectacular and the point, below, was spot-on-amazing!
Thanks Pitmasters!
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