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my first brisket experience -- in the winter, on my new Bronco

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    my first brisket experience -- in the winter, on my new Bronco


    A word of caution: I’m new to this, and the information here is meant to serve as data for other folks in the hopes that it may benefit them the way others’ posts have benefitted me in my own efforts to learn the art and science of smoking.

    I’ve never cooked or smoked brisket before and don’t personally know anyone who has smoked brisket. This website and these forums were my only guide. I followed the https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...t-texas-style/ recipe.

    A big thanks to everyone on this forum who posted their experiences with brisket on the Bronco and their advice. I’ve been smoking for a few years now, started with a Pit Barrel Cooker, was frustrated with my inability to control temps so I purchased a Camp Chef Woodwind 36". Really loved the consistent outcomes, but we found we really missed the smokey flavor the PBC infused into the meat.

    The Bronco, thus far, is the perfect answer for me. I love my ability to really dial in temps (I definitely have to play around with it to keep it where I want it, but it *works*) and I love the incredible flavor imparted by the charcoal and the wood chips (I want to try wood chunks when I can find them somewhere in stock).

    So here’s how my first brisket went on my new Bronco. Previously on this Bronco I’ve smoked three beer can chickens (one smoke, they were together) and I followed the Amazingribs guide for a double-smoked ham, which my wife loves to pick up when they’re on sale and have me follow that recipe.

    Some general notes on conditions during the smoke:
    There was no wind to speak of the day of my brisket smoke. I think this really helped me out, as I fought the wind like crazy during my previous two smokes.

    I started the fire at 9 degrees at 4:00am. Temps fell to 7 over the next couple hours, then rose slowly to a high of 29 by the end of the 9-hour smoke, around 2:00pm.

    The brisket:
    So I have been reading for weeks on and off about smoking brisket. We bought half a cow last year from a local guy and my wife took the brisket out of the freezer. Something was wrong with the vacuum seal and I was attempting to age it in the cold part of the fridge for a few days… well, when I opened it, the meat stunk. We threw it out.

    I had built up this smoke in my mind way too much to just give up, so I drove down to the nearest grocery store that had whole packer briskets. Black Angus wasn’t the grade I wanted to pay for on my first try, but it was all they had, so I bought it. A smidge over 10lbs, appeared well marbled to me.

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    The smoke:
    This was my first use of B&B briquettes. I stacked them on end in two layers, then filled up half of the Oklahoma Joe’s Halftime XL chimney with more B&Bs and used that to start the smoke.

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    Lit the chimney at 4:00am, poured that (when ready) over the two stacked-on-end layers. Some fell off but not many.

    The night before, I injected the brisket with beef broth and used meathead’s Smoked Red Meat Seasoning & Dry Brine and put it back in the fridge in a tray.

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    I used a ThermoWorks Smoke with one meat probe deep in the thickest part of the brisket and one air probe that I clipped to the grate.

    Around 5:00am, I put the brisket on the grate when the Bronco was at 285. Air temp fell below 200 and recovered over time.
    Air temp stabilized at 230. 1 to 1.5 hours later, popped up to 265. Closed exhaust and intake to around 1.

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    The brisket meat temps rose steadily and more rapidly than I expected until around 8am I hit 153 and the temperature began to drop in spite of air temps remaining high. Over the next hour, the meat temp fell to 146 and I knew this was The Stall I’d read so much about.

    At 9:30am I tightly wrapped the brisket in a double layer of heavy-duty foil.

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    I stuck it in towels while I quickly added briquettes to the Bronco. I was impressed by how many were still in there.

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    I played around with temps, keeping them between 220 and 250 while trying for the elusive 225. Probably my inexperience at work, but the temps were a bit like a sine wave… always either rising or falling slowly, but never really sitting perfectly still. I might have been messing with it too much, but it was very responsive to small adjustments and I was able to keep the temps in the range I wanted all day.

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    At 2:05pm the brisket hit 195 and my instant read thermometer went into the meat like it was a stick of warm butter. I really have no idea how it’s supposed to jiggle, but I poked it and waved it a bit and it appeared to me to jiggle well. I put it back on for maybe 10 minutes until it read 196 on the leave-in thermometer and the instant read 194-202 at different places throughout the brisket. I took the brisket off the grill and placed it in a cooler wrapped in several large towels.

    The brisket rested in the cooler until just before 5:00pm, when I took it out and let it drop the rest of the way to 150 degrees before cutting and serving immediately.

    My family and I were incredibly happy with the results. The meat was tender and absolutely, amazingly packed with flavor. I experienced "bark" for the first time (I wasn’t raised eating brisket, this is new to us) and it was incredible.

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    My very own smoke ring! It was so incredibly satisfying to see this when I cut in to the meat.

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    Thanks again to everyone here who share their experiences, they genuinely help others! My family and I enjoyed an amazing first brisket experience thanks to all of you.

    Merry Christmas to all!​

    #2
    That looks like a perfectly smoked brisket! Congrats on the successful cook!

    Comment


    #3
    I couldn't include all the shots in the first post due to the 12 image limit, so here are the ones I took out:

    Chimney of coals I used to start the smoke:
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    (Yes, I used my venerable PBC to light the chimney)

    And we're off! My Bronco is no longer cold and lonely...
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    This shot was taken when I hit The Stall:
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    Smoking along:
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    Just before I took the brisket off:
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    Comment


      #4
      That looks fantastic, great job!

      Comment


        #5
        You crushed that cook! Way to go! Bet the OK Joe folks would love to see these photos of the cooker in the snowy dawn... beautiful.

        And good for you for both taking the correct action when you suspected that first brisket, and then following through with the plan with new starting material!

        Comment


          #6
          Congrats on a successful cook!

          You have brought back fond memories of my first brisket cook. I did mine on a Weber Kettle though, but had similar results. The biggest difference was that I had 10 guests - nothin' like 10 hungry pairs of eyes watching me do my thing. It turned out great too, and everyone raved about it.

          Comment


          • coalescent
            coalescent commented
            Editing a comment
            Oh man, the pressure! I’m glad to hear your first brisket story had a great ending.

          #7
          Great looking brisket. Fantastic scenery for a long winter time cook. You must be in northern NH.

          Comment


          • coalescent
            coalescent commented
            Editing a comment
            Thank you! I'm in the Lakes Region on the west side, near Kearsarge mountain. I love the countryside here.

          #8
          GORGEOUS! You done did it! Nice job all the way around. You are now the BBQ hero in your circle of friends & family. Keep up the good work.

          Comment


            #9
            Congrats on the great cook, and thanks for the great write up and pics! Brisket truly is the ultimate in smoked meat, and you’ll always remember this cook!

            What part of NH are you in?

            Comment


            • coalescent
              coalescent commented
              Editing a comment
              I'm in the Lakes Region on the west side, near Kearsarge mountain. Beautiful area!

            #10
            Great story, great pix, great eating!

            Comment


            • coalescent
              coalescent commented
              Editing a comment
              Thank you sir, and thank you for this wonderful site and the community you've fostered here!

            #11
            ....drooling....
            Nice cook, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat.

            Comment


              #12
              That’s beautiful! I love a story with great pictures and a happy ending. Congratulations on an incredible brisket.

              Comment


                #13
                What a wonderful write-up and photos!

                I can only imagine what tasting bark for the first time was like....wow.

                Comment


                  #14
                  Great post. Nice cook. ONly note:

                  I played around with temps, keeping them between 220 and 250 while trying for the elusive 225. Probably my inexperience at work, but the temps were a bit like a sine wave… always either rising or falling slowly, but never really sitting perfectly still.​
                  Don't worry about with this. 220-250 is fine and temps don't need to be perfectly flat to be just fine, nor is 225 some perfect temp.

                  Comment


                  • Huskee
                    Huskee commented
                    Editing a comment
                    I agree. it's like saying you must drive 70mph to get to your destination properly. Highway laws aside, anything in the realm works so don't fret it.

                  • coalescent
                    coalescent commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Thank you for the tip. In the recipes that say things like "keep it at 225" I am not sure how exactly that is meant... it's good to know there's some leeway involved! All of the write-ups about brisket talk about how touchy it is, and I didn't want to ruin such a nice piece of meat.

                  • Huskee
                    Huskee commented
                    Editing a comment
                    coalescent (I love your username by the way) Personally I would say anything from 200-275 is decent, even as high as 300 here & there. 225-250 might be 'best' for brisket, but again, don't lose sleep over a 20-30 degree variance. Enjoy the process, don't let it be a source of stress. The meat on your plate doesn't care that much, only the human does.

                  #15
                  Congrats! That is one fine looking brisket!

                  Comment

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