Good job grasshopper. Nice write up too, it should achieve your desire to help others understand the process. Beautiful looking results. I'll second the advice to chill a bit on temp swings within a 20-30 degree range..........that's common in most cookers.
Glad you went with the chimney light process rather than the starter in the coal bed thing. It really is a better start in my experience.
Thanks very much for the tip in the other thread about using the chimney light process. It lit much more quickly and didn't sit there and smoke without the temp going up for a long time. Makes me wonder why the OJB manual suggests lighting that way in the first place...
I'm glad to hear from you and some of the other smokers that temp swings of that degree aren't dealbreakers with the brisket. I was sweating for a while trying to keep it within a 10 degree window like some folks have managed.
Brrr-risket! Nice cook. Thanks for sharing. In warmer weather I can set a temp and not have to worry about for 2 to 3 hours. In cold temps I have to adjust much more frequently. As others have said don’t worry to much about the perfect temp. My philosophy is to let the cooker cook where the cooker wants to cook within range of my desired temp of course. I also have a theory about temp swings and the vertical stacking of charcoal. I always stack the charcoal like you did for long cooks. Short cooks I don’t worry about it and just pile the charcoal. When stacking the charcoal I have had some frequent swings in temps. I attribute this to air pockets between the briquettes and the layers caused by the shape of the briquettes. The swings are not as frequent when I just pile the coals but the fire doesn’t last as long.
That makes a lot of sense! So in this case I had both the cold weather and the briquette stacking technique I used working against my ability to keep the temp within a tighter range.
I managed to get almost an entire 17lb bag of B&B briquettes in the 8lb charcoal tray of the Bronco by stacking on the sides very tightly like that (which I picked up from another thread here). I'm sure that helped me power through a long smoke in NH winter temps.
Nice write up and the brisket looks perfect! So glad it worked out and you and the family enjoyed it. Your Bronco in the snow and all the pictures is inspiring me to suck it up , get outside, and fire up my kamado and smoke something soon, cold or not!
I have family down your way. We drove down there this past spring and visited the Space and Rocket Center on our way through. Watching my kids experience it for the first time was a fantastic experience... I have fond memories of that place as a kid when I'd visit my grandparents in Alabama.
Congratulations on your first brisket cook! I wish my first ever brisket would have been half that good. It seems like you went about everything the right way too….reading posts about the Bronco and cooks on it, brisket recipes, lighting techniques etc. Excellent job on the writeup! I’ve never had the patience to neatly stack the briquettes like you did, I always just dump em in. Not really sure how that affects the length of the cook but, whatever works! I have no experience with “really cold” weather cooks on it, living in Houston. Kudos to you for figuring it out. As others have mentioned, don’t stress out over minor temp variations, we’ve all done it though. I’m happy with my slow cooks staying anywhere from 225 to 275. Most indoor ovens vary 30-50 degrees anyway. It won’t affect your cook, except for length of time. I try to do ribs, brisket, pork loins etc. at around 260-275.
A lot of us are huge fans of the B & B Charcoal briquettes too. The only thing I use Kingsford for anymore are faster cooks or grilling. They’re great for that and a little cheaper than the B & B. Very impressive writeup and pics, your brisket looks awesome! 👍
Fantastic looking brisket and really enjoyed the step-by-step process with pics! The bark and smoke ring are right on. We've all been there trying and trying and when a brisket finally turns out and it is an awesome feeling because a lot goes into it.
After reaching brisket nirvana one understands what all the fuss is about as you have formally raised the bar and are now part of the brisket team...good job, congrats.
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Kingsford Competition Charcoal
Anova Sous Vide
Kamado Joe Big Joe III
Pit Barrel Cooker
Camp Chef Flat Top 900
Weber Performer 22
PowerFlamer Propane 160
Meater +
Thermoworks Smoke
Thermoworks Thermapen
Temp Spike
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