PBC and IQ 110 brisket cook

[phoccer]

Only my 3rd cook using the PBC and the IQ 110 and this time I decided to try a brisket. Bought the brisket early Oct so it's been sitting in the fridge since then aging. Been reading more about doing that and finally giving it a try. No dry brine the night before, just rubbed it down with a salt, pepper, onion powder mixture about 30 minutes before the cook began. A little on the chilly side here in KC today with temps in the low 30's and a N/NW wind 10+ mph. Decided to alter my lighting technique a bit due to the cold temps. I usually start with 30, today I started with 40 unlit briquets in the small chimney. Normally give them 12 minutes before I dump them in, today I gave them 15 minutes. Typically just hang the food at that point but today I left the lid off and rebar out for about 10 minutes to let the fire get up and going strong. A modified PBC start more in line with what fzxdoc uses. At that point I hung the brisket, attached the IQ 110, and started on the cook. I also have a Maverick 732 connected to the brisket and a probe hanging in the pit. I set the IQ 110 to 300 for today's cook. It initially spiked to about 420 so I know I got a good light going. After adding the lid back on temps quickly dropped to 273 and then the IQ kicked in. Still a ways to go but here's what pit temps have looked like.

9:45	273
10:00	300
10:30	285
11:00	282
11:30	288
12:00	289
12:30	288
13:00	300
13:30	288
14:00	293

The IQ looks solid greed each time I look out and it's supposed to keep the pit within 10 degrees of the setting. However, I'm not complaining a bit with how those temps have looked. Pretty damn solid setup for today's cook. Brisket is currently at 147 so I'll let it ride until the 180ish range before wrapping. Still have a ton left to learn but getting that good light gets the PBC rolling well and the IQ 110 really seems to be locking in the pit temp range. We'll see how it goes the rest of the cook but it's a great start IMO.

Modern day BBQ pit.

[RonB]

It looks like you are off to a good start.

[Troutman]

I believe you may have exceeded your temp limits, your pit is trying to tell you something....

[Jerod Broussard]

Rollin'.....Rollin'.....

[phoccer]

Complete temp list. Incredibly consistent. Brisket was ok. Point was awesome but the flat was inconsistent. Some parts of the flat were incredibly tender, other parts tough. I fubared the rub through. Went with a simple salt, pepper, onion powder mix but I keep forgetting that I have to halve the amount of salt I use when I use table salt. So, it was too damn salty for me. Not inedible but definitely salty. Guess that means I have to try again. Darn.

9:45	273
10:00	300
10:30	285
11:00	282
11:30	288
12:00	289
12:30	288
13:00	300
13:30	288
14:00	293
14:30	279
15:00	291
15:30	289
16:00	288
16:30	284

[Jerod Broussard]

Love me some salt. Probably would have been perfect for me, OK maybe I would have added some Tony Chachere's on top.

[phoccer]

Went to have some of the leftovers today and the saltiness is gone. It was an excellent flavor for me today. I don't get that.

[alans38]

I am curious why you choose to aim for 300? I have been working on brisket for the last two years. It's much better now but not still quite right, or what I want. We all have different equipment and tastes. The price of admission to be here is well worth the price. Lots of new ideas. Someday I will create perfect BBQ!

[phoccer]

If you run the PBC in it's native state, without the IQ 110 attached, it runs in the 275-290 range. When I first decided to give brisket a try a couple years ago I read Meathead's brisket post multiple times but kept getting hung up on the time it took to cook one low and slow. I kept reading and eventually came across the idea of "high heat" brisket. The posting that pushed me over the edge to try brisket but at a higher temp was this, https://texas.forums.rivals.com/thre...70/#post-19104 . So that's how I got set on the idea of 300 for today's brisket. I like that I can start a brisket at 7 a.m. and have it on the table for a 5 p.m. dinner with a couple hours rest.

[RobertC]

Man, that looks like my old Shop-Vac.