SteveEd A while back I posted what I did to get probes into the cook box. My door seals too tightly for me to comfortably pass cables via the door like BBQ Bill haas done.
Thanks for the link, Histrix. I edited this comment because I had your post confused with BBQ_Bill's. Bill's method works on my KBQ. There's enough of a space at the upper corners of my door to pass at least a couple of cables on each side.
John "JR"
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BBQ_Bill Thanks for the clarification! That is very interesting. Wow, that is process. I would be a little leary of leaving the brisket in a freezer that is only 32 F. Personally, I would freeze it. However, I still don't get why you are cold smoking this thing? I just don't see you being able to build bark, at those temps. I think you would be better off cooking at 215 F until you hit your desired internal temp. As you know, the KBQ temp fluctuates as the fan kicks on, it might be tough to hold it at 140 F.
This is what I would do, but I think you need to let this thing run the way YOU wanna do it. Experiments like this are fun and a joy to read. Thanks for sharing Bill! ​​​​​​​
I guess I was just hoping to add more smoke/bark without overcooking the brisket.
Mr. KBQ advised to careful with low temp smoke safety wise.
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Will "re-think" this plan.
Thanks!
Be aware if you do go back in this thread and review all the great photos we are not responsible for the severe case of MCS that will set in. I would advise do not do it if you are not prepared to break out your wallet and get one ordered🔥🔥
BBQ_Bill that's right! When I feel like being playful with these cooks, I toss the meat in the freezer while I build my KBQ hire. Start the cook in cold KBQ
Ernest
I missed this comment you made earlier, but in reading through pages 71 and 72 again, came across it.
(And I am GLAD I did!)
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You mentioned "I stick mine in a 160 degrees KBQ. The hunk of meat is already cooked so all I'm doing is reheating and adding some smoke."
"I want reheat using just enough temperature to prevent overcooking."
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THIS is EXACTLY what I am wanting to do.
Add smoke without cooking further.
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Question please sir...
How long would I have to KBQ at 160°F to get bark like this brisket cut shown in the photo attached?
(It was my very 1st brisket and very 1st smoke in KBQ Number 1 back late last year)
I am also concerned that long enough at 160°F to get great bark, might dry it out?
So Ernest,
Sous Vide plus KBQ smoke for 3 to 4 hours at 160°F is going to give me bark similar to the "Brisket Point" in the KBQ photo above? (Post # 1074)
Just to let other KBQ owners know...
I run my standard beef briskets with the KBQ's top poppet at about 1/8" open.
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Before I add wood, I kill the power which drops both the draw fan and the re-circulation fan out.
I then close the top poppet completely.
Next, I remove the firebox lid, add the fresh wood and tamp that wood down quite heavily.
Right after the tamping, I go into the sides of the firebox with the tool supplied by Mr. Karau, and pry down coals until the coal grate looks covered well which means that there is about a 1"+ coal bed covering the 8 openings in the coal tray.
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This method is basically done to keep ash from being drawn into the cooking chamber and to provide a hot coal bed to burn "bad" thick smoke up turning that nasty tasting smoke into good thin blue smoke.
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I then replace the lid and turn the power switch back on, powering up the KBQ once more.
After the newly added wood has been burning for a bit, I open the top poppet back to the 1/8" open setting and check the overboard smoke condition at this time.
If the overboard smoke is heavy, I close the top poppet for a bit longer and wait for a minute or so.
After a short wait, I open the top poppet to the 1/8" opening again.
If the overboard smoke is thin, I leave it at that 1/8" open position.
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As mentioned earlier, my bottom poppet is always fully open as this is the KBQ's "thin blue smoke" supply.
Of course, spritzing is done as needed to always keep the surface of the meat moist to attract smoke and help prevent drying of the meat.
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After spritzing, the KBQ recovers temperature quite quickly, so this "If you are looking you ain't cooking" statement is for the other guys and gals that are using a natural draft type of smoker, but not us smoking guys and gals using the sweet convection KBQ.
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By following this top poppet control procedure, in around 8 to 11 hours, the bark on my briskets is looking really good, with GREAT color.
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So...
If I cannot get bark "to die for" with the KBQ after cooking a brisket with the Sous Vide, then I will use the SV for other things.
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I am spoiled.
For me the bark has to be black, thick, rich, peppery meat candy that's better than the best beef jerky available, or I am simply not happy.
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Smoke On!
So my daughters first birthday was Saturday and my cook was a great success! My new favorite thing is to hang out by the smoker with party guests drinking beer and talking 'que! I was a little overambitious with the menu doing 3 meats (sausage/pulled pork/chicken) but everything turned out really well. Next time I will probably just do one meat, and then random grill stuff.
Some things I learned/discovered:
I SV'ed the pork at 160, chilled and smoked at ~225 degrees for ~3 hours, then parked it in a 170 degree oven covered... to keep it moist I dumped the flavorful pork stock (which became a solid block of jello) that I reserved from the SV bag that I had clarified from the night before. This was really good, I just wish I could get better bark formation when using SV as part of the process. To clarify I basically heated the bag liquid on the stove, you will see lots of the proteins in the liquid will solidify and are kind of gross. To remove the solids I passed the whole heated solution through a mesh strainer lined with paper towel.
I was using a combination of hickory and cherry to smoke, previously I had only used crab apple and for some reason, even with both poppets wide open I could only get the cooker up to ~250, where previously I think I was able to get up to ~300 so my chicken didn't get as crisp as I would have liked, any ideas? Would there be that big of a difference in temp based on wood?
After getting the chicken up to ~160-170 I dipped the pieces in Cookies Original BBQ sauce thinned with apple juice and grilled to get a nice char, the chicken was awesome, probably the best I have smoked on the KBQ thus far. I will likely finish most of my chicken this way going forward!
Sometimes pork butts don't have enough fat, the sausage was good, but could have been juicier, I think I'll add some fat next time I do an all butt sausage.
Top causes of low temps:
1. Coals <1" - if you can see the Coal Tray holes, you're pulling ambient air through them
2. Bridging - fluff the fire before adding wood; load with grain horizontal to encourage collapse
3. Coals >2" - hard to pull air through
4. Upper poppet open without using the lid
I would be a little leary of leaving the brisket in a freezer that is only 32 F. Personally, I would freeze it. However, I still don't get why you are cold smoking this thing? I just don't see you being able to build bark, at those temps. I think you would be better off cooking at 215 F until you hit your desired internal temp. As you know, the KBQ temp fluctuates as the fan kicks on, it might be tough to hold it at 140 F. 
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