Newbie to smoking!

[DavidNorcross]

Welcome from Virginia!

[smokin fool]

Winter smokes I usually plan on an extra 2-3 hours and upping the temp to 300ish but that's my Keg.
Sometimes have to top up charcoal 3/4 thru the smoke.
I don't use a blanket of any kind but do try to keep it out of the wind with some kind of break.
Traeger may be better at this than the Keg.

[tbob4]

Welcome from Chico, CA

[Bobby Q's]

Good luck to you. Having a Pellet Grill takes a lot of the guesswork out of it. In my experience better quality meat like Prime or Wagyu cooks faster than choice or select grade. Also, don't get caught up in the final temperature before pulling and resting for at least 2 hours. Check for tenderness and feel after 190 degrees. Like others have said add a smoke tube to get a more of a smoke profile.

[Subman658]

Welcome from Pa!

[Billsfan]

Well so far so good, took the advice from everyone and upped the starting temp to 215.
put it on at 2300 , 35 Degrees outside temp with some wind.
woke up at 0600, and checked the smoke thermometer and the meat was at 160F.
upped the heat to 225, and everything seems to be moving along nicely.
Thermal blanket seems to help with the pellet consumption, still on my first hopper of pellets.
Its now 0930 and meat is at 173. Not sure if that’s a stall I’ve heard about , but I have plenty of time to cook with.

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[Ahumadora]

You are through the stall at 173F It will start to climb quicker in temp now. You may want to spray a bit of water or beef stock on it as it looks a bit dry.

[Ahumadora]

Also looks like you have the probe in the point. Make sure it is not sticking into the fat between the point and flat. You want to cook it until it is probe tender in the flat.

[RickyBobby]

This. ——-^

[RickyBobby]

Lookin’ good! Certainly sounds like you’re in the stall. Keep letting it do it’s thing and you’ll be in great shape come chow time! Looking forward to more pictures of the final product and to hear how it turned out!!

[Texas Larry]

Welcome from south Texas! +1 on the advice to up the temp a bit in cold weather. How did it come out?

[bbqLuv]

Trim and prep your Brisket. Cook to temperature, set the Traeger to 225℉ and preheat, then smoke to an internal temperature reaches 160℉, wrap in foil, cook until it reaches a finished internal temperature of 204℉. this works form me. You should have a nice smoke ring. Ground Celery and/or celery salt in brisket rub will help intensify the smoke ring.

[RichieB]

Welcome from Western Massachusetts. I'll forgive you for the Billsfan thing. you have a lot to be optimistic about.

[Billsfan]

Lol! Let Brady know that he can retire next year in Buffalo, we have some great fishing in Western NY!

[Rfhd69]

Welcome from Washington state! Make sure to let that thing rest for at least an hour before you cut into it. It’s as important as the cook IMO.

[Billsfan]

So the newbie had a couple issues, but overall it turned out pretty good!
I used a Smoke dual thermometer, one in the meat, one in the smoker. As Ahumadora pointed out I had the probe in the point, not the flat, lesson learned. Also, there was a 15 degree difference in the Traeger temp and my Smoke probe, that was making me nuts.
Last couple of hours I had to crank up the heat to 265, another lesson learned, should have probably started hotter than the 225, with the cold weather, as many in the forum pointed out .
Then I moved the smoker at one point and accidentally pulled the plug, had to restart it again.
Needless to say, it came out pretty good, but definitely some room for improvements. Everyone ate seconds and some had thirds. My wife and I both had leftovers twice today!
Thanks to everyone for all the advice!


Almost forgot to take the photo, too busy serving company!

[Ahumadora]

Great looking hunk o beef right there!! Happy family, happy times!!!

[RickyBobby]

Looks like it turned out, brother. The only thing that matters in my opinion is if you were able to share the BBQ Love and make people smile. Well done, sir! They only get better from here.