Yoder Wichita smoked brisket thoroughly!!

[Ghawtho]

Hi y’all,
I smoked this brisket on my new Yoder Wichita loaded offset stick burner. Smoke time before wrapping was 10 hours at 225° then wrapped and took internal temperature to 203°
as you can see in the pictures the smoke ring penetrated thoroughly almost 100% through the center of the brisket. There is no such thing as a maximum smoke ring of only 1/8” as the picture proves that’s totally incorrect. The brisket was heavily smoked and was TOO strong for slices so it was chopped up for sandwiches which taste great for sandwiches. The meat was smoke to 165 degrees before wrapping and that was TOO MUCH smoke ring. Hopefully some can comment on what was done wrong. Briskets are getting very expensive for practice with or make mistakes. With the cost of brisket now days it will probably be spring 2023 before smoking another brisket.

[Jerod Broussard]

The smoke ring is not caused by smoke it's caused by gasses. I had a brisket point like that on my Pit Barrel Cooker, no wood, just charcoal.


https://amazingribs.com/more-techniq...oke-necessary/

[Ghawtho]

That makes perfect since, cause I’ve heard Aron Franklin shovels hot coal into the smoker. Sounds like he is not burning wood in a firebox instead the wood is burned somewhere else while the coals are shoveled into the firebox. I do have a fire pit for burning wood down to coals. I really don’t think many are doing that though.

[glitchy]

Every smoker is unique, but in general stick burners run more optimally around 275° versus 225°. To keep a nice clean fire at 225° you’d often be throwing slivers of kindling on every few minutes. Try running a little higher temp (still using pretty small splits). Also, it appears that you sliced with the grain instead of across the grain.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

I was able to run my new smoker 225-235, (see avatar) I did run the firebox for a solid 30 minutes or so to get everything warmed up...then I was using double & triple split oak to keep a small & clean fire going. I did this for my salmon....not sure I would want to do that for 10 hours or more!!!

[Ghawtho]

My Yoder Wichita is a LARGE beast 1/4” steel
so even burning at 225° it takes LARGE splits to get there. Trying to run at 275° it would take two large splits every 60 minutes to maintain 275°
If my offset was the cheap big box offsets then yes the splits would be very small. This thing is a beast weighing at 591 pounds and takes 14” to 16” splits even getting to 225°
It would take a HUGE BON fire to hold and maintain 275° and holds 225° very easily with one medium to large split. The Yoder Wichita is closer to the commercial units compared to what the big box stores sell. The larger an offset the more BTU of fuel as required to reach temperature. On the 20 foot long 36” diameter offsets it takes around 6 to 8 logs to reach 225°

[glitchy]

I’m aware of what a Wichita is. It’s pretty normal size for an offset smoker. If you have read Aaron Franklin’s book or caught any of his PBS series, he runs around 275° on every offset he cooks on. From a COS in his backyard in one episode, to the reclaimed propane tank smokers about the size of your Yoder, to the beasts in his restaurants. The temp is about keeping a clean burning fire. Huskee what does your Wichita run best at?

[Murdy]

Even if it eats more fuel, you won't be running it as long.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Agree, that it takes some time to warm 1/4 inch

[Sid P]

Did you have a nice bed of coals before you put the meat on, and maintain it throughout your cook? What color was your exhaust? Fire management on a stick burner is an art, and temperature is only one clue as to what’s happening in your firebox.

I’m sorry about your brisket. Like most people around here, I too have made some mediocre ones. Good luck, and enjoy the journey!

[Ghawtho]

The Yoder Wichita uses 14” - 16” splits.
I wonder how well it would operate using
only one 6” split log at a time?
Possibly fueling the Yoder with wood chunks and not using wood splits?
The only thing about wood chunks is the fire would burn chunks up in a hurry. I bet wood chunks would be gone within about 8 minutes.

[jfmorris]

As others said, it's often hard to run a stick burner (offset) at 225. Mine likes to run at 250-275, and if you run it lower, tends to have dirtier smoke. Try running a little hotter next time.

I've had smoke ring all the way through a rack of ribs before, and a half inch into a brisket. Not sure where you got the idea that it can only be 1/8 inch deep. It's all about exposure to certain combustion gasses before certain proteins in the meat denature at 150-160 degrees. If it takes longer to reach that temperature, then you will have a deeper smoke ring.

Also, as others pointed out - you sliced your brisket with the grain, not across the grain, resulting in long stringy pieces that will be difficult to chew. Cut across/against the grain next time, and the meat will be much more tender to chew.

[jfmorris]

Paging Huskee to the conversation, as I believe he has a Loaded Wichita, and can comment on what temp it likes to run at.

[Mosca]

Briskets are getting very expensive for practice with or make mistakes.

Don’t have a stickburner, so I can’t comment on that. But yeah, and it’s not just the money, it’s the investment in time and reputation too, isn’t it?

Hang in there, it will come.

[RonB]

If ya want to experiment, try smoking a chuck roast. At 2 to 3 lbs, they are much cheaper, but similar to a brisket. They also cook a whole lot faster.

[Ghawtho]

I took this picture of my fire. Notice the blue flames burning in the fire. My fire has been burning VERY clean.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

If the fire is strong, I like to keeping the ash under the grate to a minimum

[glitchy]

I misunderstood your initial post as an inquiry for advice since you thought the brisket was too smokey. If you do need some ideas down the road, feel free to ask. There’s a large community here willing to offer all kinds of things you can try. Please post some pictures of the Witchita in action soon. They’re nice looking pits and we’d all love to see it.

I will offer another piece of unsolicited advice though, the other end of the horse will give you more information about how clean it’s burning. The less smoke you can see on a stick burner, the better.

[Ghawtho]

Yoder exhaust

[jfmorris]

That looks pretty darn clean to me!

[Ghawtho]

My son smoked this brisket yesterday Sep 11 on a homemade barrel smoker and looks great.
I haven’t tasted his brisket as he lives in Colorado we live in New Mexico. As for looks his brisket looks great. As for my liking it wouldn’t be my style of brisket. I want total maximum deep smoke ring. Not just a top layer smoke ring. I want smoke flavor 100% throughout the beef. If that can’t be achieved in my briskets then it goes in the trash. I am a Texan and as Texans want HIGH quality smoked briskets. Which might not be available in all smokers. Texans are spicy smoky that way. Though his brisket looks wonderful. Our son said his brisket was smoked at 225° entire cook.

[Ghawtho]

Packer briskets with a bottom fat cap and the fat layer between the flat & point (on top)
The flat is shielded by the fat between the fat & point and the flat is shielded by the fat on the bottom. The bottom flat become 100% shielded by the fat each side of the flat. That would be something I wouldn’t be happy with. It could be that briskets are not for me. I should probably stick with baby back ribs and thinner meats cause those smoke with deeper smoke penetration and shorter smoke times.

[jfmorris]

Actually, no brisket I've ever had had the flat covered on both sides. The flat kinda lays up on top of the point, and the top of it is exposed. There is a fat cap on the bottom side. I trim that fat cap side as close as feasible with a boning or filet knife, and remove any silver skin or excess fat on the top as well, and smoke fat side down.

There is nothing wrong with separating point and flat before smoking as well, but I prefer doing it intact after removing excess fat.

[HawkerXP]

Both briskets look great.

Welcome to the Pit!