My mom wanted a brisket for Christmas, so I manned up and got a 18lb prime packer from Costco. Was down to ~14lbs after I trimmed it up - seemed like a lot of fat, or maybe I trimmed it up too much. Anyway, I dry brined it with kosher salt on Saturday for a Christmas Eve cook. I had a couple of new toys to play with - a Party Q and the new secret santa instant read, so I was stoked. Set up the 18.5 WSM Monday at around 5PM, installed the Party Q, used KBB and 4 apple wood chunks from fruita wood (2 chunks buried in the coals, 2 on top of a full ring of coals). Took out enough coals to fill the chimney starter and lit em up. Used the minion method as usual, and filled the water pan with boiling water. I used the Maverick XR-50 to monitor temps and used MHs BBR rub (https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...eef-rub-recipe), along with that awesome Texas BBQ Juice (https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...barbecue-juice).
I set up the party Q for 225, and got it rolling around 6PM on Christmas Eve. Of course, it wasn't quite that smooth. House full of people asking questions and giving advice, I had started getting in the spirit with some spirits, and I didn't take into account that fitting that hunk of meat on the 18.5 would be a challenge. It really was too big for the wsm, but I squeezed it in. Got my probes in and let her run. The party Q worked as advertised after awhile. When I first put the meat on, the XR-50 grate TC was reading 225, but the party Q was reading 215. I finally realized I had the probe clip too close to the meat and when I figured out a place for it (on the base of the grate handle - the meat was so big there wasn't any real estate), the two came into synch. To hold the temps, I had the top vents about 1/4 closed after some fiddling. I let it run until around midnight, when it was into the stall at 154, added a few coals through the door, and went to bed.
I got up at 6AM, 12 hours into the cook. The WSM was at 210 and the meat was at 175, so I fired up a full chimney and added it (I lift the wsm body off the bottom to do this). That is when I noticed that the party q deflector was pointed straight up instead of down to direct the air flow under the coals. When I installed it, I just tightened it finger tight instead of using a screwdriver. Plus, the batteries were about dead. I replaced the batteries, but with a load of hot coals, I couldn't tighten the deflector. I used a screwdriver to push it around so it wasn't pointing straight up, but that was the best I could do. I also added another quart or so of hot water to the pan. Spiked to 300, but settled down to 230 after about 30-45 min.
At 8:30, the meat was still at 175. The wsm was still running at 230. I was starting to get a little anxious. At 10:30, the meat was at 177. Almost panic - we needed to get on the road to Atlanta. So I did the smart thing - I wrapped it with a double layer of foil and a little of the BBQ juice and stuck it in the oven at 225. The coals in the wsm were getting low anyway. We got the car loaded and when I pulled it and cambroed it at around noon, it was at 205 and the probe went in like it was butter. Got to Atlanta and ate at around 5. The brisket was still hot, and it was excellent. Best I have cooked. Great bark. No pics, cause there was a house full of people standing around waiting for me to cut and serve. The Texas Juice was a hit to. My only problem was that I didn't develop much of a smoke ring.
A couple of lessons learned - check the brisket size first, and make sure the party q is set up right. And maybe try hot and fast - 18 hours is a long time.
I set up the party Q for 225, and got it rolling around 6PM on Christmas Eve. Of course, it wasn't quite that smooth. House full of people asking questions and giving advice, I had started getting in the spirit with some spirits, and I didn't take into account that fitting that hunk of meat on the 18.5 would be a challenge. It really was too big for the wsm, but I squeezed it in. Got my probes in and let her run. The party Q worked as advertised after awhile. When I first put the meat on, the XR-50 grate TC was reading 225, but the party Q was reading 215. I finally realized I had the probe clip too close to the meat and when I figured out a place for it (on the base of the grate handle - the meat was so big there wasn't any real estate), the two came into synch. To hold the temps, I had the top vents about 1/4 closed after some fiddling. I let it run until around midnight, when it was into the stall at 154, added a few coals through the door, and went to bed.
I got up at 6AM, 12 hours into the cook. The WSM was at 210 and the meat was at 175, so I fired up a full chimney and added it (I lift the wsm body off the bottom to do this). That is when I noticed that the party q deflector was pointed straight up instead of down to direct the air flow under the coals. When I installed it, I just tightened it finger tight instead of using a screwdriver. Plus, the batteries were about dead. I replaced the batteries, but with a load of hot coals, I couldn't tighten the deflector. I used a screwdriver to push it around so it wasn't pointing straight up, but that was the best I could do. I also added another quart or so of hot water to the pan. Spiked to 300, but settled down to 230 after about 30-45 min.
At 8:30, the meat was still at 175. The wsm was still running at 230. I was starting to get a little anxious. At 10:30, the meat was at 177. Almost panic - we needed to get on the road to Atlanta. So I did the smart thing - I wrapped it with a double layer of foil and a little of the BBQ juice and stuck it in the oven at 225. The coals in the wsm were getting low anyway. We got the car loaded and when I pulled it and cambroed it at around noon, it was at 205 and the probe went in like it was butter. Got to Atlanta and ate at around 5. The brisket was still hot, and it was excellent. Best I have cooked. Great bark. No pics, cause there was a house full of people standing around waiting for me to cut and serve. The Texas Juice was a hit to. My only problem was that I didn't develop much of a smoke ring.
A couple of lessons learned - check the brisket size first, and make sure the party q is set up right. And maybe try hot and fast - 18 hours is a long time.
I very much enjoyed!
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