Well, it didn't turn out good. I smoked a Sam's brisket at 225F in my Oklahoma Joe Bronco to 203F and it was dry. Some KC sauce helped with the dryness, but the meat was definitely not as juicy as in the past. I suspect it was one of the following reasons.
1) I didn't check the thermometer accuracy. I was using a brand new Thermoworks "Smoke" and just assumed it was already calibrated out of the box.
2) I normally don't use Texas Crunch but this time I did. But as the recipe says..."take a nap" after you put the meat on, I did just that and when I started the crunch, the stall had been going on for a few hours. So I was late with the crunch.
3) I only had time to rest it in a cooler for maybe 30 minutes before carving.
4) Possibly a bad grade of meat (too lean) ??
5) Maybe 203 was too hot for this meat?? I should have checked it at 195F (I didn't).
6) Some put a can of water or a shallow water pan in their Bronco smoker....I didn't have any water. This is the first time I smoked a brisket in the Bronco....normally I use my pellet grill. I also had dry beef ribs in my last smoke. I'm confident the temperature is OK....I have three different digital thermometers and the dial on the side is approximately the same.
Things I don't think mattered....I dry brined as I always do, I usually smoke fresh, but this meat had been frozen, and I "dried the bark" by smoking out of foil wrap after the Texas Crunch reached 203F.
Any suggestions as to what went wrong?
1) I didn't check the thermometer accuracy. I was using a brand new Thermoworks "Smoke" and just assumed it was already calibrated out of the box.
2) I normally don't use Texas Crunch but this time I did. But as the recipe says..."take a nap" after you put the meat on, I did just that and when I started the crunch, the stall had been going on for a few hours. So I was late with the crunch.
3) I only had time to rest it in a cooler for maybe 30 minutes before carving.
4) Possibly a bad grade of meat (too lean) ??
5) Maybe 203 was too hot for this meat?? I should have checked it at 195F (I didn't).
6) Some put a can of water or a shallow water pan in their Bronco smoker....I didn't have any water. This is the first time I smoked a brisket in the Bronco....normally I use my pellet grill. I also had dry beef ribs in my last smoke. I'm confident the temperature is OK....I have three different digital thermometers and the dial on the side is approximately the same.
Things I don't think mattered....I dry brined as I always do, I usually smoke fresh, but this meat had been frozen, and I "dried the bark" by smoking out of foil wrap after the Texas Crunch reached 203F.
Any suggestions as to what went wrong?
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