Brisket on a 22.5 Kettle

[FireCapt782]

I'm going to do a 14 lb brisket on my 22.5 on monday, Need some ideas for a set up and approx. cook time!
Please help a newbie out!!

I do plan on smoking it as well with some Hickory.

Thank You

[1buckie]

Here's my input:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/ok-finally-brisket/msg72790/#msg72790

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/food-pr0n/brisket-prawn/msg7719/#msg7719

I'm in a hurry, search brisket method in the advanced search field ( not the box, just below, click on the gray bar & enter brisket method) & various member's cooks will come up.......there's some folks who really know what's up here.............

[jimmy_dong]

approx cook time : 1-1.5 hrs per pound @ 225f

ride the snake 2x2x1 with an initial dozen or so lit coals

fat cap down.

dont peek.

thats the cliff notes.

[addicted-to-smoke]

... 2x2x1 ...

I'm not fully up to speed with snakes. What is 2x2x1?

He's gonna half to cook anywhere from between 14 to 21 hours? Seems like a wide variable.

Is he gonna need a thermometer, even if just a lid thermometer?

[jimmy_dong]

 o
oo
oo

is a profile look at a 2x2x1 snake.

the time and temp is a jumping off point. there are variables that cannot be determined off site. The meat is done when its done.  I cooked a 11lb brisket last weekend in 6 hours. 300f and wrapped at 4 hrs in. Passed the hang test.

Thermo is needed at grate. probe thermo is optional for meat.

[1buckie]

Yeah, Jimmy's got it about right on the temperature / time......I like to run just a bit hotter, 250~260f so it doesn't take forever.....the 1st one I linked was about 14 hours for 15-1/2 lbs. to give an idea.........weight & time gives you some idea, however with this piece, getting to the end of the cook is best determined by "probe tender" where the probe or skewer or awl slides into the meat like fluid, no resistance.......

It can be a little different, but not much, if only the "flat" piece is done instead of the whole brisket......

Here's a quote from Aawa on coal setup:

Hey Hank great blog!!!
Can someone tell me the benefit of the two snake method?
I've always curled the snake 3/4 of the way around the kettle and lit one end but I've noticed lately a few cooks which have 2 lit snakes on either side of the kettle

Without supports to make the snake thicker (expanded metal or bricks or something) it's hard to get a thick snake that burns hot and consistently. A two headed snake doesn't have to be any thicker to get you the heat, and will last long enough for most high heat cooks.

In a kettle you could do a minion like method on a big pile of charcoal for high heat, but then you may not be cooking indirect without a heat deflector. This is not an issue on the WSM since it is larger and the heat is far away.

The snake method that is normally used is the 2-1 snake, where it is only 3 coals .  I modified that, since I smoke things at 300-350 degrees by doing a 2-2-1 snake.  I light 10-12 coals and drop them on the end.  I run with bottom and top vent wide open and it will hold 300-325 for 7-9hours.


About 30mins after putting a 12lb brisket into the kettle with the snake setup, this was the temperature.  At the highest point it went up to 330 degrees for about 5mins and then slowly dropped back to 300 degrees.


After 5 1/2 hours I was left with about 1/4 snake, which I estimate would get me about 2 more hours of cooking or more.

It's from this thread by Hank:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/what-post-best-describes-the-snake-method/



Now, FireCapt782, I hope this is not getting to be information overload as this stuff can be fraught with all various opinions & experience..........
Here's some clarification, hopefully:

Picking a cooking temp that's right for you: 
Low:
220 ~240......takes longer, yields nice results, not much risk of going wild & drying things out, downside might be (&I've seen this a lot with people unfamiliar with this type cook) is the temp gauges are just a little off & you end up running too low of heat & it never really gets done, exasperation sets in & a bad experience results........

Medium:
  240 up to maybe 275f......moves things along, still fairly easy to manage for a person just learning,
results are indistinguishable from Lower as far as I can tell, still a lot less risk of overshooting your marks......gives you a little time to understand where you're at & breathing room for decisions.............

Higher, or "Hot & Fast" as some folks call it:
Up around 300 & into the 350f range......Probably something more for an experienced cook....see Aawa's temps up above, guy really knows what he's doing & has had a lot of practice.......can easily yield great results, quite a bit more danger of running amok, overshooting endings or wrapping points, need to cook, perhaps, to a higher end temp, just handled a bit differently that lower heats, still scares me a bit at times.......


Picking a setup that's right for you:

This "snake method" works good & I've seen people have a tremendous result from the very 1st time......downside might be, if you've never used it, there's another thing thrown into the mix of 'learnin' stuff' , where going with some way you are already comfortable with takes the pressure of experimentation off of your mind..........

Banking coals against one side is common & familiar for most folks, maybe OK for this kind of cookup, just that adding coals enough times for a long cookup has you opening the lid a bunch of times & having to recoup heat each time......I've seen people take, actually forever (and that''s a long time !!!) getting a brisket or shoulder done because of doing that......

Using a "Minion" method might be good, sort of like a fat snake.......a crescent moon pile, or coals piled up behind a brick divider, then a small batch of lit coals added to one end.....I'll need some others to chime in with pictures here, as I don't do this quite often enough & don't have good ones
Pluses for this is you're not having to add coals , like the snake setup, coals are all in to start with......downside might be that if it's not monitored well enough, it can go way high heat.....in my own personal experience, brisket likes even, mostly unchanging temp.......nice & level all the way thru...............


Picking a piece that's right for you:

You already have a whole one & that's what I've seem over & over, because the point piece has much more fat & will keep the thing more moist throughout the cook......

Flats only can be tricky & dry out if not attended to correctly.......


Trimming:

I'll put up an Aaron Franklin video that covers this, real straightforward & easy to follow....
Quote:
" You pretty much trim until you get sick of trimmin'"

Seasoning:

Simple is best for this cut, salt, pepper, garlic powder, or maybe a compound rub that you've come to like...........Aaron Franklin's video covers this too............

Fat cap up or down:

This IS the question for the ages & has ignited more arguments on the InterToob than any one single idea I can think of.....Mr. Dong says down, I say if a lunker (large one) down 1st, then up when it wraps or pans.....smaller sized, fat up all the way thru.......

Fatcap down helps to protect the meat from the heat of the fire, but, in my own experience, tends to lose more juices, as the fat is then more exposed to the heat.....kinda becomes a flip of the coin......I've tried both & like the results of cap up, mostly...... 

Foil or butcher paper wrap (& when):

Another highly opinionated question.......I've not tried paper, so have nothing to share, Franklin's may have something on that......

Foiling or panning has done well for me at approximately the halfway point.....plus side is it will then cook a bit faster as it's sort of braizing in the wrapper & thus retains moisture.........it is also will help move the piece thru the "stall" period, where the internal temp stops for a time, as the collagen converts.....this is something to be aware of......no freaking out at this point.......since the advent of temp monitoring, all kinds of craziness has gone on in re: to folks thinking their pit has ceased functioning or their fire has gone out or needs some kind of boost, then ramping up the temp & getting things overly hot too quickly, remember, nice even temps.........the meat is doing what it organically needs to do for BBQ.....the internal temp may stay at 155~165 for two hours, but a wrapping can move that along without heating up the cooker, see the braizing thing above, make sense?


Franklin's:

http://www.pbs.org/food/web-shows/bbq-with-franklin/

Different cooker, but most of the rules still apply..............

Watch

  "The Brisket"

  "The Cooker"

  "The Payoff"

[BBQmedic]

I followed Aaron Franklin's videos, the ones Buckie mentioned and had near perfect results....

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk

[FireCapt782]

Thanks SO MUCH for all the great information, 1Buckie you above and beyond the call! I've done several briskets in my smoker in the past but I hate the design of it and don't enjoy using it, That is why I'm going to the kettle. 9wish I could afford the WSM but that is not in the cards right now.

I plan on doing the snake method and starting in around 10 sunday night. Should I also use a water pan or just a catch pan??

[1buckie]

I put beans underneath (see threads above) but a lot of folks use a water pan & swear by that for keeping moisture.......Mirkwood's ribs at the West Coast gathering were done using a water pan & it showed in the end result !!!!

[jimmy_dong]

The only reason I suggest fat cap down is for heat protection. Since you cannot get the meat far enough away from the fire.

In a stick burner I will do fat cap up.

I do agree with those that scream the fat cap does not impart any extra juice to the equation. The marbling does that.

Oh man. what a can of worms I just opened...

[1buckie]

alrightee, then........................


I love a good "discussion" !!!!!!

I'm just so used to doing tri-tip fatcap up, at 1st it never occurred to me to do it any other way......

tip fatcap will have a major difference as to what you can get away with as far as tenderness & moisture.........I detest 'peeled' ones, way too easy to dry out & toughen up...............................
I spot at least some of that quality in brisket, not as much, but some.....

You are right that more of the moisture & tenderizing comes from internal on that piece......

Recent tri-tip, cap up: