Brisket Flat

[FuriousHobbit]

It's been a very long time since I've cooked a brisket. Never cooked one with charcoal either. I picked up this Weber Smokey mountain a couple months ago, for free!

This thing was an absolute filthy mess when I picked it up. The water pan was full. Not of water or anything wet, just full of dried old grease, fat, and mold. But, after an hour of cleaning and scraping yesterday, it looked almost as good as new!

So today we're cooking a brisket flat (flats were all Costco had when my wife went to pick something up the other day). I wanted to cook low and slow and keep temperature around 225 but can't get it lower than about 275. I probably dumped too many lit coals in at the beginning.

Two hours in right now and the meat is already up to 150. I guess that shouldn't bee too much of a surprise considering its just the flat so kind of thin. Still looking good tho.

These pics are at first setup.



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[FuriousHobbit]

Two hours in.

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[GrillGiant]

Two hours in.

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Looking good!


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[Walchit]

The price was right for sure!

[FuriousHobbit]

Thanks @grillgiant

Darn right @walchit free99 was awesome! Haha I did buy all new grates for it but the charcoal grate was way too small. I did get the old one clean enough to use tho.

New grate from Weber is on top of the one that came with it.



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[FuriousHobbit]

After nine hours for this 6.pound brisket, diner was fantastic!



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[Walchit]

Looks like it turned out really good.

[FuriousHobbit]

Thanks.

Although VERY tasty, it wasn't quite as moist or tender and I might have liked. I think I had just a 6 pound flat, and it was in the smoker for 9 hours at a near constant 275-degrees. It spent hour 6 in butcher paper and the final hour or two in butcher paper and foil. Maybe I didn't get it wrapped soon enough. Not sure!

Guess I'll just have to cook another one to see if I can do better

[KevinInStL]

Eeee. The brisket looks good but I hope you burned a super hot fire in that WSM after cleaning it out (and before cooking in it) to make sure you killed all the mold.

[FuriousHobbit]

Eeee. The brisket looks good but I hope you burned a super hot fire in that WSM after cleaning it out (and before cooking in it) to make sure you killed all the mold.

Yep, and cleaned with lots of chemicals. There was nothing alive in that thing after I was done with it. As a bit of a germaphobe, I wasn't concerned about cooking with it even a little bit. That's part of the reason I just went ahead and bought all new grates for it.

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[Walchit]

Do t throw out those old grates, a wire wheel on a drill will clean them right up. And you know your gonna end up with multiple WSMs lol

[FuriousHobbit]

Do t throw out those old grates, a wire wheel on a drill will clean them right up. And you know your gonna end up with multiple WSMs lol

Ha! I almost got another 18" model last week. It was super clean and came with a cover, for 75, just a few dollars more than I have in this one.

This one was missing the charcoal grate, only I didn't realize it was the charcoal grate that was missing. I guess the lower cooking grate that came with it was actually what I thought was the charcoal grate. So now I have a spare upper cooking grate, spare heavy duty lower cooking grate, and the new full set of grates that I'll actually use.

Not going to toss them, spent too much time cleaning them to do that! I ordered the new set of grates before I really got into cleaning things up. I got the grates very clean too. There's a little rust on them, but not even heavy. More like light surface rust after I got rid of the grease that was on it.

At least my wife likes this hobby of mine. Last night while cooking burgers on my kettle she says, you're really in your element here aren't you? Why yes, yes I am!

[Walchit]

Good times!

[BoxcarTom]

It's been a very long time since I've cooked a brisket. Never cooked one with charcoal either. I picked up this Weber Smokey mountain a couple months ago, for free!

This thing was an absolute filthy mess when I picked it up. The water pan was full. Not of water or anything wet, just full of dried old grease, fat, and mold. But, after an hour of cleaning and scraping yesterday, it looked almost as good as new!

So today we're cooking a brisket flat (flats were all Costco had when my wife went to pick something up the other day). I wanted to cook low and slow and keep temperature around 225 but can't get it lower than about 275. I probably dumped too many lit coals in at the beginning.

Two hours in right now and the meat is already up to 150. I guess that shouldn't bee too much of a surprise considering its just the flat so kind of thin. Still looking good tho.

These pics are at first setup.



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   Add water to your water tray. It helps to keep the moisture content in the cooking chamber but more importantly,  since water boils at 212°, it will help to regulate your temperature.
   If you add it at the beginning of your cook, use hot water so you can start cooking sooner. If, as in your case, your temps are to high, add cold water and watch your temperature drop, then adjust your dampers until you get it where you want it.
   An additional thought ... if you do use water in your water tray, it's really hard to get a higher temperature. I remove the water but foil line the tray (to catch grease) and can roast poultry easily at 350°. I've heard of people using sand or fire bricks to hold steady temps but in my experience it gets very messy. Easier to foil and water.
   Good luck and keep smokin

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[FuriousHobbit]

Add water to your water tray. It helps to keep the moisture content in the cooking chamber but more importantly,  since water boils at 212°, it will help to regulate your temperature.
   If you add it at the beginning of your cook, use hot water so you can start cooking sooner. If, as in your case, your temps are to high, add cold water and watch your temperature drop, then adjust your dampers until you get it where you want it.
   An additional thought ... if you do use water in your water tray, it's really hard to get a higher temperature. I remove the water but foil line the tray (to catch grease) and can roast poultry easily at 350°. I've heard of people using sand or fire bricks to hold steady temps but in my experience it gets very messy. Easier to foil and water.
   Good luck and keep smokin

Sent from my SM-N960U using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

I may try water next time. Decided to go with no water this time on purpose. Probably watched too much Harry Soo HAHA I had my water pan in place, but covered with foil to make clean up easy. And it was. All my previous smokes have been in a campchef 24" vault smoker so this was a change for me anyway. Loved the experience, can't wait to do it again