Brisket Advice?

[PastorSAW]

Hello all, this is my first post on here but I do a lot of reading anyhow, our son brought a Wagyu brisket from Texas home which we cooked yesterday for our evening meal ... this was the second one that I had done....we cooked low and slow at 225-250 and wrapped it at 6 hours when the temp was about 160....then cooked for another 6 hours and it was right at 200 or a bit more depending on where we probed and then put it in the cooler for a few hours with towels top and bottom.......I used lumberjack competition blend for the entire cook......this one we cooked fat side up and my observation was that everyone loved the Brisket....it was good, but I noticed there was no smoke ring hardly at all on this Brisket....the last one I did had a beautiful smoke ring but I cooked it fat side down.....does anyone have any experience they'd like to share as to why I didn't get a smoke ring?? I mean, it did taste great....but Im wondering if it could have been better....any brisket advice appreciated

 

[BA_Ga]

Sounds like the cook I did yesterday on my Pro 34, as far a temperature and times are concerned. The only real difference is I used Pit Boss competition blend pellets. It was my third cook on a pellet smoker.

For years, all of my smoking was done on a stick burner and I always got a great smoke ring. A few years ago, I added an electric smoker to my setup to use for small cooks and got little, if any, smoke ring.

Keep in mind that the term "smoke ring" is misleading. It's actually a color ring formed by the NO, CO and CO2 formed when wood or charcoal burns. The cleaner your fuel burns, the smaller the smoke ring that will form.

 

[bfletcher]

I am no pro, and never coveted a smoke ring, so I'll just share Raichlen's article pertaining to the science. I get little-to-no smoke ring with my Weber smokers but thus far I've achieved rather pronounced smoke rings with my Ironwood. I should say the Ironwood has achieved this... I've made no effort on my own to accomplish it. Whether it's the pellet moisture content, or how they burn, or some other reason I cannot answer.

I'm happy to hear that everyone loved yours!

https://barbecuebible.com/2014/07/11/science-smoke-ring/

 

[PastorSAW]

I am no pro, and never coveted a smoke ring, so I'll just share Raichlen's article pertaining to the science. I get little-to-no smoke ring with my Weber smokers but thus far I've achieved rather pronounced smoke rings with my Ironwood. I should say the Ironwood has achieved this... I've made no effort on my own to accomplish it. Whether it's the pellet moisture content, or how they burn, or some other reason I cannot answer.

I'm happy to hear that everyone loved yours!

https://barbecuebible.com/2014/07/11/science-smoke-ring/

Thank you for the reply and the info! I was just wondering if it had anything to do with smoking fat side up.....the previous brisket had a beautiful smoke ring on 3 sides.....I also think I need to cut my fat cap down a little further.....live and learn Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

 

[PastorSAW]

Sounds like the cook I did yesterday on my Pro 34, as far a temperature and times are concerned. The only real difference is I used Pit Boss competition blend pellets. It was my third cook on a pellet smoker.

For years, all of my smoking was done on a stick burner and I always got a great smoke ring. A few years ago, I added an electric smoker to my setup to use for small cooks and got little, if any, smoke ring.

Keep in mind that the term "smoke ring" is misleading. It's actually a color ring formed by the NO, CO and CO2 formed when wood or charcoal burns. The cleaner your fuel burns, the smaller the smoke ring that will form.

Thank you for the reply! Our son is from Austin and he bought me a book from Aaron Franklin and now I kind of wish I had bought a stick burner haha! Do you notice a big difference in smoke flavor going to the pellet grill?? Also, I can tell you from some experience [I've done about 2 dozen cooks on my grill] that pellets make a huge difference as you can imagine....I do like the Pit Boss Comp blend .... but there was a noticeable difference using Lumberjack pellets when I smoked my chuck steak and brisket....you can tell the difference in the way the smoke smells as the grill fires up and burns .....I'm sure there are threads on here or on smoking meat forums that discuss this topic in length ... Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!

 

[BA_Ga]

... Do you notice a big difference in smoke flavor going to the pellet grill?? ...

Whether I've used a stick burner, my electric smoker, or my new pellet smoker, I get plenty of smoke flavor. After only three cooks on my Pro34 pellet smoker, it'll definitely be my baby going forward. From my experience, I think one has to learn what works best for each type of cooker based on individual preferences.

As to the specific pellet flavor, I can't offer much on that yet. The only pellets I've used are the Pit Boss Competition Combo. Why? They are the most economical from local sources. ? I also have some Hickory and Cherry that I'll be trying at some point.