Hello,

I'm new to the group. Look forward to learning new things and cooking up some great bbq.

I'll share my experience from this past Saturday when I did a brisket on my Weber one touch gold.

I prepared the brisket and mop sauce the day before using the recipe from the bbq baffle website. I didn't have a baffle at the time (just ordered one yesterday) so to do this I had to modify my grill slightly. I also didn't have a proper BBQ mop so I used a (brand new) mop head, which worked but I think it's better if I get a proper mop brush (any recommendations?) for next time.

I had a total of 3 aluminum pans that I used, all ranging in size. The first one was your basic drip pan, which went underneath where the brisket was going to rest and filled with water. The second, was a large pan for the brisket itself. This was to prevent the brisket from drying out, as it would hold a but of the mop sauce and natural juice. The last pan was meant to rest on the grate atop of the coals, filled with water.

I put up somewhat of a wall with aluminum foil that was between the fuel basket and the brisket area. It was fixed between the charcoal and cooking grates. 2 peices were required.

I started by filling up the basket to the top with kingsford briquettes. I then lit about 5 coals in my chimney, once they were half lit I placed them atop the coals in the basket. I had my bottom vents completely open and the top vents open. Thermometer went in, and I waited for temps to reach 250.

Once I hit 250, I completely closed the bottom vents, put the brisket and the remaining 2 water pans on the grill, 3 large chunks of hickory that had been soaking overnight, and then closed the top. The temp seemed to lower off at 210 for a few minutes, then began slowly falling. I opened the bottom vents to bring the temperature back up, and this was the process I went through every 10 minutes for the next 3 hours until I could steady the temperature at about 215. After 3 hours or so, I needed to add more briquettes and wood. I added about 8 fresh coals, and 2-3 chunks of hickory every hour for the next 7 hours or so. I finally found the sweet spot on the bottom vents to keep the temperature stable at around 215.

After about 10 hours of cooking, I took the internal temperature of the brisket. It was only 135 which had me worried, it was 8pm and I wanted to eat soon. I was forced to get a pizza delivered around the 4pm mark, which would have made a great photograph but I had not though of it at the time. What I did now was completely open the bottom vents and removed the water pan that sat atop the coals. I added 10 fresh coals, and a few additional chunks of wood, closed the top and let the brisket smoke at about 270 for the next 2 hours.

After this I was mildly discouraged as the brisket was only reading at 150 in the center. Furthermore, from merely prodding at it with my fingers it did not seem to be nearly as tender as I expected. I took it off and brought it inside planning on finishing any cooking needed in the oven.

To my surprise the brisket was tender, had a nice smoke ring, and was extremely tasty. It's hard to see the smoke ring in this (low quality) cell phone picture, but it was definitely there:



My next project is going to be ribs, I'm looking for a good bbq sauce recipe, I like a sugary-tangy taste, usually associated with the darker brown-blackish sauces that tend to be on the thick side. Hopefully by then I will have received the bbq baffle and the process will be a bit easier. I'll also remember to wear my sunblock, as I received a nice sunburn as a consequence. It was all worth it though.

Good write-up, Jeremiah, and nice looking brisket.

Check your meat therm for accuracy just to be sure but when cooking at very low temps one sometimes discovers 'done' at a lower temp than expected; 'done' becomes more a product of time than temp.

Give this sauce a shot if you're so inclined. It might be close to what you're looking for and is easy to make.

Good job on your cook!

jeremiah, look for my small write up
under "low and slow with a one touch kettle".
i've done both briskets and butts and they
have come out fine in around 6 hours.
real easy.

george