Not to long ago we bought a smoker and the first thing we decided to cook was a brisket. Using natural lump charcoal and hickory chips we smoked the brisket for roughly 9 hours at temperatures ranging between 200 and 225 until the internal temperature of the brisket was 170. The smoke flavoring was a bit overwhelming and the brisket was bit tough but I was pretty pleased with what was my first effort.
I’ve had a hell of a time finding any decent instructions one how to smoke meat. Most of the instructions I’ve found are rather vague and in some cases inaccurate. For example one recipe for baby back ribs told me to smoke them for 4 hours at 225 but it took almost 8 hours for them to be done.
Does anyone else have a smoker? Are there any books or websites you can recommend that give some specific and more or less accurate information on what to cook and how long it will take to cook? I wouldn’t even mind cooking something for 12 hours or more but I hate being told that 4 hours is enough when it obviously isn’t.
There are a ton of BBQ websites out there. Try the website for the manufacturer of your smoker, they may have a message board. Also check out the smoke ring for more BBQ sites than you will ever be alble to read.
For your Baby backs try this
Season ribs, and place over low heat (225ish) for 3 hours turning every 30 minutes or so.
Remove from heat and tightly wrap in foil. You may add BBQ sauce at this point if you wish.
Place back on smoker, and kick the heat up to 300-350 for one hour. you should shuffle the foil packets every so often so the same side of the same pack is not exposed to the heat for the entire time.
Remove and open foil, the meat should have retracted 1/2"-1" from the ends of the bones, and a quick spin of a bone should cause it to come out of the meat. At this point the ribs are done, but you may want to:
Remove from foil, add additional sauce and place over direct heat for a few minutes to crust up ribs.
Enjoy
New Braunfels Smokers has a pretty good website. I’ve got their Black Diamond smoker, and it’s built like a tank!
I start brisket at about 300 degrees, then after 30-45 minutes I choke the fire down to about 230-250. After it has smoked long enough (I like 6 to 8 hours,YMMV) I wrap the brisket in heavy duty foil, then put it back on the smoker for another 12-16 hours, keeping the heat down around 200-220. Think of it as a big crock pot.
BTW, I prefer smoking with oak. The hardware store I buy it from has fireplace-grade oak and BBQ-grade oak. The bbq wood is cut smaller to fit smokers and is cleaner (wood with termites, other bugs gets tossed in the fireplace pile) and has less bark.
I tried pecan one time and it was so strong, it just about ruined the brisket.
Also, try to pick a brisket that has an intact layer of fat on the bottom. This will help keep the juices in. Trim the fat to 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick and cut out the knot of fat on the top of the thick end.
For seasoning, I use Zach’s. Rub it liberally on the brisket, then wrap it in plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.
Damn, I’m getting hungry for brisket, I’m taking this week off anyway…gotta go buy a brisket and some beer!
My smoker came with a video and the guy on it had some good advice.
Briskets are hard to smoke. They take a long time and they usually end up tough. Wrap them in foil after 2 - 3 hours and make sure that there is enough liquid in the foil to keep them moist.
Ribs, chicken and pork chops are much easier and don’t take as long. The ribs can be placed in foil after a couple of hours but make sure that they stay moist too. Chickens are great because just about all that you do is rub them down and put them in. They don’t take as long as other meats do.
The biggest mistake that rookies make is to get a smoker and then have the whole family over the first time that they use it. It takes a little while to learn to use one properly and as you’ve already found out, smoking times vary greatly. Have fun and good luck.
BTW, I use a propane smoker and mesquite chips. That might produce too much of a smoke taste for some but here in western Oklahoma, the stuff grows like crabgrass.
Bingo, I decided to make several test runs before inviting people over for a bbq. Our latest attempt was pulled pork and the lessons I learned with my ribs and brisket were quite helpful. I cut back on the mesquite and mixed in some oak which resulted in the boston butt being less bitter then either the ribs or the brisket. Keeping the smoker at roughly 225 it took the butt about 9 hours before it was finished.
It was fantastic. I’m looking forward to cooking it at my little get together at the end of this month.