# Rookie Smoker- take 3 - questions



## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

So I got a Weber Smoker for fathers day ... Did ribs and salmon that Sunday ... came out preety good

Hit up HEB brisket sale, and did my 1st, and per the butcher, I did fat side down 13Lb'er ... for 10hrs (wraped in foil after 5hrs)

It came out OK ... but I am a my own worst critic

I put on my 2nd brisket this morning at 7am - this time Fat side up ... per the majority on this site and all my friends ... 

I used an actual briskt rub last night and stuck it in the fridge ...

SO ... how long do I wait beofre I wrap in foil?

When should I pull it off?

anything else I can do to help myself

BTW
I am keeping the temps at 225- 250 ish - Charcoal and misqet

thanks for yall's opinion - I know everyone's will vary ... but I am still learning, so I want to here everyones

Skipp


----------



## FREON (Jun 14, 2005)

Are you cooking with charcoal or wood and do you have your fire to one side and the mrat on the other side( indirect) or are your coals directly under the brisket? What is brisket weight?


----------



## br1006 (Mar 24, 2006)

45 minutes to 1 hour per pound unwrapped, wrap it for a couple of hours and pull it off and let it rest for a while and then enjoy!

Brisket is like a fine wine, all it takes is time and patience.


----------



## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

FREON said:


> Are you cooking with charcoal or wood and do you have your fire to one side and the mrat on the other side( indirect) or are your coals directly under the brisket? What is brisket weight?


Weber smokers look like a black R2 D2

Fire on bottom, big bowl of water then two grill racks

they say to use charcoal, wit ha hand full of wood ... It is not direct heat as the bowl of water is in between.

Weight of brisket was 12.5 lbs


----------



## FREON (Jun 14, 2005)

I am very familiar with Weber grills, just didn't know which size you had and if you had the biggest one you can kind of indirect smoke it.. 1 hr/lb at 225. I don't wrap in foil, unless I am using some green wood which emits a lot of smoke and creates too strong of a bitter taste. If you are going to wrap in foil, I would do it about half way through the cooking process.


----------



## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

fat side down, use oak instead of mesquite, never wrap it in foil. Those things are a little different to cook on but once you figure it out, it cooks good. Also start off with b&b charcoal, then add the wood.


----------



## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Cook it Low and Slow!!


----------



## atcNick (Apr 7, 2005)

Weber smokey mountains are great. I've got one myself. A good rule of thumb I've always heard and abide by is: you want to put the fat between the meat and the heat. So I always cook fat down in mine. I rub it with whatever you plan on using, either the night before or just before you put it on the smoker. Personally I havent noticed a difference. If you're going to smoke it at 225-250 do so til internal temp is about 165ish. Then wrap it in foil and add a litle beef broth into the foil and continue smoking til it hits around 190ish. Then probe the thickest part of the flat (thats the lean side of the brisket). When it goes in easily its done. When you probe it be careful not to go all the way through and puncture the bottom side of the foil, the juices will all run out. If when you probe it it still feels tough keep going and check every 45 minutes or so until its tender. I use a temp probe to check but you can use a skewer or whatever. When its done keep it wrapped and put it in a dry ice chest for atleast an hour to let the juices calm down and redistribute or whatever they do. Then have at it.


Personally, I think the most important thing you can do to get a good product is in meat selection. I always look for the most limber brisket I can find. You want it nice and floppy (thats not what she said, lol). And you want to avoid a brisket where the end of the flat tapers off and gets really thin. That will just dry out before the thickest part is done.


----------



## Gottagofishin (Dec 17, 2005)

FREON said:


> I am very familiar with Weber grills, just didn't know which size you had and if you had the biggest one you can kind of indirect smoke it.. 1 hr/lb at 225. I don't wrap in foil, unless I am using some green wood which emits a lot of smoke and creates too strong of a bitter taste. If you are going to wrap in foil, I would do it about half way through the cooking process.


Weber makes a smoker. It's not their kettle grill. I know what you are talking about though. The Weber kettle makes an excellent smoker if you set it up right.


----------



## jdot7749 (Dec 1, 2008)

Cooked 14 lb last night. Rubbed in yellow mustard very thinly, sprinkled liberally with seasoning of your choice, cooked 12 hrs (7pm til 6:55am) at 250, 190 deg. internal on removal. Full bowl of water, whole 18 lb bag charcoal, 12 applewood chunks first two hrs. Wrapped in three layers of heavy foil, two layers of cup towels and placed in small cooler until 2 pm. I use the minion method to start coal which allows it to start progressively from top to bottom and adds a lot of cooking time to a bag of charcoal. Look up a website called Weber Virtual Bullet and you can cook like a pro with a bullet.


----------



## jdot7749 (Dec 1, 2008)

By the way lump charcoal doesn't work well in WSM and wood other than small smoking chunks or chips is taboo. With practice in charcoal fire management it's very easy to cook on.


----------



## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

Guys my 2nd brisket came out better than the 1st ... this time fat side up .... but I believe is was a better piece of meat .... the meat was falling apart when I was cutting it .....

Still learning the tricks...and watching how I adjust the bottom vents for control ...the more charcoal this time was a little tougher ...

SO fat side down is the majority on the Weber WSM?

Guess I will try it again ....

Next up - Chicken whole!!!


----------



## fangard (Apr 18, 2008)

Muddskipper said:


> Weber smokers look like a *black R2 D2*
> 
> Fire on bottom, big bowl of water then two grill racks
> 
> ...


Why do you have to make this about race. Just cook the brisket.


----------



## BlueWaveCapt (Jan 8, 2007)

The WSM that you have is supposed to be a very good smoker. I wanted one but it was expensive (IMO) and went with a UDS (upright drum smoker) instead because it was cheap to build. Same basic cooking concepts though.

I always cook my brisket fat side down because even with a water pan the heat source is directly below the meat. There's all sorts of "reasons" for fat up / fat down, and really I think it just comes down to personal opinion of how you like to cook. 

Post us some pics next time. Without pics...it never happened...LoL!!
And you've got to do some "ABT's" (aka: atomic buffalo turds) on the smoker. BEST dang jap poppers you'll ever eat IMO.


----------



## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

fangard said:


> Why do you have to make this about race. Just cook the brisket.


I'm a red neck ****** ... married to a hot Mexican ... that just likes to eat smoked brisket


----------



## DANO (May 23, 2005)

fangard said:


> Why do you have to make this about race. Just cook the brisket.





Muddskipper said:


> I'm a red neck ****** ... married to a hot Mexican ... that just likes to eat smoked brisket


:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:


----------



## Fishdaze (Nov 16, 2004)

I smoke briskets fat side down on my WSM. Leave the top vent wide open and only adjust the bottom ones for temp control.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## HTownBoi281 (May 13, 2006)

my rule of thumb is on a weber grill, i'll cook with fat side down so that the heat doesnt burn the meat but burn the fat and the fat can always be trimmed off after done cooking. in a smoker, i'll cook fat side up cause im cooking with indirect heat cause the fire is in the fire box off to the side. fat will kinda melt into the meat making it more juicy which is why i prefer my smoker to my weber for bbq and usually leave my weber for grilling steaks and what not. things that dont need a lot of cooking time.


----------



## jdot7749 (Dec 1, 2008)

World champion winners cook fat side up and so should you. Time is irrelevant but temp shoulod not exceed 225 and internal should be 185 to 190. Forget that other stuff.


----------



## Lagniappe2008 (Jan 20, 2008)

tons of different ways to cook good meat. try them all (part of the fun) and see which one you like the best. Me and my buddy have won a few first place briskets in BBQ cookoffs and we have broken a lot of the tried and true rules to win. We cooked a 12lb brisket in 5 hours at 300 degrees with fat side down at the beginning of this year and took first place. Of course we have struck out a lot more than we have won, but my favorite backyard brisket is an HEB super trimmed 10lb'er cooked at 300 until the temp is about 195. I only wrap it once I get to about 170 meat temp and it plateau's for a while. Then I wrap and usually after 1 - 1.5 hours, she's done. Let her rest for a while and then cut that puppy up.


----------



## jblrail (Mar 31, 2005)

Webers are great! I use general rule that if fire smoke is below the meat, fat on the botton. Indirect heat/smoke, fat on top. If it works, stay with it and just enjoy.


----------



## BlueWaveCapt (Jan 8, 2007)

HTownBoi281 said:


> my rule of thumb is on a weber grill, i'll cook with fat side down so that the heat doesnt burn the meat but burn the fat and the fat can always be trimmed off after done cooking. in a smoker, i'll cook fat side up cause im cooking with indirect heat cause the fire is in the fire box off to the side. fat will kinda melt into the meat making it more juicy which is why i prefer my smoker to my weber for bbq and usually leave my weber for grilling steaks and what not. things that dont need a lot of cooking time.


He's NOT using a Weber "grill". He seems to have a WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain) which is their upright smoker. BIG difference. A WSM would not be good for cooking steaks or burgers, etc... like a Weber Kettle grill. It's a very different cooker.


----------



## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

So i recently did my 5th brisket ... tried to copy my 4th process ... becaue that one came out great .... this one was so, so

The point was good and moist, but the flat was a little on the dry side

Temp got a little warmer to 250, but I know that is still in the good range ....

1. Have any of you had success only wraping the flat side? - was curious
2. I need more rub ideas
3. I like the idea of not even checking it for 10 hrs - as long as my temp stays consistant
4. I was told to never mix meat and seafood in your smoker- so do not smoke any more fish - do you all agree?


----------



## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

Don't know why you wouldn't smoke fish in your smoker. We do it all the time and have had no problems when smoking meat.

TH


----------

