So I was rubbing my meat earlier thinking about you guys....

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Originally Posted by Dave

and go until internal temp hits 200.

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Why go through all the trouble to smoke the meat if your going to destroy it by going to such a high temp? Seems like a waste.

190-195 should be good-to-go for brisket.

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Originally Posted by Colorado_Outback

I picked up the same smoker that you have after reading about your setup in the other smoking thread.
Did a whole chicken today and I'm hooked. Ribs next weekend.

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I've found that I have better results if I soak the wood chunks overnight, and then instead of putting them in the wood pan, I'll roll the chunks up in several layers of aluminum foil like big enchiladas, with the ends open. Then lay two of those in the wood pan.

I had problems with the wood chunks bursting into flames, making the smoker too hot, putting out black sooty smoke, and drying/charring the meat. Rolling the chunks up in foil prevents them from burning up in flames, but they'll still smoke and steam. The pork I did Saturday was slap-yo'-grandma-good!

Oh yeah, try to keep the meat as high up as possible, as far away from the burner as you can. Keep the vent closed most of the way, just open a little. Up high will keep the meat in the smoke and steam in a more oven-like environment, and away from the drying heat near the burner. And keep the water pan filled.

Slow and LOW is the way to go for brisket to break it down. It's a tough piece of meat and really needs time on the smoker to have it tenderize properly.

EDIT: I almost never have my smoker over 220* for anything.

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Originally Posted by asmo

Why go through all the trouble to smoke the meat if your going to destroy it by going to such a high temp? Seems like a waste.

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BBQ is cooked to tenderness, not doneness. Most BBQ hunks of critter are cooked to over 190, with fattier pieces going into the 200 range to render out some of the extra fat. The long and slow cooking renders fat to lube muscle fibers and breaks down collagen to convert to gelatin.

I never used to like seeing my smoker temp go over 230, but after watching shows and reading up I've noticed that a lot of pro pitmasters actually do go into the 275-285 range after wrapping for pork butts and briskets. Myron Mixon even admits he takes his over 300 depending on what meat and how trimmed it is, and he's won more awards and money in BBQ competitions than anyone.

Now that the juice fast is done I need to get me a smoker!

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Originally Posted by rondog

I've found that I have better results if I soak the wood chunks overnight, and then instead of putting them in the wood pan, I'll roll the chunks up in several layers of aluminum foil like big enchiladas, with the ends open. Then lay two of those in the wood pan.

I had problems with the wood chunks bursting into flames, making the smoker too hot, putting out black sooty smoke, and drying/charring the meat. Rolling the chunks up in foil prevents them from burning up in flames, but they'll still smoke and steam. The pork I did Saturday was slap-yo'-grandma-good!

Oh yeah, try to keep the meat as high up as possible, as far away from the burner as you can. Keep the vent closed most of the way, just open a little. Up high will keep the meat in the smoke and steam in a more oven-like environment, and away from the drying heat near the burner. And keep the water pan filled.

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Thanks for the tip on the foil, I had the exact same problem with the Apple chips I was using, they would just burst into flame after a certain point causing the temp to spike up around 300.
I had read that tip before about putting your meat high up as possible and not leaving the top vent wide open so that the smoke can linger around the meat longer.

How do you normally position the two bottom vents?

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Originally Posted by Colorado_Outback

Thanks for the tip on the foil, I had the exact same problem with the Apple chips I was using, they would just burst into flame after a certain point causing the temp to spike up around 300.
I had read that tip before about putting your meat high up as possible and not leaving the top vent wide open so that the smoke can linger around the meat longer.

How do you normally position the two bottom vents?

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Mine doesn't have two bottom vents. At least I've never seen any. And chunks work better than chips, they'll last longer.