Today I fired up the "stick burner" with some nice Post Oak and put me a 15 lb Beef Brisket that I trimmed up and seasoned with some Kosher salt and black pepper overnight. Later I am going to put on a coupla racks of Pork ribs that I put rub on last night to marinate. I already have a pot of Texas Ranch style beans in a Dutch Oven in the smoker. A bit later I am going to finish up some North Woods Inn style Red Cabbage salad made with a sweet & sour dressing.
It is going to be a long slow cook of about 12 to 15 hours to bring that Brisket to 205*. I am running at about 210* at the moment, with the bean pot providing some moisture along with a water pan with some Jim Beam in it. The beans have almost a quart of Carte Blanc beer to flavor along with homemade bacon.
I have been wanting to do a Brisket for quite a while, and this week I got one for 2.69 a lb. Today's effort is an exercise in fire management. As usual I start my fire with some lump Mesquite hardwood charcoal where I then put on 3 sticks of Post Oak. I got the Q up to 225* and put on the Brisket. This is a bit quicker than usual as I usually let the wood burn down until it is glowing hot coals. What you are looking for is thin blue smoke and not billowing blue smoke coming out of the chimney. To achieve that you have to provide more airflow through the Q so as to burn a hotter and cleaner fire. So this time out I am using less fuel than usual to moderate the fie because it is going to be a long slow cook.
Later about an hour after the Brisket hits the "stall" at about 160* I am going to wrap it in tin foil to finish. This wrapping will depend upon how tired and how the Brisket looks. The beans at some point will be finished and taken off. The Ribs will be on the top rack and off we go to Texas heaven.
