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What’s on the grill/smoker today? 2020

Ok, masters of the smokers, I need some help here. I've got a GMG smoker and have had success with brisket flats. I tried a full brisket this time and this is what I got. The ends were burnt like a mother (I've heard some people like "burnt ends") bu nth either end was funny. The third and fourth piece in had a "crunchy" texture to it. Almost like grissel.(sp?). Then, as I cut in further, I got the tender greatness that is brisket done properly.

I smoked with the big side up. Is this wrong? Should the big side be down? I had it set at 225 to 160, removed/wrapped/replaced to 190. Let site for 90 minutes plus before carving.

Any and ALL suggestions would be greatly appreciated. At this point, I'm more likely to stay with "flats" since they turn out right, and I'm not embarrassed to share them. This was not stellar.

Thanks for looking and please, feel free to read me the good/bad/ugly of it all.

Floyd T





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SKYDIVNEKD said:
Ok, masters of the smokers, I need some help here. I've got a GMG smoker and have had success with brisket flats. I tried a full brisket this time and this is what I got. The ends were burnt like a mother (I've heard some people like "burnt ends") bu nth either end was funny. The third and fourth piece in had a "crunchy" texture to it. Almost like grissel.(sp?). Then, as I cut in further, I got the tender greatness that is brisket done properly.

I smoked with the big side up. Is this wrong? Should the big side be down? I had it set at 225 to 160, removed/wrapped/replaced to 190. Let site for 90 minutes plus before carving.

Any and ALL suggestions would be greatly appreciated. At this point, I'm more likely to stay with "flats" since they turn out right, and I'm not embarrassed to share them. This was not stellar.

Thanks for looking and please, feel free to read me the good/bad/ugly of it all.

Floyd T





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Looks really dry Floyd. How much to you trust your thermometer? That looks like it was cooked higher than 225°. Or, that the heat hitting the meat directly was greater than that. I’ve always cooked fat side up.
 
That’s a pellet smoker right? Did it have one of those deals where the pellets get lodged up and it has like a flare up? Maybe the temp spiked?

If not the only thing I can think of is maybe it’s a different cut of meat and it got to temp really fast. That would make it more “tough” because it wouldn’t have had enough time to break down the meat. From the look of it, the fat cap was up, which should be correct IMO, but it may have needed to be trimmed down some. Maybe the fat didn’t break down fast enough because there was too much and kind of insulated the meat, getting it to temp too fast and thus making you think it was ready when it wasn’t?

Im just spitballing ideas here..I’m actually not very good and brisket myself. But I know some guys who are. :)
 
Thanks guys. I'm not really a guy to trust circuit boards (eg: digital temp/meat probe connections) and this one has that. This time it just didn't seem right. Granted, it was cold outside (39 at beginning) but the grill seemed to be running weird. It was staying at the preset temp though(according to the digital read out).

I did have fat side up and had trimmed quite a bit of fat off, prior to seasoning. I'm going to get a different thermometer for next time, just to compare the two. I'm going to take it apart and give it a good cleaning, and see if there was a flare up in the burner area. I'm hoping this is just a one off because I've had the grill since early spring, and if the electronics are acting up already, I'm not gonna be happy.

I'll let y'all know what happens. Again, thanks for the input.

Floyd T
 
SKYDIVNEKD said:
Thanks guys. I'm not really a guy to trust circuit boards (eg: digital temp/meat probe connections) and this one has that. This time it just didn't seem right. Granted, it was cold outside (39 at beginning) but the grill seemed to be running weird. It was staying at the preset temp though(according to the digital read out).

I did have fat side up and had trimmed quite a bit of fat off, prior to seasoning. I'm going to get a different thermometer for next time, just to compare the two. I'm going to take it apart and give it a good cleaning, and see if there was a flare up in the burner area. I'm hoping this is just a one off because I've had the grill since early spring, and if the electronics are acting up already, I'm not gonna be happy.

I'll let y'all know what happens. Again, thanks for the input.

Floyd T
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Couple questions Floyd

1. Mind if I ask what model GMG you have?

2. Does the unit have integrated thermometers that you monitor on wifi/app?

3. Did you use an external thermometer?

4. Have you done a calibration check on the temperature controller? For example, used an oven thermometer sitting in the smoker to verify your temperature controller?

Reasons for my questions are this. I agree with John, that appears to have cooked too long and too hot. If you were monitoring your internal smoker temp and your meat temp, then I find it hard to believe it cooked that well through. If you did monitor your temps well, then I wonder if you need to calibrate. Meaning you may have thought it was running 225 but it was running 250. However, your backup there is your meat probe. No matter then internal temp of the smoker, if your meat probe was on point then it still shouldn't have overcooked. It makes me think your meat probes are inaccurate.

I own a RECTEC Bull, and it has two integrated meat probes and wifi/app control. My first few cooks things kept coming out over cooked and too fast to temp. I did research and found that I could do calibration on the smoker temp and the probes.....guess what.....both were inaccurate. My smoker was running 30 degrees hotter than it's reading was saying, and my meat probes where saying lower temps than were true. Luckily, my RECTEC allows the calibration of both and I got it fixed and it's fantastic now. But it was certainly an issue early on.

I can probably find a link to show you the meat probe glass of ice water calibration test, but as for your internal smoker temp. If you find out it's inaccurate and cannot calibrate, you'll just have to keep the math in mind when you cook. I calibrated my internal temp by buying a $5 oven thermometer and setting it inside my smoker. Too easy.

Just some things to think about here.

Also, can you clarify this part of your post? "I had it set at 225 to 160, removed/wrapped/replaced to 190. Let site for 90 minutes plus before carving."
 
I'll add something as well. When slicing a whole brisket, start with the flat like you did. At the point where you get into the middle of the flat and start having 2 pieces, rotate that piece (which is normally called the point) 90 degrees. This will ensure you're slicing against the grain. It looks like the point, judging from the pictures, was sliced with the grain. That makes a world of difference.
 
bfreebern said:
I'll add something as well. When slicing a whole brisket, start with the flat like you did. At the point where you get into the middle of the flat and start having 2 pieces, rotate that piece (which is normally called the point) 90 degrees. This will ensure you're slicing against the grain. It looks like the point, judging from the pictures, was sliced with the grain. That makes a world of difference.
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Yep, across the grain is key. I've got a Maverick thermometer with meat probe and BBQ temp probe and I can't recommend it highly enough.
 
SKYDIVNEKD said:
Ok, masters of the smokers, I need some help here. I've got a GMG smoker and have had success with brisket flats. I tried a full brisket this time and this is what I got. The ends were burnt like a mother (I've heard some people like "burnt ends") bu nth either end was funny. The third and fourth piece in had a "crunchy" texture to it. Almost like grissel.(sp?). Then, as I cut in further, I got the tender greatness that is brisket done properly.

I smoked with the big side up. Is this wrong? Should the big side be down? I had it set at 225 to 160, removed/wrapped/replaced to 190. Let site for 90 minutes plus before carving.

Any and ALL suggestions would be greatly appreciated. At this point, I'm more likely to stay with "flats" since they turn out right, and I'm not embarrassed to share them. This was not stellar.

Thanks for looking and please, feel free to read me the good/bad/ugly of it all.

Floyd T





View attachment 37414View attachment 37415View attachment 37416
Click to expand...
Just being devils advocate, I did one brisket and it turned out just like this. Threw the whole thing away. I did another one (smaller) and it turned out perfect. It could have been the meat.
 
Brickhouse,

1: GMG Jim Bowie with wifi.

2: Yes, but I go and look at the unit on the grill. The wifi app is sketchy at best.

3: No, I used the wired thermometer from the front port into the meat. I put it into the big prt of the meat, which definitely allowed the smaller pend to get over done.

4: No, but after this goat screw, I'm going to.

I'll work on calibrating as soon as I get a chance. I'll post a follow up.

My "225 to 160" just means I set the smoker temp at 225 degrees, and put them brisket in to cook until it reached 160 degrees. I pulled it out, wrapped it in pink paper wrap, and then put it back in, to cook until it hit 195 degrees. I took it out, wrapped it in a towel and then into a cooler for 90 minutes, give or take a few.

I appreciate the insight. I'm gonna figure it out, one way or the other. Too much money to let go to chit!

Floyd T
 
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