Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Question for the BBQ experts

I haven't had much time to post lately; still don't.
Been following this thread as it comes in email though.
My quick thoughts for you michaeld (have i ever led you astray?):

That link bridgman put up is fantastic info. I either posted it before or someone has since spread it around because i've had that webpage for several years now in my recipe box.
Follows those directions for brisket and you will be fine.

A person CANNOT tell when a piece of meat hits a certain temp.
They can only guess based on weight, temp and time. A temp probe is more accurate and takes away any guessing. I usually do my slow cooks around 250F. You can use lower temps but it is unnecessary and just takes longer to cook. Above 275F (upper 300F max) and your meat cooks too fast on the outside compared to the inside.

Yes, use a "Texas crutch" at the stall point around 150F-160F. It will help get the temps up more quickly past the stall and cut down the cooking time, plus retain moisture! The meat should have enough fat to keep it moist in the crutch, but we usually put a half cup of beer or apple juice in a pan, add a short grill, place the brisket on the grill, then wrap the whole pan tight with foil. This is WAY better than having to baste the brisket all day long to keep it moist. The pro bbq guys on tv usually have so many chunks of meat in their cookers, they don't need to add more moisture in the system, but a piece of meat alone in a large enough unit can start to dry out.
Ribs are the same way. If you don't foil them and cook them longer than 2 hours, pffft.
Dry cracked ribs is what you get.

Cook the brisket the rest of the way to 195F. Some same 200F but i found the brisket started to dry out when we pushed the last one longer.

Take out and let sit 'tented' or in an ice cooler (without the ice).
The temp will climb a bit on its own at this point before cooling down.
Afterward follow that link's info on how to cut a brisket properly!
There are two parts to a brisket and you want to be cutting against the muscle grain.

I've done two briskets now, greenhorn off the bat and both were excellent. Just followed those directions.

Woods definitely carry different flavours, but they can be subtle. Hickory and mesquite, not so subtle.
Maple does kind of need a certain meat to make it work (salmon for example).
Maple blends are nice though; not as sharp as hickory or mesquite.

Will try to post some food pron when i have time. Got some good pics of ribs this summer and brisket last summer on the Big Green Egg.
I also have a pic of myself drinking beer while smoking a pork butt in -30C. My beer was freezing faster than i could drink it.

Got another bbq tomorrow at a friend's place.
Likely the last of the summer days as last night dropped to 2C here.
Fall is a comin.