SHsmokin
New member
Hey team, I apologize in advance if this horse has been beat to death and there is likely a ton of information on here but I cant find what I am looking for with a search … so I will likely ask a question thats been answered a hundred times (be gentle lol).
I finally got a smoker this summer, I bbq a lot and don't have time to smoke everything and my bbq was wore out anyway so I got a Pro 1100 combo bbq /smoker unit. Cool little unit, bbq works great with 3 burners in a relatively small area and the smoker works great for ribs, tenderloin (those easy cook things) but man am I having trouble with brisket.
I have done 2 now (~6 pound brisket points … I am a newbie so trying to give myself the best chance of success) and had a real challenge with both of them. First one was taking forever, I decided to put my second meat probe on the top grate beside the meat … well wow … set temp at 230 and actual temp on the grate at like 180 … I read thats normal? I cranked the heat up and finished the cook but it took like 4 extra hours (midnight brisket lol).
My question for the pros (again, I’m a newb … be gentle lol) Should I cook to set temp or actual temp on the top grate with the second probe? And is it normal to see like a 40 to 60 degree difference between set and actual temp? Seems excessive … ?
I did my second one yesterday and tried to “split the difference” with the set temp and actual temp (on the far right side of the top grate) - set temp between 230 and 250 actual temps between 190 and 230. Seemed ok, took about 7 hours to get to the stall (low stall at 155), tallow, wrap and back on. Of course I had a pellet jam up right at this point and had to reset my smoker … got really hot after that (that’s another thread likely). I couldnt get the piece of meat to get through the stall so after about 3 hours I turned up to 270 set which got my actual to about 230 that got it moving (maybe it was just an ornery piece of meat…).
My 2 brisket cooks took substantially longer than anticipated and I am thinking it’s the set and actual temp differential - could use some help from the pros here. Thoughts?
Both briskets (although late) were absolutely delicious so there is that!
Thanks team
I finally got a smoker this summer, I bbq a lot and don't have time to smoke everything and my bbq was wore out anyway so I got a Pro 1100 combo bbq /smoker unit. Cool little unit, bbq works great with 3 burners in a relatively small area and the smoker works great for ribs, tenderloin (those easy cook things) but man am I having trouble with brisket.
I have done 2 now (~6 pound brisket points … I am a newbie so trying to give myself the best chance of success) and had a real challenge with both of them. First one was taking forever, I decided to put my second meat probe on the top grate beside the meat … well wow … set temp at 230 and actual temp on the grate at like 180 … I read thats normal? I cranked the heat up and finished the cook but it took like 4 extra hours (midnight brisket lol).
My question for the pros (again, I’m a newb … be gentle lol) Should I cook to set temp or actual temp on the top grate with the second probe? And is it normal to see like a 40 to 60 degree difference between set and actual temp? Seems excessive … ?
I did my second one yesterday and tried to “split the difference” with the set temp and actual temp (on the far right side of the top grate) - set temp between 230 and 250 actual temps between 190 and 230. Seemed ok, took about 7 hours to get to the stall (low stall at 155), tallow, wrap and back on. Of course I had a pellet jam up right at this point and had to reset my smoker … got really hot after that (that’s another thread likely). I couldnt get the piece of meat to get through the stall so after about 3 hours I turned up to 270 set which got my actual to about 230 that got it moving (maybe it was just an ornery piece of meat…).
My 2 brisket cooks took substantially longer than anticipated and I am thinking it’s the set and actual temp differential - could use some help from the pros here. Thoughts?
Both briskets (although late) were absolutely delicious so there is that!
Thanks team
