The Official Brisket Thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

Time to get a new therm. The Mavrick is reading 174. The insta pen is reading 159. Very little shinkage, so it probably hasn't completed the stall yet.

I've pulled, wrapped and dropped it into the oven at 215. I'll leave it there for about 3 hours and then drop the oven down to 170 while we are at church. Should be prefect by the time we get home. Plus, the house will smell amazing as we walk in the door from church. Can't wait.

I think my Traeger's thermostat and regulator are cross-wired or something. I had it set for 225, but the temperature reading on the unit says 265. Is anyone else's that far off? It's been like that since I got it. A little thermometer I put inside the unit is reading around 240, and I'm getting a lot of ash from the mesquite pellets. I've got a BGE probe thermometer, and it says the meat is already at 190. It blew right through the stall??? This isn't looking good. Way too early for the meat to be done, since we're not eating until 5pm.

I am having temp problems too. I threw it on at 4 am and at 9:30 am the temp probe read 278! Which, of course, is impossible since the Traeger was set to 225. I tried a few different spots and it was always in the 265-280 range and when I would try the same spots with my Thermapen, it would register about 165-180. I have it in the oven in foil now and I don't want to keep unwrapping to check with my thermapen so I am just going to go from past experience and assume it will be at 200 at around noon and then I will turn down to 180 and hold until dinner.

Time to order a new temp probe.

[CJF]

I think my Traeger's thermostat and regulator are cross-wired or something. I had it set for 225, but the temperature reading on the unit says 265. Is anyone else's that far off? It's been like that since I got it. A little thermometer I put inside the unit is reading around 240, and I'm getting a lot of ash from the mesquite pellets. I've got a BGE probe thermometer, and it says the meat is already at 190. It blew right through the stall??? This isn't looking good. Way too early for the meat to be done, since we're not eating until 5pm.

This is my third Maverick and all three have been off. I'm looking for a new brand.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I am having temp problems too. I threw it on at 4 am and at 9:30 am the temp probe read 278! Which, of course, is impossible since the Traeger was set to 225. I tried a few different spots and it was always in the 265-280 range and when I would try the same spots with my Thermapen, it would register about 165-180. I have it in the oven in foil now and I don't want to keep unwrapping to check with my thermapen so I am just going to go from past experience and assume it will be at 200 at around noon and then I will turn down to 180 and hold until dinner.

Time to order a new temp probe.

Reading the reviews for other units on Amazon, it looks like I have a bad probe. Just ordered a couple of replacements. Hopefully that will do the trick. This has been a pretty solid unit thus far.

[CJF]

Reading the reviews for other units on Amazon, it looks like I have a bad probe. Just ordered a couple of replacements. Hopefully that will do the trick. This has been a pretty solid unit thus far.

What brand/model?

[Jeff Lebowski]

What brand/model?

One of the low-end mavericks. Single probe.

[kccougar]

I think my Traeger's thermostat and regulator are cross-wired or something. I had it set for 225, but the temperature reading on the unit says 265. Is anyone else's that far off? It's been like that since I got it. A little thermometer I put inside the unit is reading around 240, and I'm getting a lot of ash from the mesquite pellets. I've got a BGE probe thermometer, and it says the meat is already at 190. It blew right through the stall??? This isn't looking good. Way too early for the meat to be done, since we're not eating until 5pm.

I've only used my Traeger a few times, but I have the same problem at lower temps. The higher temps seem to hold steady, but when I try the 225 setting it often sits at 240-250 or even higher sometimes. Not sure how to fix it. Similar problem at the 185 setting.

[CJF]

Turned out great. I still like tri-tip better but my wife loves brisket. I'm looking forward to the brisket enchiladas later this week.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Kind of a mixed result on my end. Brisket was moist and tender but a little too tender so I think it was a little overcooked. Result of flying blind without my temp probe I suppose. Also, as much as I love the original Salt Lick brisket, I have not had good success with their rub. I used it more sparingly this time, but it still had a very strong black pepper taste. Didn't ruin the flavor, but definitely sub-optimal. Going back to my own rub next time.

We are going to do brisket quesadillas tomorrow with fresh tortillas and extra sharp cheddar. Should be good.

A few pics:

[wuapinmon]

[kccougar]

Wow, that looks great!

Are you talking about using the same rub from the rub thread on your brisket?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Wow, that looks great!

Are you talking about using the same rub from the rub thread on your brisket?

No, the rub in that rub thread is what I normally use on my brisket. It is a forgiving rub in that you can layer it on very thick and it doesn't overpower the flavor. Today I used a bottle of Salt Lick rub that I purchased in Austin. It is loaded with black pepper. I am sure I could find the right balance if I kept experimenting, but I think I will just go back to old reliable.

[mtnbiker]

Here's what mine ended up like. It was a little drier than JL's, it looks like (unless your pic shows the meat after pouring some of its juice on it). But with its own juices poured over it on the plate, it was very tasty.

I messed around with the P setting to see if it would help at all. I believe the setting really just lengthens the time between auger sessions. Higher P value seemed to result in lower overall temps, but larger temperature fluctuations. I liked P2 or P3 more than P1, which I think is the default.

I also noticed that the Traeger mesquite pellets produced a lot more ash than the Perfect Mix pellets that I've been using. I like the Perfect Mix. Thanks, Coach!



I also made way more jalapeno poppers than 7 adults and 2 kids could eat. I forgot to take a picture after they came off the smoker, but here is one of the 'before' pics, before I sprinkled with rub and brown sugar. They were pretty good, and the raspberry chipotle really made a nice taste combo. I'll use the term 'jalapeno poppers', not 'ABTs', which I feel is a little crude. My son who went on a Mexican mission also knew them as poppers, and said they tasted just like the ones he had there, so I guess I did ok with them.

[Jeff Lebowski]

That brisket looks great, mtnbiker. Can you give me a quick rundown on what you did? Times, temps, etc.

Poppers look good too. Bravo.

[mtnbiker]

That brisket looks great, mtnbiker. Can you give me a quick rundown on what you did? Times, temps, etc.

Poppers look good too. Bravo.

Thanks, yours looks very tasty, too. The times and temps were a challenge today, as chronicled above, because the Traeger's internal thermometer just doesn't seem to match reality.

I rubbed the brisket with Spade L Ranch beef rub, wrapped it for a few hours, then put it on at 11:30pm (using Standard time for consistency). I used the mesquite pellets, and had it on the 'smoke' setting for 2 hours. Then I switched it to 225.

Relying on my vast background of precisely one previous brisket, I checked around 7am and, finding the brisket at about 165, put it in an an aluminum baking pan, poured in about a cup of apple juice, and covered with foil.

At about 10am (based on my 10:01am post), I checked to see how it was going, and multiple points registered around 190. Way earlier than I'd anticipated. But maybe it was already getting through the stall before I put it in the pan and covered it? I was also frustrated with the readings from the Traeger thermometer. I figured there was not much else I could do, so I set the smoker at 180 and hoped it wouldn't overcook too badly. Checking an hour or so later, parts of the brisket registered at 165!!! Argh. So then I experimented back and forth at the 225 and 180 settings and the P settings.

At 12:30 I put the still-covered brisket into the oven at 170 and went to church. I couldn't use the oven earlier because my wife was baking pies and then some huge potatoes for twice-baked potatoes.

At 4:50 I pulled the brisket out and let it rest, carving around 5:10. You can see the results. I sliced it pretty thin, and at that thickness, the meat tended to fall apart. So it was a little overcooked, but still pretty tasty with its own juice poured over it. Certainly better than the shoe leather I thought I was about to serve up.

BTW, for the meat temps, I used a thermapen-like BGE instant thermometer like this, which I got at Bullfrog Spa and cost a lot less than a thermapen. I just hope it's accurate. So far, it seems to be pretty good.

As far as the poppers go, I used 1 8oz brick of cream cheese, 2 scallions, 16 jalapenos (kind of small compared to DDD's pics), a taco-jalapeno cheese mix, lil smokies, bacon, a little Spade L Ranch pork rub, and brown sugar. Cooked at 225 on the Traeger (or at least that's the setting I used) for 70 minutes. They were pretty good as-is, but better with the raspberry chipotle sauce.

How about you guys, care to share your cooking info?

[Jeff Lebowski]

How about you guys, care to share your cooking info?

See post #1 in this thread.