Briquettes versus Lump

Well the first time smoking experiment went fairly well. I had a hard time though keeping the temp up around 250 in my smoker. I've got a New Braunfels Oklahoma Joe model which looks like a vertical stack and a regular pit. I thought my problem might be the fact that i have to add a lot of briquettes to ge the heat up in the vertical section. Plus I was using wood chips and had the 5 minutes of smoke and then on fire problem. So..i was wondering if the charcoal lumps would be a better bet at getting my temp up where I need it and maintaining it. I was hustling every 30 minutes to get the temp up..shew! But hey.. It was worth it.

ChefDave

If you have an auxillary vertical smoker on the side of a horizontal smoker it will be hard to maintain a high temp. The vertical section is designed to be a slow smoker (215 or lower) while the horizontal section is dsigned to cook a little hotter. Higher end pits will have a baffle that can be adjusted to increase or decrease the heat in the vertical section, you can also add a baffle yourself if you are mechanically inclined. (google it) Natural lump will burn hotter than briquettes. You can also find natural lump in large pieces which burn longer and give more consistent temp.

Would the slower smoking temp (<250) make for a more tender brisket if done longer? or would the meat ever sufficiently be cooked through enough?

Just as a matter of physics you will never get a piece of meat to cook to a degree of doneness higher than the temperature you are cooking at. That said it will cook through eventually. I have never done a brisket in a vertical smoker before though.

Hi Chef,
I just bought the same smoker the other day. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but I can't wait to do salmon. Good luck, and happy smoking!

ChefDave wrote:

Would the slower smoking temp (<250) make for a more tender brisket if done longer? or would the meat ever sufficiently be cooked through enough?

Dear Dave,

I can't speak for everyone, but long, slow cooking makes for a much more tender cut of meat, IMHO. My ex-wife worked for a restaurant chain in Indianapolis, and the catered a dinner for the John Birch Society one time, and experimented with an unusual method for the 'roast' beef. They sealed the roasts in plastic bags, totally hermetically sealed, then placed them in a 180 degree F hot water bath for something like 22 hours. The ex brought me home a plate, and that was the best, most tender and juicy beef I ever wrapped my tonsils around. It would seem that if you raise the internal temp of the meat, and hold it for a longer period of time, it can't help but make the meat better.

Have fun.

Allen