Porch,

I posted the following a year or so ago, it may be of some help to the three or four newbies we currently have on the list, especially the fellow who took the brisket off at 165 One other thing that I feel I have to stress, READ THE FAQ! In addition to reading the FAQ and Tricks and Tips on the BBQ-Porch site, Danny G's site is a must read. 

Regards

Smoking in Chicago,
Gary

~~~~~~~~XXXXX~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~,

I can hear shorts tying up in a knot in both the Carolinas and Georgia from your statement about cooking by time rather than how it feels, that is anathema to BBQ in general and this list in particular. If I may be so bold, you really need to cook more by touch, smell and sight rather than by how long or to what temperature someone said something should cook for.  

Time and temperature are certainly factors, and can be used as loose guidelines, but not as an absolute. I smoked a 12-pound packer cut brisket last weekend that only took 7 hours on the top rack of my WSM using lump charcoal and hickory chunks with the water pan kept full. If I had gone by the 1.5-hour guideline I would have turned one of the best briskets of my life into a singed chunk of inedible garbage.

OK, so what are some of things to look for to tell if a piece of meat is done? One simply look at it. For pork shoulder/butt is it sagging, having trouble supporting its own weight? This is an indication that the structure has broken down and it is tender. For beef brisket poke, that's right, just poke the damn thing, does it wiggle like Jell-O, is it resistant to your touch or yielding, you are looking for what some call the WaBA WaBa stage. WaBa WaBa is where you poke it and it rocks back and forth in a visual of the sound waba waba, not exactly scientific, but it works. 

Next, the fork test, stick a fork in the meat and if it turns easily in the flat for brisket and most anyplace for pork it is done. You can also try to pick it up with a fork and if you can not lift it without it falling apart it is done. Fourth, if you really must have some type of objective evidence that the meat is done stick a instant read thermometer in it, if it registers about 195 in the flat for brisket and 192 for a pork butt there is a good chance they done to perfection.

Do not be afraid to open the lid on the WSM, it is more desirable to
leave the access door open for a few minutes to get the fire going hot,
with the lid closed, that to spend 10 hours smoking a brisket and having
to toss it because you were hesitant to take a peek at it. 

You should also read the FAQ, Dave Lineback's, Danny Gaulden's, Dan
Gill's and most of the member web sites found in the links section of
the bbq-porch.org web site. Another site you should read very carefully
is the Virtual Weber site, this is a must read for all users of the WSM,
absolutely mandatory.

http://www.bbq-porch.org/faq.asp
http://www.bbq-porch.org/
http://www.sunsetridge.com/lex.htm
http://www.dannysbbq.com/
http://www.velvitoil.com/Survive.HTML
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/

Hope this answers some of your questions, good luck and most of all have
fun. Remember, with BBQ at least you get to eat your mistakes. 

Regards

Smoking in Chicago,
Gary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
xxxxxx

Jeff,

You really need to cook more by touch, smell and sight rather than by how long or to what temperature someone said something should cook for.  

Time and temperature are certainly factors, and can be used as loose guidelines, but not as an absolute. I have smoked 12-pound packer cuts that only took 7 hours on the top rack of my WSM using lump charcoal and hickory chunks with the water pan kept full. If I had gone by a 1.5-hour guideline I would have turned one of the best briskets of my life into a singed chunk of inedible garbage.

OK, so what are some of things to look for to tell if a piece of meat is done? One simply look at it. For pork shoulder/butt is it sagging, having trouble supporting its own weight? This is an indication that the structure has broken down and it is tender. For beef brisket poke, that's right, just poke the damn thing, does it wiggle like Jell-O, is it resistant to your touch or yielding, you are looking for what some call the WaBA WaBa stage. WaBa WaBa is where you poke it and it rocks back and forth in a visual of the sound waba waba, not exactly scientific, but it works. 

Next, the fork test, stick a fork in the meat and if it turns easily in the flat for brisket and most anyplace for pork it is done. You can also try to pick it up with a fork and if you can not lift it without it falling apart it is done. Fourth, if you really must have some type of objective evidence that the meat is done stick a instant read thermometer in it, if it registers about 195 in the flat for brisket and 197 for a pork butt there is a good chance they done to perfection.

Do not be afraid to open the lid on the WSM. It is more desirable to leave the access door open for a few minutes to get the fire going hot, with the lid closed, that to spend 10 hours smoking a brisket and having to toss it because you were hesitant to take a peek at it. 

A couple of other things, on a WSM flip I like to flip a large packer cut brisket a few times, once after three hours, then back again after another three. This is not so much to cook it evenly but to help prevent the outside edge, where the heat comes directly up around the edge of the waterpan, from drying out. If the edges really start to get dry wrap a bit of foil loosely underneath the edge, this simply deflects a bit of the heat. (Not a foil wrap) 

Hope this answers some of your questions, good luck and most of all have fun. Remember, with BBQ at least you get to eat your mistakes. 

Regards

Smoking in Chicago,
Gary
