Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brian Denham on August 4, 2009 at 4:11pm

No need to be nervous anymore... however, isn't BBQ all about nervous. Seems every time i Q there is something to be learned and it only comes AFTER you taste the results and then try and guess as to what lead to that result. That is why i love it. I do recomment "tenting" or covering the brisket at some point in time. Most will tell you somewhere around the halfway point you should cover it to capture the juices and get that tenderness. The first half is really all about the smoke in my opinon. One of the issues with the 22 is that it can be a challenge to keep your coals away from the meat. I use an aluminum drip pan to not only catch the juices but keep the coals as much as possible to the exterior and away from the meat. Also, i put the coals on both sides for a more even heat...Good luck

Permalink Reply by Dan Bettan on August 4, 2009 at 4:12pm

I just made a "Smokelahoma" brisket on my 22" Smokey Mountain Smoker this weekend in the driving rain. The problem is that even with two full chimneys of cowboy lump hardwood charcoal, the temp dropped down to 190 degrees after 4 hours at a steady eddy 225 degrees. I was running errands at the time and then took 20 minutes to get the chimney hot, so call it 45-50 minutes of "cooling off". I added more fuel and was fine but like I said, I was down to 190 for about an hour or so. The final product was juicy and delicious so I don't think this hurt me any. That said, if you're planning on smoking long term without watching the 22" Smoker Mountain regularly, you may have issues. Figure you'll get about 4 hours on 2 chimneys before you'll need to add more fuel. That's been my experience anyway.

For maintaining a consistent heat, fill up the water pan. I added 256 oz (No clue how to convert in my head, sorry) of water to start and it kept things nice & cool for me.

Permalink Reply by Brian Denham on August 4, 2009 at 4:23pm

Do you always add water? Do you cover? Maybe by simply putting a water pan inside i can keep the moisture level up and not have to cover and miss out on more smoke soaking into the meat.

Dan Bettan said:

I just made a "Smokelahoma" brisket on my 22" Smokey Mountain Smoker this weekend in the driving rain. The problem is that even with two full chimneys of cowboy lump hardwood charcoal, the temp dropped down to 190 degrees after 4 hours at a steady eddy 225 degrees. I was running errands at the time and then took 20 minutes to get the chimney hot, so call it 45-50 minutes of "cooling off". I added more fuel and was fine but like I said, I was down to 190 for about an hour or so. The final product was juicy and delicious so I don't think this hurt me any. That said, if you're planning on smoking long term without watching the 22" Smoker Mountain regularly, you may have issues. Figure you'll get about 4 hours on 2 chimneys before you'll need to add more fuel. That's been my experience anyway.

For maintaining a consistent heat, fill up the water pan. I added 256 oz (No clue how to convert in my head, sorry) of water to start and it kept things nice & cool for me.