aiden Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 My new 21" has been working hard since I got her last week. We have family in town all week, and I wanted to show off. So I have menu of burgers, brisket, steaks, pork tenderloin, etc, that I will be posting in here because they're so close together. If you guys think I should post them all separate, please tell me so. Burgers Nothing fancy, just 4 pounds of 90/10 grassfed ground chuck with some salt, pepper, and worsterchier, thoroughly mixed together and formed into 9 patties. I got the grill up to temp easily, since I wasn't worried about overshooting a particular temperature. They turned out just great. But I'll work harder on searing some good grill marks next time. Brisket I've never made brisket, but I've enjoyed plenty in my lifetime of Texas BBQ. I never had the confidence in the BGE or myself to really do one justice. But I figured I would just go all in and get 'er done. This was a 12.5 lb brisket, and I used a beef rub from Amazing Ribs - http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/big_bad_beef_rub.html. I was going to inject it with beef bullion, but could NOT find my injector anywhere. And since we were on a schedule, I just had to press on without and hope for the best. I started the charcoal at 8 am, shooting for a dinner-time meal. But I learned over the next few hours that the Coco charcoal is a different animal to light than lump. Now I had placed several pieces of lump in the bottom as Dennis instructed me to, to limit air gaps and seal things up a bit. But I was concerned about overshooting, and I made the mistake of dialing in my intake and damper settings before getting the coals really going. That really set me back, because for the next 2 hours I wrestled with the grill trying to get to 225 F and get the heat soak completed. At this point I was really not encouraged about the outcome of this cook, but there really was no turning back. Meat temp: 43 F Grill temp: 150 F Cook time: Start Because we had plans for the day, I set things up as best I could with the coals finally showing signs of life 3 hours after I started. I threw the mesquite wood chunks on the coals, set the lower grate wrapped in foil as a drip pan / deflector (Dennis prescribed), put the brisket on the main grate, set the damper and inlet on the positions Dennis had ballparked for me, and we went to town to have lunch and shop. When we came back 5 hours later, things weren't looking too great for hitting a dinner approach: Meat temp: 135 F Grill temp: 185 F Cook time: 5.5 hrs Realizing that a good portion of the cook was much lower and way too slow, I upped the grill temp to 250 F and held it there for the rest of the cook. That helped speed things along a bit, but not too fast. The brisket looked right, though the bark was only about halfway formed. I had already decided to not foil the brisket, because I want to know how much moisture the KK will retain on its own. I also like a good crisp bark, and foiling doesn't do your bark any favors. Now, Dennis had told me to push through the stall by bumping to 300 F until the temp started rising again, then shut everything down and pull the meat at 190 F internal. But I never really hit a stall with this cook. I don't know if it was the really slow start, or what, but the meat continued to steadily increase throughout the cook. Knowing that dinner was out the door, we jumped to Plan B and had hotdogs and smores over the firepit while waiting on this thing to complete. But patience is a virtue... Meat temp: 190 F Grill temp: 250 F Cook time: 11.25 hrs Goregous. I am so thrilled with the way this looks I can hardly stand it. I noticed the amount of shrinkage between the original and the finished product, a good 3 - 4 inches in total width. But the bark looks amazing. I reached in to grab the meat and, well, let's just say that 99% of it came out without issue. There was a slight remainder that wanted to stick to the grates, but I peeled that off and sampled it. It's just juicy and delicious. I've got it all resting in a cooler now, and I can't wait to slice it and serve it tomorrow. I know it will likely need a little help warming up, but I'm hoping that it's close enough to coming off the grill that it still eats well. I'll post final serving pics tomorrow, but I did learn quite a bit from this first try that I will take into account next time for sure. Stay tuned, as I'll update this post during this marathon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Nice cooks so far. Keep the pictures coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoFrogs91 Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Aiden, looks like you are having some fun. Nice looking brisket. I remember when my KK was nice and clean on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Those burgers are a glowing demo. Outstanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Some good cooks you have going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 You sure had a great start to your KK cooking and things will only get easier and better, the fun has begun in a big way:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Excellent start. We all went through the "growing pains" when we got our KK, too, so don't be too discouraged! I have a feeling that you're on a very steep learning curve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Looks great! And my hat’s off to you for trying brisket for a first cook. It took me ten months before I was brave enough to give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Aiden - beautiful cooks! Nothing wrong wit a great burger and I love your brisket! Kudos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poochie Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Nice looking cooks, Aiden. You straightened out the learning curve quick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrillingMontana Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 I just cannot get enough of your first image with those glowing burgers! I have to take a shot like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
