275f~ until wrapped temperature then 350f

Posted last week about how the Bronco was half off at Home Depot. Well, I picked it up this weekend and seasoned it. Today, I broke it in with a spatchcocked chicken. Seasoning is Kinder's red jalapeño and garlic. Chicken was delicious and I couldn't be happier with it.

1.5 inch porterhouse, smoked with hickory chips in electric smoker for 1.5hrs. Rubbed with mayo and smokehouse seasoning, seared on cast iron.

Of course I broke the alfredo sauce, I get that wrong every time. But at least the steak is always right! The ideal birthday dinner. Smoked some marrow bones for my pup, he was picky about them but he definitely wanted some steak.

Smoked some beautiful bone in pork chops on my BGE before reverse searing over the coals. I basted them in some habanero peach rum, bbq sauce, & Calabrian chilies.

Served with a fresh, green apple salad in a champagne vinaigrette.

Cheers

Smoked on a Traeger.
made some pulled pork sliders, baked beans for side and jalapeño!

The Goal

Attempt an overnight packer brisket cook on a Kamado Joe Classic Joe using the SlōRoller. The target was a juicy, buttery-soft flat without a super-crunchy or charred bark.

Setup & Fire Management

• Cooker: Kamado Joe Classic Joe using the SlōRoller heat deflector paired with the ceramic deflector shield underneath to create an indirect setup.
• Drippings & Moisture: Placed an aluminum foil pan directly below the brisket to catch fat drippings, and added a steel pan filled with water on the grill grates.
• Fuel & Smoke: Loaded with premium lump charcoal and several chunks of hickory smoking wood.
• Temperature Target: Stabilized the pit at 225°F before loading the meat.

Pre-Cook Prep & Trimming

Started with a whole untrimmed packer brisket and had to do a fairly aggressive trim, as there was a ton of hard, un-renderable fat to work through. Looking closely at the final slices, I still don't think I rendered enough of that thick deckle fat during the cook.

The DIY Rub Batch (75g Total Batch, ~55–60g Applied)

Timeline of Events & Observations

• 11:00 PM (Night 1): Loaded onto the Classic Joe fat-side up over hickory/lump charcoal.
• Overnight Dip: Had a pit temperature dip down near 200°F overnight. Adjusted vents in a sleep-deprived daze.
• The "Fake Stall" Trap: Watched my probe sit at 150°F–165°F for hours. Thought I was stuck in a long stall.
• Mistake #1 — Suspected Bad Probe Placement: My best guess is that the probe tip was resting directly inside or right against the deckle fat seam. Since fat insulates, it read a stubborn ~165°F while the lean muscle of the flat was likely already climbing well past 190°F.
• Mistake #2 — Unwrapped All the Way: Because the faulty probe reading made me think it was stalling, I never wrapped it. Ended up cooking it 100% unwrapped for 14+ hours until I manually checked it with an instant-read probe.
• Mistake #3 — Disappointment with the Bark: When I pulled it off, I was initially bummed out that it wasn't jet-black Texas offset charcoal. (The Kamado Joe humidity keeps it more deep mahogany/dark red).
• 3:30 PM (Day 2): Pulled off the smoker after probing "like warm butter" across the flat.
• 4:00 PM: Vented on the counter down to 170°F (to stop carryover cooking), slathered with homemade rendered tallow, wrapped tightly in heavy-duty foil, and tossed into a 150°F oven.
• Mistake #4 — The Mid-Rest Panic: 6 hours into the hot hold, I opened the foil to poke it. It felt firm and tight. At 15 hours in, I squeezed the foil package and it literally felt like a brick. I was convinced I ruined an expensive brisket and turned it into leather.

Yield Stats & Final Weights

• Total Trim Loss: 32.19% (At least the rendered tallow yield was great)
• Final Cooked Meat Weight: 2,905g (~6.40 lbs)
• Cooked Yield: 62% of raw smoker-ready weight (38% moisture/fat loss during the cook)

The Reveal & Results

The moment I unwrapped and sliced across the grain: * Deep pink smoke ring. * The flat was so soft and pliable it completely draped over my gloved finger without breaking. * Fat Rendering: While the intermuscular fat rendered down okay, looking closely at the cut slices, I definitely did not render enough of the thick deckle fat seam. * Only flaw: The very thin tail end of the flat was a bit dry—expected after 14 hours unwrapped + 18 hours holding. Chopped those ends up for chili/tacos, and vacuum-sealed 5 meal-sized portions for the freezer!

Questions for the Experts / Room for Improvement

1. Preventing Dry Ends: For the thin tail end of the flat, do you usually trim that off before the cook to freeze for burgers, or do you leave it on and just accept it as "chef's treat / chili meat"?
2. Probe Placement Tips: On a tapered flat, what is your go-to technique for ensuring your probe tip stays dead-center in the lean muscle without drifting into the intermuscular fat seam?

Turned out spectacular—7 days in the brine, rub applied night before, smoked for 8 hrs, rested 2 hrs, chilled overnight for easier slicing.

Back in my 20s I worked a few years as a pit master I career has changed now but I still have the passion to do it hoping to build a rig in my garden next year 🤘🏻 hope you guys like it. Here’s my applewood smoked baby back ribs, oak wood smoked half chickens and 14 hour pulled pork with pickled slaw and chipotle mayo 🤘🏻 hope ya like it

One more teaser while I edit the full video. Again, thank you guys for all the tips, these came out absolutely insane.

Costco USDA Prime Ribeyes

Salt, Pepper, a dash of Kinder Woodfire Garlic

Forgot to take a picture when they were done on the smoker.

I've had a prime rib sitting in the freezer for a while, this weekend I decided it was time to smoke it.

I used some Worcestershire sauce as a binder. First hit it with some cracked pepper, then some Meat Church Holy Cow, then some Garlic & Herb on top of that. I put it in the fridge overnight uncovered.

The next day I got my Masterbuilt 800 up to 250 degrees and put some post oak chunks in the ash bin. I was having people over at 3 and figured 4 - 5 hours for the almost 9 pound roast to cook so it went on at 10. I basted it every hour or so with some Worcestershire hoping that would help it build a nice bark.

It cooked faster than expected, I was planning to pull it at 115 but it got to 100 by 1 so I dropped it to 225. It still got to 115 at 2 so I pulled it, wrapped it in foil and a towel and threw it in a cooler.

About 4 I heated a cast iron pan on the Weber to about 500 degrees, threw a little bit of butter and some beef tallow in there with rosemary and garlic, then seared the roast on each side for about a minute. I let it rest for a little while and then sliced it up.

It was so damn tender, it nearly melted in your mouth. The bark tasted a little too Worcestershirey to me but nobody else complained.

So friggin good! How's it look to you?

I've got maybe a 1/4 of it left over so today will be French Dip day. 👍

13.5 lbs pre trim. 20 hours on the Searwood. Was fantastic

Trying new stuff today. Both were great! Gospel if you like sweet, and Montreal was more salty and savory.

Hey all,

I'm looking at getting one of these, but I wanted to ask the group. Who has experience with these? Are they as good as advertised? And importantly for a rather large purchase, how do they hold up?

Anyone with thoughts, comments, concerns about them?

Hey so I have had a Traeger pellet smoker for a couple years and I love smoking meats in it. However I just don't get that smoked meat flavor even if I use a smoker tube. I read that actual wood smokers would be the way to go for that flavor.

This is just for personal use and the biggest thing I smoke is a 13lb brisket. If you have any recommendations on what you use, have used, and liked or didn't like would be great!

I’m pleased with how it turned out. Gonna try burnt ends next time

Butter injected, overnight brine, 275-280 F until 130 internal then 400 til 160 internal

10 hours unwrapped, then wrapped with butcher paper with some rendered tallow.

The flat got to temp faster than the point so I think more rendering on the point was needed. Wrapped because I was worried the flat would dry out too much. Bark was decently set.

Still very tasty if you’re okay with fat globs (I am). As far as a first brisket I’m happy with it.

What do you think?

Smoked queso. White Velveeta, pepper jack, Fresh serrano, roasted poblano, onion, diced tomato, garlic, and left over smoked brisket. Smoked the whole thing with hickory for 2 hours at 275.