That week I tried to smoke a brisket in a thunderstorm and ended up with a muddy yard and a half-cooked slab

Last Tuesday I had a whole day planned around a 15 pound prime brisket. Got the smoker going at 6 AM, temp dialed in at 225. Then the sky opened up around noon. I spent the next 3 hours running out with a tarp every 20 minutes trying to keep the firebox dry. Wind blew the tarp off twice. By 6 PM the brisket was only at 175 internal and I gave up and finished it in the oven. Bark was trash. Anyone else ever try to bbq in crap weather and just regret everything?

2 comments

2 Comments

clairec7821d ago

The tarp thing is a pain, I just moved my smoker under the patio overhang.

piper_thompson3121d ago

Wait, you seriously thought a tarp was gonna win against a thunderstorm? Ive been there man, the wind laughs at tarps. The worst part is when you finally give up and bring it inside, you know deep down the smoke ring is gonna be a joke. I tried smoking a pork butt during a snowstorm once, ended up with snow in my charcoal chimney and a brisket that tasted more like regret than smoke. At least you finished in the oven though, my mom always said "low and slow" but she never meant running around a muddy backyard like a maniac. Honestly, half cooked is better than a total washout, but that bark is gone forever.