First go at a brisket in the Copperhead 5. I wanted a whole packer, but Sam's was out. They did have some cryovac flats so I got a 6 pounder. I know flats can be a pain to cook and some will say grind it for burgers, but I'm going to give it a try.
Since I'm wanting to keep this from drying out as much as I can, I will be using the water pan for this smoke (I usually do not). Raised it up slightly on the rack holes though. I am also using a foiled full size disposable pan as both a drip/grease catch and a heat baffle a couple of rack holes above the water pan. Brisket is fat side down. I trimmed the flat a little last night to get the fat cap to 1/4 to 3/8" and hit it with SPOG and a Texas beef style rub before wrapping it and placing in the fridge overnight.
Vacuumed out the fire pot and ash from the last smoke, and loaded up with about 30 lbs of Hickory pellets for this smoke. I'm going to run the brisket flat at the 225* setting for a while to give it time to soak up some smoke flavor and keep it from drying out as much as it might on a higher temp smoke.
Brisket flat is on the smoker, about mid level in the racks. Right side tends to run a tad hotter than the left so the thicker end of the brisket goes to the right.
I know people complain about the temp swings in these pellet smokers. What matters is the temp where the meat is. The display is showing the temp of the probe which is under the water pan and close to the fire pot. Yes it will swing there as it is a fire for heat source and it is stoked up and smolders in a constant cycle around the set point. So like everyone else, I do see the 25-35* swing on the display temp. HOWEVER!!!!!! My temps at the food level are very stable. If I'm set at 225*, it's at 225* on my grate thermometer and my Tel-Tru I added to the door (I took the Pit Boss logo off and put in a BQ225 dial thermometer). So while the display is doing the swing thing around the set point (reading the fire pot temp as it is stoked up or smolders down in the normal cycles), the meat temps are rock solid and I'm not really seeing any swings at all.
