Low Temp Brisket Question

I normally smoke at 225. I've found my best brisket are my most consistent -- no huge temp swings, stays in the same range. With that said, can you still keep the fire lit for a significant amount of time between 180-200?

depends on what you want your final destination to be
I like to get my briskets up to 195- 200 so if you are cooking at 200 it will take a long time to get there. If you have the time then go for it

if have the same rig that you do and I a my need to add fuel every hour or so to stay around 275

I've been using an 18" Weber Smokey Mountain for a number of years.
Using the Minion Method I can maintain 200-225 for at least 12 hours after it settles in, Have gone as long as 14 hrs without adding any more charcoal. Just top off the water pan after 10 or 12 hours. For Brisket and Pork Butts low and slow is they way to go!

I think you'll be fine. I'd recommend keeping the temp around 250 - 275 for at least the first two or three hours. Put the work in so your bark can be formed. Once the bark is formed and it's the color you want to END UP WITH, wrap it in paper or foil and let the smoker drop to the 180 - 200 range it wants to hold.

The meat is most susceptible to accepting smoke in the first two hours anyway. After that you're just cooking to a doneness level. My offset stick burner is very similar to yours but a little bigger and sturdier. Initially when I first bought it, I had the same issues you're seeing. But once I learned the airflow, I could stabilize temps where I needed them and maintained them easily.

I'd suggest checking that. If you have a bunch of air going into your firebox the fire is going to burn out quickly. If your smoke stack vent it too closed your fire will burn out quickly. You need to find the right combination of air in - air out. Once you do that, it's cake.

And as someone mentioned, if you're tired of dealing with it, cover it and move it to the oven at 275.


eta: my smoker and brisket

Depends on what kind of wood you're smoking with too. I do my brisket at 250 for 12 hours and I start with a good bed of coals. I watch the temp and let it stabilize before adding wood chunks and brisket. My choice of wood for brisket has always been post oak chunks because I find it burns hotter longer. As the coals start to ash down and temps start decreasing I throw a few chunks on and watch how it affects the temp (on a Maverick Grate Thermometer). Move the meat accordingly and open/close vents as needed.

It's a lot of work but worth the gratification knowing you accomplished it with one of the harder methods.

yes it will. but it wont keep it at that temp for very long. the water pan is more for wood flare ups of a 5-10 mins lag in the fire between coals.

Im doing a brisket tonight. Finally going to tryout my Heatermeter.

well anything that would heat up and slowly release/absorb heat will help regulate temp. But remember you put water/bricks in there you need more energy to get them up to temp. so you would need more fire.

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well anything that would heat up and slowly release/absorb heat will help regulate temp. But remember you put water/bricks in there you need more energy to get them up to temp. so you would need more fire.

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You could preheat in an oven or on a separate burner

I had an offset that I used to smoke on, and it was the same way. Would jump up to over 325 every time I added new wood or coals, and then back down to 250 within a half hour. Slowly drop to around 200 over the next hour. I started using the side burner to light my coals, once they got done flaming and were red, I'd add the chunks of wood, still in the chimney starter, and once they started smoking I would open the hatch on the smoke box and dump it all in. Less time opening and closing for the heat to escape. And the fire wasn't just starting up from throwing fresh in and the burn off from the coals spiking the temps.