Thoughts on my new 025

Two out of three aint bad for a 10 day old smoker

On your brisket, were you temping the flat? point? both? 188 is normally a bit low. An underdone flat will sometimes give the impression of being dry. One way to double check doneness...use a skewer and insert it top thru bottom of the flat. It should easily penetrate. If you're getting resistance, allow more time.

I find 195-ish to be the dial-in number for the flat but again, tenderness trumps numbers.

I had the temp probe in the point. Next time I will use another to check the flat as well.

Being from NJ not many places to get good brisket (corned beef is another story though) other than Famous Daves, but I'm not a fan of their brisket so I don't have a great reference point on it. I'll be heading off to San Antonio in the fall when my son completes basic with the USAF so I hope to sample some of the real thing.

The shoulder was a bit of a problem. After about 10 hours the temp setting reading read "hot" and the cooker seemed to shut down the heat. The internal on the shoulder was only 168.

I'll be calling CS tomorrow to see what that means.

Never seen that reading on my AQ. Let us know what they say.

Pog,
If you're going to be in San Antonio you owe it to yourself to take a little day trip to Lockhart. About an hour east of SA, it's the official BBQ capitol of Texas and there are about 4 or 5 joints that have brisket that will blow you away. Kreutz Market and Blacks come to mind. In fact my wife and I will be there in Oct and I've already penciled in a trip myself!

I spent amost a decade in Houston and really got addicted to good TX brisket. I can get pretty close with my SM040 but there's nothing quite like the real thing from a Texas smokehouse.

Just got off the phone with Bill from CS.

Basically he stated that the controller overheats in the sun and recommended that I place the unit in the shade. Failing that he recommended that I put a box or a rag over the controller to shield it from the sun.

I really can't believe that an appliance that is made to cook outdoors isn't designed to account for heat from the sun. I'll try his recommendation but they really should redesign their controller.

Thanks VA Slim for the recommendation. I'l be sure to take the ride

On your brisket, how was the smoke flavor and how much wood did you use? Getting ready to do my first one Friday and looking for a good reference point. I am currently using 9 ounces of wood for my pork butts and think it still needs more smoke flavor.

Sorry Bigpapam haven't been here in a while and didn't see your post. I only use about 4 oz of wood on the brisket. Smoked a few since my last post, we loved the flavor but it really is a personal thing. My wife and I don't like an overwhelming smoke flavor, more of a compliment to the flavor of the meat. For us 9 oz's would be too heavy.

I followed Bill's advise and have used a small kitchen towel over the controller. Haven't had any issued with the "Hot" reading since.