Charcoal vs. wood chunks for brisket - what I picked

I was getting ready for a big cook last weekend and had to pick between straight charcoal or mixing in wood chunks for my brisket. I usually go with just lump charcoal because it's easier and gives a clean burn, but this time I tried a mix of oak chunks and charcoal to get more smoke flavor. About halfway through the cook, I noticed the smoke was thicker and the bark was setting up way better than normal. The meat came out with a deeper red color and the flavor was more bold without being bitter. The only downside was I had to manage the fire more often since the chunks burned differently. Now I'm thinking I might switch to this method for good, but I am curious what other folks use for long cooks like this. Has anyone else had trouble with wood chunks dying out too fast on a 12 hour smoke?

2 comments

2 Comments

jake_torres6819d agoMost Upvoted

That's a solid point about the bark setting up better with the chunks, I noticed the same thing on my last cook (it really locks in that color). For the 12 hour burns, I switch to a minion method with the chunks layered in the middle so they don't all catch at once and it smooths out the burn time.

robinson.hannah19d ago

My buddy Keith tried that minion method last summer on his WSM and it totally changed his whole cook. He was doing a 14 hour brisket, normally he'd fight hotspots all night. But with the chunks layered in the middle like you said, the temp just sat at 225 for over 10 hours without him touching it once. He texted me at like 6am just freaking out about how stable it was. He said the bark came out way darker and crunchier than his usual cooks too. I still do the snake method on my kettle but seeing his results makes me want to try minion for my next long burn.