Brisket Battle - Old Country Brazos vs Gravity

[@pibble3962]

Excellent video with great information and humor, thank you!

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jackofalltradesmasterofnon7860]

I like what you did here, but I have 2 suggestions: 1) use lump coal in the gravity, charcoal doesn't give a smokey flavor or the smoke ring; 2) cook in each smoker as each smoker needs, different smokers require different cooking methods sometimes. Overall, good video and I think you got close to doing an apples vs apples comparison, keep up the good work.

[@RayHarris-z5e]

Outstanding cook. I have both smokers. Gravity Fed is my choice. I layer wood chunks and charcoal and get great smoke flavor. I spritz with apple juice/water as well as pump butter flavor. I get great bark. The gravity fed is so much more consistent for me. Again, Great cook. thanks

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

Appreciate the comment. Planning on doing another brisket battle in the future, taking into account tips like yours. We did a gravity cook recently with the layering method and were pretty impressed. Now if only brisket would drop in price :)

[@mlwinans61706]

Great video. Do you think the Gravity would preform much better if you used lump hardwood charcoal opposed to briquets, added a couple wood chucks to the shoot, and two chunks at the bottom opposed to 1?

[@johnaustin8758]

Just noticed your comment after I posted. I'm thinking the same thing.

[@chrisstubbs79]

It does. I use lump charcoal and chunks in mine. I can definitely tell when I only use briquettes.

[@JoeAnshien]

Good video - I have a Masterbuilt 800 gravity and use a good mix of wood and charcoal with a hunk of wood in the ash pan and get outstanding smoke ring and flavor. Also since no more smoke gets added after wrapping I usually just wrap at 165° and put on my gas grill in summer or oven in winter saving fuel and for convenience. Stick burner is way too much baby sitting for me.

[@sbrownson6155]

Do you think you used enough wood in your gravity? Do you think wrapping when you didn’t want to made a difference? What about temps ( hot fast, slow low) do you wonder if cooking then both the same way is a fair way to compare considering convection, types of fuel, ect are so different in each smoker?

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

Hello! All fair questions. And yes, I do wonder if there is a way in which they could both produce essentially equal products. Now, that said, I've cooked a pretty fair number of briskets in the gravity smoker over the last several years and always found them somewhat "lacking". In each of these cases, however, I usually ended up wrapping because they all started to stall. This was the first time that I can remember where the brisket seemed to have avoided a stall. As to temperature, the gravity smoker definitely seems to do its best work at around the 250 degree range--it's produced great pork barbecue for me at that temp. As to the amount of wood, I generally put a fair amount in the firebox. You don't want to overload it, as your temperatures can spike out of control due to combustion versus smoldering. I think in fairness, what I'll need to do here is a "no wrap" brisket in the gravity smoker and see if we can replicate the output of the Brazos. Thanks for all the questions!

[@sbrownson6155]

@@ColdWarBarbecue so awesome thanks for the response. I ask all these questions because I’ve been learning the gravity. I like it’s ease of use very much and finally get to sleep during a brisket cook. The last one I did on the gravity I feel like I finally whipped my offset. ( though it s an old brinkman vertical offset ) it’s not as solid as the brazos. I studded apiece of hickory all the way down the stack between every layer of charcoal and kept one pice smoldering in the ash pan till I wrapped it. It took almost 13 hours before the wrap. I kept rolling until I liked the color. It had just broken the stall when I wrapped it about 180. I cooked it at 235 degrees. After the wrap I took it up to 300 and pulled it at 204. About another 1 1/2 hours in the wrap. Rested for 4 hours in a cooler. It was smokey as all get out but no ashtray flavor. Decent smoke ring, but not like on the offset. I couldn’t get over how clean and strong both the smoke flavor was. I totally admit it though. My offset game was always pretty weak. And I think using a fan controller on it did more harm than good not allowing for a clean burn worth the wood. Anyway thanks for the response and the great videos.

[@sbrownson6155]

@@ColdWarBarbecue so awesome thanks for the response. I ask all these questions because I’ve been learning the gravity. I like it’s ease of use very much and finally get to sleep during a brisket cook. The last one I did on the gravity I feel like I finally whipped my offset. ( though it s an old brinkman vertical offset ) it’s not as solid as the brazos. I studded apiece of hickory all the way down the stack between every layer of charcoal and kept one pice smoldering in the ash pan till I wrapped it. It took almost 13 hours before the wrap. I kept rolling until I liked the color. It had just broken the stall when I wrapped it about 180. I cooked it at 235 degrees. After the wrap I took it up to 300 and pulled it at 204. About another 1 1/2 hours in the wrap. Rested for 4 hours in a cooler. It was smokey as all get out but no ashtray flavor. Decent smoke ring, but not like on the offset. I couldn’t get over how clean and strong both the smoke flavor was. I totally admit it though. My offset game was always pretty weak. And I think using a fan controller on it did more harm than good not allowing for a clean burn worth the wood. Anyway thanks for the response and the great videos.

[@zulucharlie5244]

Great video and a very useful and interesting comparison of the two Old Country smokers. Thank you! I'd be curious to see if you could run the gravity smoker on chunks of wood instead of charcoal.

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

Thanks. So, I’m not sure about wood chunks. The way it burns, the charcoal at the bottom drops into the firebox and causes the wood to smoke. The charcoal sits on top of a grate and embers fall through it. I know that even using lump charcoal causes the grate to kind of clog up and reduce airflow. I HAVE thought about throwing a couple of chunks in with the charcoal, however. I’ll show that in a video when I give that a shot.

[@shaunbourne9107]

@@ColdWarBarbecue Hi looking at the gravity feed, what was the quantity and frequency of the wood chunks in the ash box? I have a Masterbuilt 1050 and use both chunks in the chute and the ash bin and add chunks to the ash bin ever 30 mins or so. Thanks.

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

@@shaunbourne9107 Frequency was about the same: 30 minutes or so. Since this point though, I've kind of changed my approach and began to put wood in the charcoal chute, too. That's made a difference. We'll be doing another brisket video in the gravity smoker here soon to demonstrate.

[@Tommytwos]

Thanks for comparing! I’m still not sure which one I want lol

[@robkeeney8227]

Good video! Were you cooking the brisket in the gravity smoker fat side up?

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

This time it was, yes. I've tried it both ways and don't really notice a difference. Conventional wisdom would be that you want the fat side towards the heat (to protect the meat). For the gravity smoker, that would be from below. That said, much like on a reverse flow, I don't generally see a difference. I think a lot of that is down to the fact that after it's wrapped (so when you're really finishing it), the heat direction is somewhat irrelevant. Might have to do two briskets at a time on the reverse flow, one fat side up and one down and see the results. For science!

[@rayharris5452]

Good job ...i have them both as well. I much prefer the gravity fed. I add wood chunks during the first 4 hours and spritz with pump butter. Great bark and great smoke flavor. Plus it easily holds temp for the whole cook

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

The ease of use of the gravity smoker is why I continue to use it. Just about as easy as a pellet cooker. Please enlighten me about your spritzing!

[@rayharris5452]

@ColdWarBarbecue I use 50/50 apple juice and water about every hour after the bark sets and I use pump spray butter. This combination makes deep bark on my gravity fed

[@jdgoerke13]

I from Georgia and do another of hog, I like to spritz with sweet tea I tried it once for a party and everyone loved it. I have used cherry juice as well and it gives it a nice red ppl love, brisket I spritz with Dr pepper😂😂 I feel both being Texas might as well. Good video.

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

I've heard of the "sweet tea" spritz, but I have yet to try it. I have spritzed pork butts with Dr. Pepper, but never a brisket. I HAVE done a Dr. Pepper barbecue sauce for burnt ends/brisket sandwiches, though, so I can confirm it goes well together :)

[@jdgoerke13]

@ColdWarBarbecue have you used Dr pepper or Coca-Cola in chocolate cake? The tea doesn't come through a whole lot but the sugar gives a great bark, and it just sounds good in the south. I use Milo's or liston peach. I use a hand held pump garden sprayer it's faster and lose less heat.

[@wait4dl]

i am in a quandary about buying an offset to go with my 3 other smokers. i feel your pain

[@johnaustin8758]

I'd love to get an Old Country gravity fed. I'm wondering if you add mesquite and/or oak wood chunks mixed in with the charcoal briquettes, you'd get more smoke ring. I know I'd try that.

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

We've got a new brisket cook we'll be uploading soon. Incorporated some changes that definitely improved the finished product. That included adding wood chunks into the hopper. That said, I'm always hesitant with mesquite on a long cook. Too much of a good thing in some ways. Thanks for watching!

[@grantfull5811]

Does it make a difference when you mix wood in with the coals when using the gravity feed?

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

So, I haven't noticed a huge difference previously, but I've had a lot of questions on it. Putting together another video that will test a few of these user questions. Stay tuned!

[@milo9422]

Of course you needed the offset!!! Why not? and your gonna need several more cookers in the future!!! Good job smoking them briskets!!!

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

Thank you for the validation. I'll make sure my wife sees this and let her know it's a subscriber recommendation that we purchase additional smokers :)

[@spicelandsmokeandsear]

As of this moment, 100% of your commenters recommend additional cookers.

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

I can't argue with that logic!

[@fishingwithsam7526]

Good job brother wow 👌 👏 😮😊

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

Thank you!

[@dexterrussell9581]

I think that the gravity should run a little cooler because it holds heat better...ijs

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

In general, it does. Though the "holding heat" part is really more about consistently holding a given temp for this one. As mentioned previously, if I set the air intake and am holding 250 degrees, it'll more or less stay there all day.

[@AWHS40924]

It seems like you used less wood in the gravity smoker.

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

Absolutely. The splits in the gravity smoker are much smaller, so right off the bat it's hard to maintain parity with the offset. That said, over time, we've refined our methods and now we use wood in the hopper as well as the firebox. We've got a current video on brisket in the gravity smoker that reflects that. Have a watch! kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4KZooukrdajj8U

[@jamelnelson34]

Should've used wood and both.that was the difference

[@erichuffman7531]

Good job, great video -- my only question is; I saw how much wood you used on the offset (as in all wood, for many hours), but not how much wood you used on the gravity fed. The smoke ring on the offset turned out beautiful, where there was almost none on the gravity fed. I believe you could have achieved the same smoke ring on the gravity fed if you would have used the same amount of wood you used on the offset, or at least quite a bit more than you used.

[@clightning9703]

Exactly.!! I don't think he used much or any wood for the gravity, cause the other reviews i've heard is that the gravity gives a a greate smoke flavor... thats why his wife said she tasted almost not smoke at all..

[@crushingbelial]

​​@@clightning9703 indeed. Since the falling embers will cause complete combustion of the wood chunks inside the firebox, one can induce an extreme amount of smoke if they so desired. Even if just a few chunks every hour for a bit is more than plenty.

[@clightning9703]

@@crushingbelial ever heard of dipping the tips of the wood before putting in the firebox for 20 minutes for extra smoke flavor?

[@dondiesel1100]

Wagu briskets

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

These are just standard USDA Choice. I've done Prime, dry aged, and Wagyu before. To be honest, I prefer dry aged to Wagyu just because it tastes more like how I'd expect brisket to taste. The Wagyu is good, great even, but it doesn't taste like brisket to me.

[@NoxapaterBBQ]

🫡🥃💪🏼😎

[@russellernst1705]

In other words you wasted fourteen hundred dollars buying a gravity charcoal smoker

[@ColdWarBarbecue]

Well, to be fair, I bought that one before the offset. And brisket (and to a lesser extent, beef ribs) are about the only things where I notice a big difference from an offset. I guess the other big advantage of the gravity smoker is there’s a huge difference in the amount of cooking area. I promise this is not a coping mechanism. :)

[@lamarwilliams185]

It’s not a waste; if others learn before purchase. I did not watch the video yet. There might be a technique that was not used. Such as adding water to the smoker. I’m glad and upset I watched your video to the end. I was on the fence on wether or not to get a offset. I have a in ground pit and a Weber kettle. I like the taste of the brisket on both. I cannot get consistency. Sometimes it’s great and sometimes it’s not. Maybe!!! That’s what you are experiencing. Even when I go to restaurants. Same restaurant. Same smoker. Different results. Every time. Is this your experience? It maybe the brisket. A brisket is like rolling dice. I could get prime or choice brisket. When it’s good? It’s good!!!! Smoker. May have nothing to do with it!!!!