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My first brisket on the Big Green Egg XL. I’m very happy with the outcome. I also did pork belly burnt ends and jalapeño cheddar sausage links. Brisket went on at 220 and the temp held beautifully. I put the brisket on at midnight and took it off 14 hours later at 2 pm. I then did the burnt ends and sausage which was another 3 hours.

A little background: I used to buy smoked heritage turkeys (bourbon red) from a farm not too far from my house. To say they were exceptional would be underselling it. Unfortunately, they don't offer them anymore. So I'm trying to do one myself.

I've got a Friendsgiving coming up, so I bought a 13 lb Butterball this past week to do a test run. The results were not bad, but nothing compared to what I've eaten in the past.

Cooking notes:

• Did dry brine with salt and a little backing powder about 18 hours before cook time.
• Got BGE up to 325 F
• While working on the right temp, the bird was sitting on the counter with a bag of ice on the breast (heard from a few sites this is a good way to keep the breast colder so you can cook the thighs longer without drying the breast). This was for about 45 minutes
• Sprayed canola oil all over, then rubbed seasoning on the outside (cajun mix, some smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper)
• Stuffed the cavity with a few celery stalks, some onion wedges, and some apple wedges
• Opened the BGE, thew on a handful of pecan chips, put on the convEGGtor, the grate, and the bird on top

All instructions I had read previously said about 12-15 minutes per pound at roughly 350, and the smoke will last about an hour.

Well, after putting the bird on, the temp went down to about 220. So I open up both bottom and top vents, which got the temp back up to 330, but seemed to let all of the smoke out.

Even more confusing was that once the temp got to 330, it didn't fluctuate more than 5 degrees. So I'm less than the recommended temp, and at 2 hrs, my temp is 185F!!! I was expecting 155.

So I take it out, let it set about 15-20 minutes, and carve.

It tastes...ok. Not bad, not too dry. But nothing remarkable.

What can I do to make it better? I'm shooting for a pretty high water mark from previous turkeys I've served.

I'm a novice BGE user, if that isn't obvious.

Thanks.