u/Awkward-Country-835

Smoked my first brisket this weekend on the Weber kettle and wanted to share how it went. It was a 4.8kg Brazilian brisket. Trimmed the fat cap down and kept the rub simple just salt and pepper at a 3 to 1 ratio since it was my first go. It went on the kettle low and slow running about 4 hours before hitting the stall at 70°C internal. Once it stalled I wrapped it in foil to push through and let it climb back up to 98°C internal then rested it in a hot box before slicing. Total cook time came out to right around 8 hours.

It ended up slightly overcooked but honestly for a first attempt I think it went alright. The bark came out darker and harder than expected going in but once I unwrapped it the smoke ring and pull apart texture were both there. Delicious as hell. Basically nothing was left after it was served. Would love to hear from the more experienced smokers here about what you'd have done differently based on the pics.

This place was basically a ruin when I started renovating it.

It's been in my family for generations. My grandfather built it as an investment property back when my country was still under British rule, and the British Army rented it to house officers and their families. It sat empty for about 15 years. The previous tenant completely trashed the place, then squatted there for another three years before we finally managed to get him out.

Long time lurker, first time poster.

About a year ago I started renovating the house, and I finally finished it. It burned through most of my savings, but honestly it was worth every euro. I restored the house and preserved most of its original features without changing its identity.

I rewired the whole place with Cat6a, with everything running back to my home server. No subscriptions for me. I probably went a bit overboard with the Wi-Fi, but at least there aren't any dead zones. The lights turn on automatically when I walk in, and I've been playing around with some local AI models to handle a few of the home automations.

I couldn't find kitchen tiles locally that I liked and that kept the spirit of the house, so I had a local artisan make custom Talavera tiles instead. They ended up being cheaper than the off-the-shelf options and exactly what I wanted. Overall I went for a Spanish Mediterranean style with a few modern touches. Most of the furniture is IKEA, mixed with a few old family pieces that I restored.

I've been working on the garden for the last couple of months, and I'm hoping it'll become a proper little oasis by next summer.

It was a long, expensive process, but seeing it all come together has made it completely worth it. Happy to answer any questions about the renovation, networking, home automation, the custom tiles, or anything else.

Just wanted to share, I bought my first charcoal grill, a Mastertouch Premium 5775. The experience is above and beyond better than a gas grill. Heat retention is amazing and the cooking experience is exquisite.

After the burn, with the help of r/grilling recommendations and their advice not to stress about how I should handle my new love, I've cooked three times in 10 days on this bad boy.

1st cook: pollo asado and a pork loin marinated in adobo sauce

2nd cook: just grilling veg for Wednesday dinner, couldn't help myself, wanted to give the dinner some extra charred taste

3rd cook: last night, picanha steak with fries

Some pictures above, they aren't great, just wanted to commemorate and remember the first cooks.

Edit : Any attachments recommendations are appreciated

Removing Florida was not necessary, but it was satisfying.

Finally pulled the trigger on charcoal after years on gas. Went with the Master-Touch GBS Premium 5775.

Watched enough videos to know the basics (two-zone fires, why you don't choke the vents right away, lump vs. briquette tradeoffs) but want to hear from people who've actually put in the reps.

First cook: Doing a burn-off to season the grates, then going with skirt steak, fast, mostly about the sear, low risk if I misjudge something early on. Anyone disagree with that pick for a first real cook?

Fuel: Leaning briquettes for more predictable heat while I dial in vent control, then probably moving to lump once I've got a feel for it. Anyone find that backwards?

Thermometer: Know I don't need one for something quick like a steak, but assuming it's essential once I start smoking longer cooks roasting and smoking.

What I'm actually trying to avoid: the classic beginner traps, flare-ups from choking vents too late, misjudging how much charcoal actually translates to sustained heat, that kind of thing. What's the mistake you see repeated most that isn't obvious until you've done it once?

Any tutorial recommendations, but more interested in the stuff that only comes from actually doing it a bunch of times.

Edit: Edited the post using Claude to make it more organized and neat, sorry if against the rules.