Brisket stalled for 5 hours straight, I nearly gave up

I was out in the backyard last Sunday smoking a 15-pound brisket on my offset smoker. Hit a stall at 160 degrees around 2 PM and nothing I did would push it past 165 for almost 5 hours. Wrapped it in butcher paper, jacked up the fire, even moved it to the oven at 250. Finally pulled it off at 11 PM and it came out tender as butter. Has anyone else had a stall that felt like the meat was just messing with you?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel_gonzalez4d ago

Got a buddy who went through this exact thing last summer. He had a 14 pounder sit at 155 for almost 6 hours and was ready to toss it in the trash. Wrapped it in foil with some beef broth and cranked the oven to 300. Said the bark got a little soft but the meat was so juicy you could cut it with a spoon. Swears he'll never do another low and slow brisket without having a backup plan like a foil boat ready.

logan6584d ago

Honestly, I gotta say I think your buddy is overreacting a little. A 14 pounder stalling for 6 hours at 155? That's annoying, sure, but it's not a disaster. I've had briskets sit there for 4 or 5 hours and they came out fine. Wrapping in foil with broth and cranking the heat to 300 is a solid move, but it's not some life or death backup plan. Soft bark happens, but if the meat is juicy and pulls apart, who cares? People act like a brisket is ruined if you don't hit every single temp target on the nose. It's just meat, not rocket science.

sean8544d ago

That broth trick works but kills the smoke flavor you worked for.