1st time brisket - second stall?

[James Munton]

Hello, I am cooking my first ever brisket - 12lb Prime.

Cooking it 225-250 on WSM.
Probe is in the flat.

It stalled at 156 between hours 3-5. I foiled it at hour 5 and it climbed to 189 by hour 9.
I opened it up and probed it with the pen and it is 195 in the point and 189 in the flat.

Wrapped it back up and raised cook temp to 275 - I'm really getting hungry!
Weirdly, the flat temp dropped to 187 and has spent the last 30 minutes there. Is this a second stall?

Do I just wait it out and try to get to 200? I don't want to overdo the point which probed like butter and I'm sure is ready.

[Jerod Broussard]

Yeah, 184-187 is a common second stall.

The point probes tender way before it is really ready.

[James Munton]

Okay, thanks. I'll throw some sausages on the grill as a snack while we wait!

[Jerod Broussard]

I'd start checking for probe tender in the flat when it reaches 190. I cooked to 203 a Prime flat that I injected and wrapped at 160 and it was dry dry dry.

[Jerod Broussard]

When my flat is ready to be sliced, I'll slice the point and 99.9% of the time the pieces can barely be pulled apart by hand (unless I have reheated or rested for 4+ hours), and need further cooking to make burnt ends so that they can be more edible.

[Mleecline]

Don't forget the point is way fattier and will feel much easier to probe than the flat anyhow.

I've been working on my point placement when I smoke so that it has the direct heat hitting it first.

[James Munton]

It turned out okay! I gave it another half hour and it hit 195 and I pulled it off. We were all too hungry so I just let it rest 15 minutes or so. Next time, I'll try to let it rest longer.

It tasted good and was juicy. There wasn't much of a smoke ring and the bark was a bit meh. But it had a good taste of smoke without being over-smoked.

A couple of things I'll do next time - cook at slightly higher temp - 250-275. Wait longer before I wrap to let the bark set. I think I wrapped it too early, because the rub hadn't completely merged with the meat. I'll also try to let the brisket rest for an hour. I might try doing it without water in the pan like Harry Soo suggests. Not sure how to get a better smoke ring. Need to do some more reading...

Sure is a time commitment, though. I woke up at 4:45am to have this thing ready for 6pm. I HATE getting up early!

Anyway, here is how it looked...

[LA Pork Butt]

Try putting it on the night before, putting it in a faux cambro for 2-4 hrs and serving for noon. I value sleep. Start @ 8pm.

[James Munton]

Oh and my wife said I cut the slices too thick!

[Jerod Broussard]

How cold was the brisket when you put it in the smoker?

And I just reread your original post at the top. When you unwrap brisket the surface cools off a lot and that will cause a drop in temperature, but there is a second stall that can occur in the 180's.

Between 150 and 190 would be the stall zone.

[James Munton]

Internal was 52 when I put it on the smoker.

[Jerod Broussard]

I like my meat to be COLD, as in under 40 degrees. I sometimes put the meat in the freezer while the smoker is heating up if it isn't too cold outside. Once I load mine and stick the probe in it, it typically registers 36 degrees.

Give yourself extra time and let it roll fat cap up until that dude is super dark. Then flip to get the top of the flat dark, then wrap if it isn't done already. Running 250-275 will compensate for this extra time.

[CurlingDog]

totally agree with Jerod's take on this... 250-275 will also help power it through the stall, and might eliminate the 2nd stall entirely. You 'sweet spot' when it's done becomes a smaller window of time. Wrapping it in foil (vented) in a cambro (faux or otherwise) will help out quite a bit.

[James Munton]

Thanks so much for the tips. Will try that next time!