Chris S in YEG
TVWBB Fan
I have done a few Briskets in the past and they have turned out good, not "Oh my gosh this is amazing" just good. So I had a 16lb Brisket in my freezer and decided today was the day to try another. After it had thawed I trimmed it up, added salt and freshly ground pepper and let it sit while I got my 18.5" WSM ready to go. Once the WSM was holding at 250 with a full water bowl I put the brisket on with a temperature probed inserted into the flat where the point starts. With a start time of 11:00 pm, I put on a movie and away we go. The temp of the brisket climbed steadily and in the first 2 hours it was up to 147. After falling asleep and waking up at 4:30 am the brisket was now at 153 figuring it had stalled I took it off the smoker and quickly wrapped it in butcher paper and back on it went. By 7:00 am the brisket was at 173 and I did a little happy dance because everything was on schedule. This is where the BBQ gods slapped me for a premature celebration. Between 7:00 am and 12:30 pm I maintained a pit temp between 225 and 250 and the temp of the brisket dropped from 173 to 161. This is where I started to panic. I checked the forum and internet to see what I did wrong and how do I fix it. The best i could find or think of was my butcher paper was not tight enough. So I took the brisket off opened it up did the probe test re wrapped and back on it went without the temp probe. For the probe test my thermapen put the temp around 158 and pressure was needed for the probe to go through the flat. Left it for another 2-3 hours and probed again and got the same results. This is where the panic intensifies and I am pacing around not sure what to do. The Brisket is now wrapped in foil, temperature probe re-inserted, in a 250 oven and the temperature is up to 171. I am on my knees in front of the oven praying to the BBQ gods asking for forgiveness and a edible piece of brisket.
I am at a loss as to what went wrong or if I panicked for no reason. Is it possible to wrap to early? Was my wrap to loose the first time? Any help, advice or forehead slapping knowledge is greatly appreciated.
I am at a loss as to what went wrong or if I panicked for no reason. Is it possible to wrap to early? Was my wrap to loose the first time? Any help, advice or forehead slapping knowledge is greatly appreciated.