Brisket Temp Climbing Too Quickly


 
D

Darren C.

TVWBB Pro
I am doing my first brisket. The internal temp of the brisket seems to be climbing too quickly. It's currently at 145 F. It's only been on the smoker about an hour. The pit temp is 229 F. The pit temp started a little high, but the temp dropped nicely to my target. I was half thinking about foiling at 140 - 150 F. But, an hour into the cook seems like too soon to foil.

I'm starting a new thread. The original thread originated here.

I'm editing here because I've been researching answers to my own question. This thread on here on tvwbb.com makes me feel a little better. It seems that some don't even foil at all. And, those that do are either cooking high temp or foiling to push the temp through the stall to avoid drying out the meat during the stall.

At the time of this edit, the brisket is at 156 F. The pit is at 227. The heatermeter is holding the temp very steady near my target temp of 225. I have set my alarm for 195 F for the brisket. Others seem to have success not foiling. I think I will just skip foiling this time, unless the stall takes too long.
 
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Don't worry. All is well. You're fine. This is what the meat's supposed to do.

You're going to hit a stall at about 160*F and then it won't budge for several hours.

BTW, are you doing just a flat or a full packer (flat and point).

How much does it weigh?

Did you put it on straight from the fridge or did you let it warm to room temp first?

[About 8 years ago doing my first brisket I made almost exactly the same post. Be at ease.]
 
Check the probe placement in the meat. It could be near the surface which will give you false readings. The closer your meat temp is to the pit temp the slower your temperature rise will be. I never foil unless going high heat or want to speed the cook up a bit.
 
Ditto to what Rob says - its done when its done. Remember temperature is just a guide be sure to check for tender
 
Rob O said:
Don't worry. All is well. You're fine. This is what the meat's supposed to do.

You're going to hit a stall at about 160*F and then it won't budge for several hours.

BTW, are you doing just a flat or a full packer (flat and point).

How much does it weigh?

Did you put it on straight from the fridge or did you let it warm to room temp first?

[About 8 years ago doing my first brisket I made almost exactly the same post. Be at ease.]
Click to expand...

Thanks. It's just a flat (still learning my terminology). It's 8 lbs. And, it probably got to room temp. It stayed on the counter awhile while I was preparing everything.

Just an FYI, I also have ribs on the top rack. The brisket is on the bottom rack. I'm shooting from the hip on a lot of this.

BTW, I am using water in the bowl, if that makes any difference.

I've been grilling on my Weber kettles for years (like close to 20). But, smoking is all new to me. I'll post a graph of my HM graph in a minute.
 
You're doing fine. Don't worry.

You should figure the brisket's going to take between 8 and 10 hours at that temp. Personally I wouldn't foil before 160.

The ribs will be done way before the brisket.
 
Thanks Dave for reaffirming Rob's comments.

This is my graph as of a few minutes ago. Bryan is a genius. His heatermeter (should be called heatermeater) is holding the temp super steady.

9635409061_8f822ed75e_o.png
 
Bob Sample said:
Check the probe placement in the meat. It could be near the surface which will give you false readings. The closer your meat temp is to the pit temp the slower your temperature rise will be. I never foil unless going high heat or want to speed the cook up a bit.
Click to expand...


Agree. One hour from 70 to 140 is a tiny bit fast for an 8lb flat.

Double check you have your probe in the center of the thickest part of the flat. If not reset it.

Since you've got your ribs on the top rack you're going to need to prepare to work quickly. Don't want the pit temp to rise too quickly with the lid off.

A second set of hands will help out a lot to move and hang on to your ribs. You'll need gloves or pot holders for you and your assistant.

Also, in case the pit starts smoking it can be really helpful to have a set of goggles handy if you have them available.

But above all.... Don't worry. You're fine.
 
I was very careful about trying to place the probe lengthwise into the center of the brisket. And, since my brisket is on my bottom rack, my temp is so steady and I have two probes to be careful not to yank out of my HM, I think I'm going to just trust that the probe is placed correctly.

Also, I don't think I will be foiling. I'll keep my eye on the time and temp. If it stalls too long, when I take the ribs off, I might foil it then.

The pit is currently 223.9 F and the meat is 163.5 F.

Thanks everyone for you suggestions. At this point, I think it is what it is.
 
They do. Amazin how many ways can be found to spend money... *smile*

Honestly, I've just been using a set of heavy work gloves for as long as I can remember.
 
Yea, it's in the stall. Could be there for another hour or for a few hours barely climbing. Darren if you are going to foil now would be the time. Remember what has been said here don't pull based on temp but on tenderness with a probe sliding right into it easy.
 
OK. Sounds like you're there.

I'm going to guess you might have the probe a little bit close to the surface.

Is the probe in the thickest part of the brisket or in the center of the brisket? You want it in the thickest.

Feels to me like your probe is about 5 to 10* higher than it should be.

2.5 hours to get to the stall on a flat is a little quick but not crazy.

See if the curve flattens out for a while.

Throwing the probes and graphs aside for a moment - if it gets to 175 stick another probe in the thickest part. If it's beginning to feel tender I'd foil.

BTW, Bill's advice about foiling now isn't a bad idea either. I just happen to like a bit more bark and I'm willing to sacrifice moisture to get it.

For a first brisket I'd do what Bill says and foil early.
 
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@Rob
Yes the curve is flattening out. It's only gone up 3 degrees in the last hour. It's at 171.7 now. I might be wrong, but I feel good about the probe placement.

@Bill
I had planned to cook to 195, then start checking for tenderness and use tenderness as my guide to pull it.


I have been really hesitant to foil because I have the ribs on the top rack and the probes to deal with. My graph is looking so good and the HM is doing such a fantastic job of keeping the temperature steady, I hated to disrupt it.

Here's the latest graph. Looking back at the graphs:

11:00 am => 160 F
12:30 pm => 168 F (about 8* F in 1.5 hrs)
1:50 pm => 172 F (about 4* F in 1.5 hrs)

Gotta love that HM.

9636537425_f23ba9ace2_o.png
 
8 lb brksket. 5 hours to 172. OK. I'll buy that. Hope it tastes good.

Guess you're eating the ribs now huh?
 
Rob O said:
8 lb brksket. 5 hours to 172. OK. I'll buy that. Hope it tastes good.

Guess you're eating the ribs now huh?
Click to expand...

Nah. All of this is for tomorrow. I pulled the ribs at 6 hours and foiled the brisket. To me, they look a little black. But, I pinched off a bite, and it was pretty good. I wrapped them in foil and let them cool. They are going in the fridge until tomorrow.

The brisket is at 192.6 F. My plan is to go out at 195 and start checking for tenderness.

Here are the ribs and brisket before foiling:
9637588229_bfbccda9e4_b.jpg


9637591545_0ff4d71466_b.jpg



Here's the graph. It's pretty obvious when I pulled the ribs and foiled.
9641060798_891bd16066_o.png
 
Looks good to me and right on schedule. Never would have thought it given how quickly the first part of your cook went. Good for you. Hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Just goes to show. Every piece of meat's different.

Keep an eye peeled tomorrow. I'm going to try a 10 llb injected flat using the High Heat method.

Might be an interesting comparison.
 
Rob O said:
Looks good to me and right on schedule. Never would have thought it given how quickly the first part of your cook went. Good for you. Hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Just goes to show. Every piece of meat's different.

Keep an eye peeled tomorrow. I'm going to try a 10 llb injected flat using the High Heat method.

Might be an interesting comparison.
Click to expand...

I will keep an eye out for your cook. Good luck with it. Although, I'm sure you don't need luck.

I'm not sure why the temp jumped up so fast like it did. It got in a groove and started rising about 4 degrees per hour. It seems to have stalled again.

The brisket is stuck at 192. It's been cooking for 9.5 hrs. What do you think? I hate disturbing the cook. I'm kinda the opposite of the guy who wants to keep peeking. I like to let it ride. But, I understand that at some point, you quit looking at temp and just check tenderness. Once I start opening the lid, it's going to be a wild ride. But, if it's time, bring it....

Here's the latest graph:
9641488968_9b2820d4ff_o.png
 
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