Nervous morning in So Cal


 
Bob Hunter

Bob Hunter

TVWBB Pro
Howdy,
Well here I am starting to get a little nervous about my cook. It's my daughters 6th birthday today and we are having a bunch of kids and their parents over for a party later today. They should start arriving around 11 ish. I am cooking a 13lb left side Choice Brisket. It is a beautiful piece of meat. I put the meat on at 7:30 last night and it has been a picture perfect cook with my Stoker and clay pot base. The lid temp has held perfectly at 250°.

What has me nervous is that the meat is only at 154°. IT has been between 152 and 155 since 1 AM. I know how important this plateau is to the cook. But oh man I am worried. Usually when I cool I prefer that the meat comes off several hours before I need to serve it.

I am not sure if I should bump the temp up to try and rush things a little? Also I am wondering if / when I should foil. I have never had to do this before.
 
Bob, Something doesn't sound right here. A 6 hr stall seems too long IMO. Have you tried moving the temp probe at all? And do you have a different thermometer you could check the internal temp of the meat with? Is the temp probe in the flat?
 
I'm with Bryan, check your thermo. Give the meat a fork test also to see how it feels. Have you used the stoker before? If you find that the meat is truly hovering in the 150s, then you can foil and crank up your temps essentially doing a high temp cook. That should bump it off the plateau.
 
Thanks for the quick reply,
When I got up this morning and saw the temp I freaked out
icon_eek.gif


The first thing I did was grab my trusty Redi Check thermometer. When I stabbed the brisket, it was tough. The Redi check confirms the temp readings from the Stoker both on the firebox and the meat. The temps are only a degree or so different.

So right now I think my plan will be to bump the smoker up about 10°. Hopefully it will break the plateau soon. Then foil it when it reaches 170 or so.
 
Still say something is a miss here. Did you double check your pit/grate temp to make sure your at 225? I have a Ashcroft in my lid so I always look to make sure the Guru and the Lid Thermo are on the same page. Just asking.
icon_confused.gif
If the grate temp checks out crank it up to 250.
icon_wink.gif
 
I know what you mean. something doesn't seem right. The grate temp 240° was just a but lower than the lid temp 250° which is understandable. But it wasn't enough to explain it, at least to me.

So cranked up the temp, the grate temp is now at 255°, and it looks like the plateau may finally be breaking, the meat is up to 158° .

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Quick question, since I have never had to do it before. When I foil, do I foil it tight or loose with a kinda tent type approach?
 
Originally posted by Bob Hunter:
Quick question, since I have never had to do it before. When I foil, do I foil it tight or loose with a kinda tent type approach?
Click to expand...
I like to let my briskets rest for about 2 hrs and up to 4, but no less than 1 if you are pressed for time. I double wrap tight in foil and place in a towel lined cooler.
 
Sorry for the misunderstanding. I always tightly foil and rest my briskets in a cooler for 2 to 4 hours.

When I asked about -
Quick question, since I have never had to do it before. When I foil, do I foil it tight or loose with a kinda tent type approach?
Click to expand...

I was referring to foiling the brisket while still on the cooker to speed up its cook.

The temp is now 159°, looks like I may be past the hump. I am still going to have foil it on the smoker to finish it. I'm just not going to be able to rest it as long as I would prefer.
 
Well, I foiled the brisket at 172° and at 11 it reached 190° internal. The brisket is now resting happily awaiting the feast.

I will report back on how it turned out.
 
Originally posted by Bob Hunter:
Well, I foiled the brisket at 172° and at 11 it reached 190° internal. The brisket is now resting happily awaiting the feast.

I will report back on how it turned out.
Click to expand...
Bob, 190 is a little high because it'll continue to cook after you take it off the WSM about 5-7 degrees. Could be alright but it could also turn out pot roasty. Just a heads up for you.
 
The meal has been finished, the two thumbs up and praises from the audience accepted. This brisket actually came out fantastic. Not my best but dang near. The flat was melt in your mouth tender, I think the rolls we served it on were tougher. I chopped the point and mixed it with my homemade sauce as well.

The smoke ring was one of the darkest and thickest I have ever produced. It was a real dark purple about 3/8 " thick.

Also as a last minute thing I threw on a couple of fatties when I pulled the brisket. These went over great as well.

Aint much better than having grown adults smiling at you with bbq sauce all other their faces trying to tell you how good the Q is with their mouths full of it.
icon_biggrin.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top