When a brisket cook goes bad...

avibug

That's right, back-up chicken breasts on the gasser.  Two 12 lbs packers have been on my Egg since last night, but with the whole family (my parents and in-laws plus the kids) waiting on dinner I gave up and went to Plan B. Guess I'll be having brisket for breakfast. 

chrisc133

What happened?

EggHead_Bubba

Wow, what a bummer. How long had they been on and at what temp?

avibug

Not sure.  I hit a second stall on the briskets.  This morning they hung just below 150 for hours.  Thought I was golden once I passed that stall, but they hung again around 171 this afternoon, into this evening.  When it was clear I wouldn't get brisket for dinner, I prepped the chicken and threw it on the gas grill. Temp on the brisket started moving again when we sat down to eat, and is up to 183 now.  I've heard that some briskets will hit a second stall in the 170s, but I haven't experienced it and wasn't expecting it. Don't know if having two briskets on made a difference?  I have them stacked on an AR so the top one is running hotter -- maybe it stalled first and then, when the lower brisket hit its stall later, the moisture released from the evaporation cooled them both off?  I only have the Maverick in the top one and check the lower one periodically with the Thermapen.  Anyway, glad I had a backup (and that I ran out for propane this afternoon, since I haven't used the gasser forever). 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

what temp are you cooking at? they can stall for hours (and twice or even again in the high 180's) if you are doing the 225 thing. Bump it up or wrap if you haven't already. You could be another 6 hours at this rate

avibug

Was doing it at 225ish, but bumped it up to 250 once I realized it had stalled again.  

EggHead_Bubba

The Cen-Tex Smoker said. I always cook my packers at 275° which helps push it through the stall.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

avibug said:

Was doing it at 225ish, but bumped it up to 250 once I realized it had stalled again.  

never again dude. Unless you are doing it for specific timing (if I'm doing one for lunch the next day I'll roll slow overnight then bump it early the next am) you don't ever need to cook anything that low. I normally cook at 275-300 and my prime briskets cook in 45-60 min a lb. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

avibug said:

Was doing it at 225ish, but bumped it up to 250 once I realized it had stalled again.  

go higher. 275-300. you are just costing yourself time. if you don't wrap, the bark will get a little crunchy but I like that. I cooked that way for years and just started wrapping to tweak the bark a little. the bark will also soften in a long rest so it's not necessary to wrap if you don't want to. SGH posted a cool franklin video on here of AyAyRon Franklin cooking 3 briskets- 1 wrapped in foil, 1 in paper, and one unwrapped. watch that- it's a good one.

avibug

Thanks.  I'll push it higher.  

avibug

Since I completely overshot dinner time, suggestions for how best to save brisket to serve tomorrow for lunch?  One of them was always destined for the chili pot, but the other I was hoping to slice and serve.  How best to keep a brisket for next day service?  I know it won't be ideal, but I'm trying to make to best of it.  

henapple

Have a vac seal?

Foghorn

Wrapped and in the oven at 145-150. Stay above 140 and you are safe. At Franklins the brisket are wrapped 8-13 hours before they are sliced and served. 

avibug

No vac seal.  I ended up foiling the briskets to get them done.  I'm think I will keep them foiled when I pull them, let them cool a bit and put them in fridge wrapped in foil.  Then I'll reheat tomorrow wrapped in foil.  Best shot at not having them dry out.  At absolute worst, I turn both briskets into chili.  

Foghorn

You can do that. It takes a while to heat up a hunk of meat that large once it is refrigerator temp. At least an hour at 300. Longer if the temp is lower. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

you are on the right track. Reheat at 200 tomorrow until 140 or so. 

Brisket chili is for quitters (I say this to bust balls). reheat, chop and sauce if you feel they are too dry. Chopped brisket sammies are out of this world as leftovers. 

logchief

avibug said:

No vac seal.  I ended up foiling the briskets to get them done.  I'm think I will keep them foiled when I pull them, let them cool a bit and put them in fridge wrapped in foil.  Then I'll reheat tomorrow wrapped in foil.  Best shot at not having them dry out.  At absolute worst, I turn both briskets into chili.  

You ought to put a FoodSaver vac sealer on the wish list.  Best thing in the world for keeping food in the freezer or frig and not drying out.  $200

And you gotta post some finished pics and sample some!!!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

"sample some!!!"

Amen. cut the first slice of the flat about 2 inches thick, turn it on its  side (meat side down, 3 sides of bark showing) and cube it up for everyone to have a bite. You might just have dinner #2 once you taste that bite

avibug

Way ahead of you --   the quitters had their chicken and went to bed, but I'm digging in.  Came out great (and one of my girls just straggled down from bed to join me, and deemed it "more than yummy").  
As for the chili, I was always planning on making a bunch. Camping trip with 13 families coming up, and I plan to have a big heap of chili to reheat over the fire and dish out.  
Thanks for all the help tonight.  While I like browsing the forum for info day-to-day, I love the fact that someone can post questions in the middle of a brisket crisis and get so many people jumping into assist.  Really appreciate it.  

logchief

Sure looks like it was worth waiting for, nice work.

CtTOPGUN

Looks great! Unfortunately it did not cooperate with your timing. But it is done when it is done!