Temperature drop confusion

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inigo montoya

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 28, 2008
2
10
Hi - new to forum and true smoking. My new MES has been tried out on a prok butt for pulled pork along with the world's most unattractive fatty (since then found the rolling tutorial and optimistic about next run).

I am smoking an 8# brisket right now and ran into some confusing temperature reading changes. I put the brisket in yesterday and smoked for 6 hours at 235 until ready for sleep, mopped, foiled and reduced heat to 220. This morning the Oregon digital read 181 so I unfoiled and put a bit of sauce to get some good bark bumped back to 240 in smoker. When I put the thermometer back in it read 164. Thought I might have hit a thicker part of meat so let it run back up (a couple of hours) to 182 and then foiled so I could put it in the cooler with towels and let it rest a few hours. Again after re-inserting the probe it read 162- a 20 degree drop. I doublechecked with another thermometer with basically the same reading.

It is slowly climbing but after 20 mintues only at 168 on one and 170 on other. Is this sort of reading change normal? Once I could see being in fat vs meat the two times but having it twice was confusing. The meat seems done (probe went in like butter) but I know that temperature is the gospel. Any thoughts from the pros?
 
First off...typically one makes a post in the Roll Call forum and introduces themselves. Kinda a tradition.

Sounds like a plateau. If you are slicing it probably IS done at 170. Search "plateau". It's a chemical reaction thing.
 
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