brisket 6 hour stall???

[fireguydrew]

hey folks

I did up a brisket last night. 8.55lb so I was shooting for a 12 - 13 hour smoke
went on at 4 am temp rose 20 degrees every 30 mins until about 140 then just a few degrees here and there. at about 150 I hit the stall I knew around there it would happen. it was stalled for 3 hours or so then went up to about 160. then for another 3 hours it stayed around 160 give or take a degree or two.. I had to pull it off around 5 pm for dinner.
I sprayed it with apple juice during and flipped it every 4hrs 4 hrs, 2hrs, 2hrs
I didnt wrap it in foil at all though next time I will to try it out. (just experimenting)
I found it still very chewy quite tender at spots but still chewy.
I am wondering if anyone has ever dealt with a 6 hour stall.
Is it possible that I had done something wrong somewhere??
I dont think so but curious of everyones opinions
I kept the smoker between 200 and 250. mostly around 225 but it did dip a few times due to the weather. I am in Ontario Canada and it was just about 3 degrees C with rain off and on
I have a Chargriller pro with mods.
and used a coke injection (which was very tasty in the end)
any thoughts

 

[meat hunter]

Well I have not heard of a stall that long, but I guess its possible?
Then end results looks pretty tasty from where I'm sitting.
My first question would be, what are you using for a thermometer for the smoker? Is it the thermometer that came with the unit, and if so, have you checked it against one that is for sure accurate? I'm asking this because to me, it sounds like maybe your smoker temps were lower than what you think they may have been.

 

[thunderdome]

Did you adjust your probe at all?

I've noticed that if I leave that probe in one spot for too long, the meat and grain adjusts enough that it alters the correct temp reading.

Usually every 3-4 hours I'll insert probe in a new location to get accurate reading.

This has "fixed" what I thought was a stall on a pork shoulder for me multiple times

 

[disbe81]

Some cuts of meat are just a pain in the butt. Depends a lot on the actual meat itself. When that happens to me sometimes, ill pop it in the oven at 300 degrees wrapped in foil, and it should finish within an hour and be PERFECT!

 

[fireguydrew]

Hunter, I have 5 different thermometers on my CGP to read the smoker temps. 2 high temp ones just outside the firebox (so i can figure heat loss across the smoker) and three regular temp (up to 500 degrees not that i let it get that high haha)then 2 in the brisket 1 in the flat and one in the point. It does make sense though with the meat therm. as Thunder mentioned. I didnt move the probes at all until towards the end when I thought the temps were off.
just didnt make sense to me at all. I am going to do another one in a few weeks or so. but prolly do a butt next week. so ill try the probing (giggity) then. But I am always open to suggestions.
it turned out good but not GREAT. and if I plan to compete in the near future I need Great brisket

 

[meat hunter]

Yes, I too have exp what Thunder mentioned. Relocating the probe has given me different temps.

I just wasn't sure on your setup as far as therms go. Allot of times, and I certainly am not implying that you are a noobie LOL, but allot of times, people take the therm that is shipped with their units as true to temp, when in fact, they are off. If your running that many therms, then I would say yes, Thunder makes a great point.

 

[triplebq]

Just remember if your looking you ain't cookin . Each time you take and open that lid you add at least 10 to 30 minutes cook time from the heat loss .

 

[fireguydrew]

Triple, I opened it up only to spray and flip. all my meat therms are the digtal ones with the leads. so I can see the temps all the time
I can try to make it a habit of spraying flipping and reprobing all together.
But very good point
Hunter I am a newbie by all means so no offense taken at all haha
I need all the help I can et my friends
thanks

 

[smoking gun]

I never flip briskets any more. I just cook em fat cap down and foil at 155 160 depending on the thickness of the flat. When I foil I put apple juice in the foil but I do not spray spritz or mop the meat. I've found it just washes off the rub and slows the bark forming. I usually pull flats off at 165 170 and let em rest an hour or so before slicing across the grain. I'll leave the point on, foiled, until it reaches 200. Let it rest and pull or chop for sammies.

Occasionally I'll skip the foiling until I pull the flat off the smoker. Let it rest as usual and then slice. That will give you a harder bark that some people prefer.

 

[disbe81]

Looking aint cooking would not be accurate. Many professional Q'rs check their meat often. When im doing a brisket, i spritz n flip every 2 hours. I am also adding other meat towards the end, ie. ribs, chicken, etc...

To each their own, but i can tell you my "lookin" doesnt hurt my Q at all!

 

[fireguydrew]

well my first comp isnt till July so I have lots of time to experiment.
I will try each method and see what happens to foil or not to foil hahah
I have even thought of adding a cast iron pot with water and apple juice beside the the firebox to add some moisture. sheesh this is just brisket I still have the other disciplines to deal with lol
the best part of doing all this is the eating at the end

thanks guys

 

[jirodriguez]

Have not done a brisket, myself, but I did notice on thing on your Char-griller set up. It looks like you have not done the smoke stack mod on the inside? Without that mod a lot of your heat comes out of the firebox, goes up, travels along the top of the main chamber, and out the stack. By extending the stack down to grate level you keep your heat (and smoke) on the meat longer and more consistently.

But like I said I have not done a brisket yet.... so take it for what it's worth and all else fails keep practicing.

 

[fireguydrew]

that is the next mod I am shooting for
thanks for the input JIR

 

[scubadoo97]

I've had small corned beef flats stall for a few hours. I know my thermometer was fine because I've taken multiple readings from my themapen and got the same temps. Now it doesn't bother me. When it stalls it stalls but once it passes 165 it picks up nicely and really cruises near the end.

 

[pineywoods]

A 6 hour stall is kinda long but I have heard of even longer ones. Most of the time they aren't near that long but once in a while you get a weird piece of meat that stalls forever or what worries me even more is one that has no stall and seems to get to temp too fast. All you can do is be patient and trust your thermos.

 

[smoking gun]

Thats true. Seems like the ones that stall turn out the best. Remember the sirloin tip Piney? That thing took 18 hours to hit 200.

 

[pignit]

It has a lot to do with recovery time. If your smokin with an electric Brinkman or an MES... then... "if your lookin you aint a cookin applies" If I were to spritz and mop and probe like some of you guys do I would never get anything done on the electrics.I put it in and smoke it close to done and then start checkin my temp. I did a packer this weekend on the offset and used a little higher temps and had it to 200 in 9 hours. It was delicious. I also got ahold of a butt one time that wouldn't get over 165... ever!