brisket stops cooking

[mrgriff08]

Ok so i have a Bradley smoker put a 6lb brisket in it.I have a Maverick thermo. smoker is at 200 but the meat stopped cooking at 156 what to do. Help thanks.

 

[bama bbq]

It didn't stop. It's in a stall. It might stay there for hours. Don't mess with anything. Let it cook.

 

[daveomak]

Bama is  right on.....    let it go until you get to the final temp....   what are you shootin' for ....   190....   probably take until tomorrow AM....  It will be tender and moist smoking it at 200.....   You will not be sorry...    It will probably fall apart at an IT of 180 using that low of a temp.....   Time is also a factor when it comes to getting meat to be tender....   temp is not always a good determining point....   I have cooked butts 24 hours at 200 and they fall apart with an IT of 190.... . and they are moist .....   If you can stand the wait, I'll bet this will be your "go-to-method" from now on...

Dave

 

[mrgriff08]

thanks all i will do that.Still pretty new with smoking lots to learn.

 

[webowabo]

thanks all i will do that.Still pretty new with smoking lots to learn.

a lot of us started right here on SMF... youll get there.. just take patience and a few puffs of smoke under your wings. What is your IT of the meat now? its been a couple of hours since your original post question? Im just curious how its going? 

 

[mrgriff08]

Had company got mad because i did not know. Took it out sliced it thin put in juice in the oven came out good, next time i will just let it go.

 

[millerk0486]

You can also wrap it in foil later on during the smoke to help speed up the process

 

[richjt92]

I know this may sound like heresy, but you can pre-cook the brisket in a beef bullion brine in the oven at 325 for two-three hours and then drop it on the smoker. It cuts the cooking time on the smoker to about 4-6 hours. I can still get the smoke rings and flavor in the meat. I have even done this the night before and let the meat cool and soak up the brine and then thrown it on the smoker.

I have done this in the past to ensure that the Brisket is ready for the masses (when I cooked 300-500 pounds for my Airmen) so it was ready on time....

Otherwise you have to let it go....and get up to temp....

Gig 'Em Aggies....

richjt92

 

[oldeboone]

Seems like an awful lot of knowledge coming from a self-proclaimed dummy!!! Have learned a lot from your posts,Dave. Keep them coming!!! Ernie

 

[daveomak]

Seems like an awful lot of knowledge coming from a self-proclaimed dummy!!! Have learned a lot from your posts,Dave. Keep them coming!!! Ernie

SmokinAl told me to cook butts like that... :beercheer: to SmokinAl

 

[oldschoolbbq]

One word

   PATIENCE

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I know this may sound like heresy, but you can pre-cook the brisket in a beef bullion brine in the oven at 325 for two-three hours and then drop it on the smoker. It cuts the cooking time on the smoker to about 4-6 hours. I can still get the smoke rings and flavor in the meat. I have even done this the night before and let the meat cool and soak up the brine and then thrown it on the smoker.

I have done this in the past to ensure that the Brisket is ready for the masses (when I cooked 300-500 pounds for my Airmen) so it was ready on time....

Otherwise you have to let it go....and get up to temp....

Gig 'Em Aggies....

richjt92

Smoke ring can't form on pre-cooked meat that is then exposed to an open-grate fuel-fired cooking chamber. Smoke rings are a reaction with the Myoglobin in the meat and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2, formed @ approx. 600*F with flame and air). The reaction forms a temperature-stable pigment. If the meat is already cooked, the Myoglobin would be altered and unable to react to NO2. You can fake a smoke ring by using curing salts on raw meat, which crates the same effect, without being exposed to NO2. To clarify, smoke rings are not caused by smoke at all, but from the gases created when cooking with a fire of some type (charcoal, wood, propane, natural gas) and exposing the meat to those gases with open grate cooking. And, no, you can't get a smoke ring in an electric smoker...try as you will, but without using a few tricks like adding burning charcoal to the smoke pan, it's not gonna happen...'cuz there's no fire to produce NO2.

Reference (paragraph titled Meat Color): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoglobin

Note: this article mentions grilling and exposing the meat to carbon monoxide being the cause of the pink ring in meat, but this is the only reference of this I have ever read. That does still suggest that exposing the meat to a fire is necessary to form a smoke ring with otherwise untreated meats.

As far as smoke flavor on precooked meats, you might get some, but not quite like if it were raw meat when it hits the smoker grate. Meat surface fibers are tightened up when they are cooked, and this can impede smoke penetration, and possibly even prevent it from sticking to the meat, to some extent. We smoke our meats from a raw state...'cuz that's what works. BTW, the colder the meat is when you begin to hot smoke it, the longer it can be exposed to smoke before it reaches the point where smoke reaction stops, or the desired finished temperature is reached, which ever comes first. So, that said, I never temper my meat by letting it come to room temp before the smoke...it's not worth the safety risk, anyway....fridge to rub to smoke...and, yes, I have smoked partially frozen meats to achieve the most smoke reaction time...

Reference: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/139474/understanding-smoke-management-updated-5-18-13

Sorry, but I have a hard time reading something like this and not setting things straight...this one was exceptionally difficult to NOT do anything.

Not trying to derail the thread here...if someone wants to discuss this further, I suggest starting a new thread.

Continue forward, mrgriff08. BTW, don't let this smoke discourage you...stuff happens to all of us at some point in time...learn from it and keep rolling. With each passing smoke they get easier to manage and the rewards value continues growing.

Eric