My brisket wont get above 155 internal temp???

[mrsmoky]

I have an MES 40. Doing my first Brisket in it today. Put the Brisket on at 9am this morn preheated to 200 degrees. Top Rack is the fat I trimmed with Rub on it dripping on to the Brisket on the rack below it. Below the Brisket is the Water pan which I filled with tomatoes, onions, Fresh Garlic, celery and some more of the fat with Rub on it it looks beautiful right now. Below that is the AMNPS smoking Hickory Pellets. It has been on for about 9.5 hrs and I just raised the temp to 234 because the meat probe has been saying 150-155 for the last 2 and a half hours. What am I doing wrong? Its looking like I am getting a descent bark on it at this point although some of it has not formed yet. I re inserted the meat probe in a different spot and it still felt a bit tough to get in the meat. Need some guidance to come up with a successful Brisket.

I was gonna do Bacon Wings on Top rack when it was done but now I have to smoke them on the char griller and try to serve dinner by 9pm!  Help. Thank you!

 

[frizzlefry]

I'd like to hear some MES experts' opinions on this as well.  My last brisket took 22 hours!

 

[mrsmoky]

yeah Frizzlefry. after turning up the heat to 234 my brisket is at 175 internal. So I guess I am headed towards a good result but of course I wont call it till I cut it. What is a good temp to take it off? I was gonna pull it at 180.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Mrsmokey , you have found the dreaded stall , and this can take a bit and usually frustrates the Heck out of some Folk.  You will need to practice "Patience" when doing these , 'short story ' this happens due to the Fats and Collegen breaking down.  Be patient , have another or two drinks and let the smoke and heat do the work for you. This is a good time to have a social visit with the neighbor , a friend or your significant other.

Getting this result calls for (sometimes) the "Patience of Job ".  Your low heat is good ( somewhere around 225*f ) , so you can attain your 200* to 210* to the finish. i.e.-the cooking heat must be above the level of the finish temp.

I realize that it is a hard thing to do, but if you have the patience to leave the door to your cooker 'closed' , it will help in quickening the cooking process ...  the Brisket above and the Butts below ,were placed in my smoker with a probe in the correct placement, and the lid left shut til my finished temp. was approaching. I didn't look , I didn't mop or spritz and I didn't even crack the lid of my smoker until I was satisfied with my temps.(IMT). I keep my cooking chamber temps. at or close to 225*f and let the "Atmosphere" in the Smoker do the work for me...

my color and bark are always , well ^^^^^^^^^

.

I'm not a Pro , just a backyard "Qer".  I learned a long time ago that to be a good BBQ cook , you need to be a little LAZY , i.e.-just leave stuff alone , nobody is gonna get it , it's gonna be OK right where it is

 And the results are great.

I realize you don't have the type of Smoker I have , and you have to "learn" your own smoker through practice , but in time you will be able to enjoy your smoker as much as a close Friend.                                                                                                                                                         

 

[JckDanls 07]

yup... the stall always makes people panic... one of 2 options... let it ride.. or wrap in foil which will make it cook a little quicker but does ruin the bark kinda sorta...

 

[rtbbq2]

Spot on oldschoolbbq.......Here is the Readers Digest version of what oldschool is saying........

...........

.. have patience, relax, wait and have a drink. Perfection takes time.

You will soon be eating the best smoked meat in town..............

 

[mrsmoky]

Thanks Old School! Most appreciated. That is great insight. Thanks for taking the time. The temp eventually got up to 180 when I took it out of the smoker. I loved the flavor but because It was an occasion with family over I had to pull it out of the smoker earlier than I wanted to. There were some sections that were juicy and tender but overall it was kinda dry. The au Jus that was in the water pan was out of this world and made the whole thing. Nest time I will be very patient and know a lil more what to expect. I am def a newbie but this experience of doing this brisket really uncovered a lot for me. The AMNPS was just that A maze n. After the brisket reached 180 I wrapped it in foil and let it rest for an hour as the temp in the smoker reduced from me turning it off. I didnt want to wrap it cause I didnt want to mess with the bark but I kinda took advice from all different places to make this one.  I'll post some pics after I get home from my daily grind. Cheers all and thanks here's to a better brisket next time!

 

[daveomak]

MRSmokey, morning.... Here is another explanation of the "dreaded stall" that is an interesting read...  Dave

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/physicist-cracks-bbq-mystery_b_987719.html

 

[mrsmoky]

Wow Dave, that was an intense read....I gues it all comes down to this part "Ball says that he is now following a similar protocol in competition. He won't say what temp he cooks at on his MAK pellet smoker, but he is now foiling when his bark is the deep mahogany color he wants, usually somewhere between 140 and 150°F. He leaves it in the foil all the way up to the end, takes it out of the cooker, lets it come down in temp to about 175°F so it stops cooking, and then wraps it in a towel and puts it in an insulated holding box called a cambro for an hour or two to rest (see my article on how you can rig a faux cambro).There is a problem with this approach for some cooks: The meat does not have a hard chewy bark on the exterior. Ball says that a hard bark is emblematic of overcooked meat. He wants a dark, flavorful, tender bark. But if you want a hard bark, the solution is to pull the meat out of the foil when it hits 180°F or so, and hit it with higher heat to dry the exterior and darken the rub. Or just skip the foil altogether, do things the old fashioned tried and true way, and just be patient. Either way, the results are superb.I definitely like the hard chewy Bark. This article really opened my eyes to the Why's of this stalling process!! Thanks Dave!I'll start a first smoke thread so everybody can see the pics.

 

[mrsmoky]

here are the pics of my first smoke with the MES 40 http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/121742/1st-smoke-with-mr-smoky-and-the-mes-40

 

[so ms smoker]

Looks like it all came out good. Don;t be afraid to crank the temp to 240-250. That is still low and slow!

Mike