# Smoker went off partway through brisket smoke



## Sam123 (Jul 28, 2019)

Hi all.
I was smoking my first brisket in an electric smoker, and I think I set the timer wrong, so my smoker turned off partway through the smoke. I had hit the stall at 165degrees, and was waiting, and I realized that the temps were dropping. Went out and checked the smoker and realized that it had shut off. I started it back up again. The meat temp dropped to 157 on the thermometer and grill temp dropped from 245 down to 170. By my best estimate, the smoker was off for about 45mins before I started it back up again. Is the brisket still good to keep cooking and safe to serve to people? It didnt look like it ever got to the Danger Zone (which from what I was able to check online seems to be below 140degrees??) 
Sorry for the newbie question. 
Thanks in advance for any help/insight you can provide!!


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## olecrosseyes (Jul 28, 2019)

I believe you have no issues. Smoke away!


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## noboundaries (Jul 28, 2019)

You are absolutely fine. Keep on smokin'!


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## Sam123 (Jul 28, 2019)

Awesome!! Thanks so much!


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## chopsaw (Jul 28, 2019)

If it's over the top good , you'll have to shut the smoker down for an hour from now on .


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## Bearcarver (Jul 28, 2019)

No Problem at all there.
Might be a little too tasty!!

Bear


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## Sam123 (Jul 28, 2019)

Thanks everyone for the help! Was able to finish the brisket without any further problems. I think I kept it in a little too long, because it was a little drier than I'd hoped, but the flavor was good. Looking forward to my next smoke!


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## noboundaries (Jul 28, 2019)

Dry is generally underdone. The collagen wasn't melted enough. Crumbling and falling apart is overdone, but usually still juicy.


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## Sam123 (Jul 29, 2019)

noboundaries said:


> Dry is generally underdone. The collagen wasn't melted enough. Crumbling and falling apart is overdone, but usually still juicy.



That's interesting. But thinking about it now, it kinda makes sense, and maybe it is what happened after all. After I got through the 165 degree stall and the temps started rising again, it seemed to stall again at 196 degrees. I just kept waiting for what seemed like a really long time, but the temp never seemed to go higher. I'd been hoping to pull the brisket out somewhere between 200 and 205, based on what I'd read/YouTube videos/etc. But it never seemed to get higher than 196. So I ended up just pulling it. Put it in a towel and in a cooler for about an hour, then took it out to serve. Maybe I should've waited longer and let it get up to 200+. I've never heard of a second stall though. Is that a thing? I think I was just getting nervous. Next time I'll try to be more patient towards the end of the cook. Thanks for the info!


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## noboundaries (Jul 29, 2019)

Yep. Multiple stalls happen, and are more apparent at lower smoking temps. Cranking the chamber temp up to 275F helps power through those shorter, annoying late stalls.


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## Sam123 (Jul 29, 2019)

Good to know. I'll try that next time. Thanks!!


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