They don’t alway turn out like you want. This one stalled for about 6 hours. I seasoned the night before and let it sit in the fridge. I was worried about the salt getting absorbed and becoming to salty. So I didn’t salt as heavily as normal. Next time I’ll salt normally and let it sit overnight.

Looks good and juicy

Beautiful! And you had it on the heat for 18 hours? At what temperature? Did you wrap and unwrap it a few time during the 18 hours?

Sure looks like a home run

Oh my!

Thanks. I wrapped it in butcher paper at around the 6 or 7 hour mark. Left wrapped for the rest of the time. I’ve never had a brisket stall as long as this one did.

I have never cooked a brisket with a probe thermometer in. I usually just go by feel.

Is there any scientific/proof behind the "stall" I just cant quite imagine how there is such a variation in how long it takes heat to penetrate meat.

yep, it would take some digging but I read several articles related to the stall as I thought it was a myth ... but it does happen. I smoked hundreds of briskets for 30+ years and never knew anything about it, never wrapped, never used a probe either, just went by feel, mostly open pits for long hours. My current smoker the first several (probably 6-8) briskets were what I thought were all done the same way all came out totally different ... this is why I started researching ... and found the stall and what is called the Texas Crutch (wrapping). Some pretty amazing science behind both theories that make sense.

thisisbeer, looks good to me!

I don’t know the exact science. But I believe it’s the chemical reaction with the fat. Similar to how you can cook grease to 400 degrees but water boils at 212 and really won’t go passed that. Some chemical reactions can stall a temperature change. The brisket heats up, that fat starts to render, which is a pretty slow process. The brisket is pushing fat and moisture out and when it hits the exterior of the brisket it evaporates, which in turn cools the brisket back down. All briskets have different levels of fat. You don’t need a thermometer see this. Your bark won’t develop good until this has passed. When you cook a brisket you push all of the moisture out of it and replace that moisture with rendered fat.

I use a instant read thermometer to check for tenderness so I get temps while I do it. If I’m using my barrel smoker I leave a probe stuck in it. I don’t need to adjust the smoker or mess with the meat, so I just leave the probe on and know I should start checking for tenderness at around 185. If I use my offset and I’m messing with the fire every 20 minutes I don’t use the leave in probe at all. All briskets are different and cooked the same way they can all come out different. I use temps as a tool to keep consistency between briskets.

Looks like it was worth the wait!

I'm five hours into my 18 hour brisket cook! I used only Kosher salt and coarse-ground black pepper, and it's in the oven at 225. I'll share the results in the morning!

Did you just pull from smoker, or is the an oven only cook?

18 hours on stick burner? Any oven time factored in? 18 hours is a loooong cook.

I've cooked a lot of briskets, but I'm no expert at all. I still struggle trying to get a good crust. We each have our own methods, but here is mine, for what its worth.

I use an offset smoker. Oak wood only. A quick crisp on both sides of brisket with very hot heat. Then slow down & cook to the stall (anywhere from 155 to 170 degrees). For the crutch I use a large turkey aluminum foil pan with a very shallow grill in the bottom to hold the brisket just off the bottom. I pour a small amount of tomato juice or BBQ sauce diluted with water in the bottom. I call this my steaming mixture. (NOTE: Heaven forbid, I'm not trying to put sauce on my Texas BBQ!) Then I carefully build a tent over the pan with aluminum foil. I try not to let the foil touch the meat, which is tough on a big brisket, I crimp the edges on the pan for as tight a seal as possible. Then back on the pit & watch the temperature start up again. A few hours later, when internal temp reaches about 205 degrees, the whole pan goes into a large ice chest lined with a blanket. This "resting" goes for a minimum of 2 hours; 4 hours is better. Once opened up, dripping from the pan go in a separator to remove the grease. This sauce I call "BBQ Goo" & I serve it as an optional side condiment. Surprisingly, some folks will lather the BBQ goo on bread & eat it like that! The goo also can be smeared on a hamburger bun for serving the left over brisket as sandwiches later.

Like I said, just FWIW....

BTW: Awesome looking brisket thisisbeer! I bet it tasted as good as it looks too!

It was a big brisket. Also, it was raining that day, but I only lost temps once. It was the longest I have ever cooked a brisket. butnit came out great. Juicy and perfectly tender. I really don’t have any rhyme or reason as to why it took that long. Just assuming it had to do with the rain.

Thanks! Man that sounds pretty intricate. Can I ask why the sear and why the steam?

I know a guy that used to do a lot of competition cooking. He told me about the tin foil container, after 3 hours of smoke. I’ve done it once, but go about 5 hours, then into the oven. I turned out pretty good. I’ve also done a couple pork butts, they also turn out good. Since I’m limited on my drinking now, a long cook on the smoker isn’t as fun without the cold beer.

I'm with ya 68RB, I have gotten lazy the older I get and no need to burn a lot of wood to get the brisket all the way done. I smoke until I hit a stall (150-170°) usually 5-8 hours cause I run pretty low heat (~180-200°), double wrap in aluminum foil i(or aluminum turkey pan, sealed with foil) nto the oven at 225° until internal temperature hit 202-204°, turn off the oven and let it cool down, a couple hours later pull and open up the foil, drain off the BBQ goo and save. usually comes out very well.
I have done the 14-18+ hour style many times, especially when I am doing several briskets and likewise have done using the oven once wrapped. Hard to tell the difference and still maintains a good heavy bark, just a lot less time and wood to utilize the oven. Its almost cheating to me since I was raised very old school but no longer have an endless supply of cooking wood (nor time for that matter).

X2

I’ve haven’t done a lot of competitions. But I’ve talked with of competition guys and they all seem in agreement. All the crazy work they put into there brisket makes it 10% better than being lazy about it. But that could be the difference in 1st and not placing in a competition. I can’t think of a single guy that ever injects his home cooked brisket unless he’s trying something new. I know a few that place well in competition, but a family brisket gets a few hours of smoke and then put in the oven. Nothing wrong with that. They still come out excellent.

I had a friend that won or placed really well in BBQ cook-off's. What I do is mostly what I learned from him. This was way back when we bought briskets for $.69/lb. The BBQ cook-off's game really changed when contestants started buying $200 briskets for the competition!

The initial sear supposedly seals the juices in, just like you would on a steak. The steam phase makes the brisket very tender. My friend use to lift the pit lid & listen to the bubbling in the pan. The idea was to have the bottom liquid barely bubbling & he could tell by the sound when it was right. The steaming may be the problem why I'm not getting a good crust. My BBQ cooking is a work in progress & It'll probably never be perfected.