Warning: My brisket stalled for 6 hours because I lifted the lid every 20 minutes to peek at it

I used to think opening the smoker to check on my meat was just part of the process, you know, making sure it looked okay and all. But last Saturday I did a 12 pound brisket on my offset smoker down in my backyard here in Austin and it just would not get past 150 degrees after like 6 hours. I was adding wood, spraying it, checking the temp probe, the whole deal. My buddy who runs a food truck came over and watched me for five minutes and he just said stop opening the lid every time you walk past it. He told me every time I cracked that door I was dumping all the heat and moisture and adding like 30 minutes to my cook time. I felt like a total idiot. I closed it up, walked away for 2 hours, and when I came back it had climbed to 175 and was rolling perfect. Has anyone else wrecked a whole day of cooking just by being too nosey with their smoker?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarwright18d ago

I mean, is a 6 hour stall really that awful? Brisket is gonna stall no matter what you do, it's just the collagen breaking down. Opening the lid a bunch probably added like an hour tops. If you've got the time, who cares. People act like the meat is gonna turn into sand if you peek. I've had briskets that stalled for 8 hours and still turned out fine, just plan for it. Maybe it's just me but I think folks worry too much about every little detail.

grayt4618d ago

... and that's exactly what I told my buddy Mike last weekend. He was freaking out because his brisket stalled for almost 7 hours on his offset. I said @oscarwright's point exactly right back at him, just let it do its thing. Mike finally stopped panicking, put the beer down, and about two hours later it came out just fine. Tender, juicy, everything you'd want. People get way too worked up about the stall when the real problem is usually rushing the cook or not letting it rest long enough.