Bull This is ridiculous!

[clw2613]

Cooked a very small (3#) brisket flat yesterday. Because of past long cook times, I cooked st 250 instead of 225. Started at 5AM, hit the stall at 10:30, wrapped in butcher paper, and it didn't move for 4/1-2 hours. When it became apparent that the stall was going to continue for a long time, I upped the temperature to 275. It finally hit 199 degrees at 8PM. The probe test said OK to stop so took it off then.

Today for dinner we'll see how it turned out.

No foil, absolutely nothing to impede air flow.

Temperatures double checked with an Enzoo wireless thermometer which was within 2 degrees of the grill probes.

I cannot understand why it should take so long, especially with such a small brisket.

Only thing I can think of to do next time is wrap with foil instead of butcher paper.

Guess I could start the cook the night before but really didn't think that was necessary eith such a small brisket.

Any suggestions?

 

[jfrosty27]

Keep in mind that the thickness of the meat determines cook time. Not the weight. A 3lb piece and a 8 lb peice that are the same thickness will take about the same amount of time to cook.

 

[clw2613]

The brisket was no more than 1.5 inches thick and being a flat was uniform from one end to the other.

 

[ndfan6464]

Meat is meat man...its going to cook how it wants too... same with pork butts. I've had some take 12 hrs and the same size take 16hrs... just the nature of the beast when it comes to this type of cooking

 

[fullhouse32]

@clw2613,
I was not going to talk about my 3Lb brisket from Sunday because I was sure I did something wrong.

But I had the same crazy issue. 3Lbs 1.5 hours per pound = 4.5 hours.
So I put it on The Bull at 10am @ 200° 4 hours in I see that it has stalled at 140° IT for the last 2 hours.
I wrapped it in butcher paper increased The Bull to 250° the brisket climes to 152° IT and stalls for another 2 hours.

**My plan was to have it done by 4pm and resting it for one hour or two. Not be done right at dinner time 6pm**

I also used my ThermaPen 4MK and it was spot on with The Bull's probe every time.

It is now 4pm 6 hours in. I increased The Bull to 275° after an hour the brisket went up to 168° IT.

It is now 5pm 7 hours in. The wife is starting to give me the crazy look I increased The Bull to 290°
Now at this point, I am thinking I have done everything wrong and I should turn in my BBQ tongs I don't deserve this beautiful smoker and I need to send The Bull back.

Ok so The Bull is at 290° the brisket is wrapped and still at 168° IT and it's coming up on 6pm.
I have now gone off the deep end.

at 6:10pm the brisket hit 173° IT so I am thinking we are moving forward

6:30pm hits and the wife has jump ship and made her dinner from leftovers

The brisket is now setting at 178° IT. 8.5 hours into this I am not quitting now.
So as any crazy person would do I increased The Bull to 320° and I was thinking this is going to be the best brisket or and doorstop.

7pm the brisket has increased to 184° IT so we are almost there
But NOT SO FAST 8pm it's still at 184° IT. NOW I AM SO MAD. 8:30pm I check the temps again with my 4MK 184° IT
I unwrapped the brisket, throwing everything I have heard/learned out the window.

So it's 8:30pm The Bull is running at 320° the brisket is now unwrapped and @ 184° IT

I don't care anymore I stopped looking, I set the alarm to let me know when it hits 200° IT.
I just want the brisket to get to 200° IT. Just get there and we will see how it all comes out.

@ 10:06 I get an alarm NO it's not at 200° IT. The Bull has dropped below-set temp by 10°

I have ran out of pellets (about 15Lbs for the day) BUT the brisket is @ 198° IT. So I pull it wrapped it again wrapped it in a towel put it in the cooler to rest.

12 hours into a 3Lb brisket (I am 100% positive this would have gone longer than 12 hours if I had not pushed the temp. And now I wish I would have let it ride @ 275° and see where it would have taken me)

10:30pm the wife is wanting to check on this nightmare.

I got it on the cutting board and it smells amazing.

MY LESSON I LEARD FROM THIS

I will NEVER plan on starting my brisket no later than 11:00pm the night before.
LET IT REST
LET IT REST.

It can rest the next day and IT WILL be ready when I want it.

I NOW KNOW MEAT WILL BE DONE WHEN IT WANTS TO BE DONE.

It was not the best ever, but it was very good 6.2 out of a 10. Salt and pepper with RecTeq's Heffer Dust. The next day for dinner. I made Chipotle bowls and the family did enjoy them.

This is great therapy I hope this helps someone as much as it has helped me

 

[mooncusser2k]

Meat can't tell time. I've had beef short ribs take 6+ hours despite being small. I've got a 3-pound chuck roast going right now that's just getting to 150F after being on the grill for 5.5 hours (first 2 @ LO, then up to 250F).

It takes time & experience to get used to this kind of cooking. There's more going on than simply getting a lump of protein up to a temperature. Keep at it and you'll learn how much time you need to allow to get the results you want.

 

[kennethk]

My last two similar sized Butts. One was 16.5 hrs the other 12.0 hrs.

 

[Thor8594]

@clw2613,
I was not going to talk about my 3Lb brisket from Sunday because I was sure I did something wrong.

But I had the same crazy issue. 3Lbs 1.5 hours per pound = 4.5 hours.
So I put it on The Bull at 10am @ 200° 4 hours in I see that it has stalled at 140° IT for the last 2 hours.
I wrapped it in butcher paper increased The Bull to 250° the brisket climes to 152° IT and stalls for another 2 hours.

**My plan was to have it done by 4pm and resting it for one hour or two. Not be done right at dinner time 6pm**

I also used my ThermaPen 4MK and it was spot on with The Bull's probe every time.

It is now 4pm 6 hours in. I increased The Bull to 275° after an hour the brisket went up to 168° IT.

It is now 5pm 7 hours in. The wife is starting to give me the crazy look I increased The Bull to 290°
Now at this point, I am thinking I have done everything wrong and I should turn in my BBQ tongs I don't deserve this beautiful smoker and I need to send The Bull back.

Ok so The Bull is at 290° the brisket is wrapped and still at 168° IT and it's coming up on 6pm.
I have now gone off the deep end.

at 6:10pm the brisket hit 173° IT so I am thinking we are moving forward

6:30pm hits and the wife has jump ship and made her dinner from leftovers

The brisket is now setting at 178° IT. 8.5 hours into this I am not quitting now.
So as any crazy person would do I increased The Bull to 320° and I was thinking this is going to be the best brisket or and doorstop.

7pm the brisket has increased to 184° IT so we are almost there
But NOT SO FAST 8pm it's still at 184° IT. NOW I AM SO MAD. 8:30pm I check the temps again with my 4MK 184° IT
I unwrapped the brisket, throwing everything I have heard/learned out the window.

So it's 8:30pm The Bull is running at 320° the brisket is now unwrapped and @ 184° IT

I don't care anymore I stopped looking, I set the alarm to let me know when it hits 200° IT.
I just want the brisket to get to 200° IT. Just get there and we will see how it all comes out.

@ 10:06 I get an alarm NO it's not at 200° IT. The Bull has dropped below-set temp by 10°

I have ran out of pellets (about 15Lbs for the day) BUT the brisket is @ 198° IT. So I pull it wrapped it again wrapped it in a towel put it in the cooler to rest.

12 hours into a 3Lb brisket (I am 100% positive this would have gone longer than 12 hours if I had not pushed the temp. And now I wish I would have let it ride @ 275° and see where it would have taken me)

10:30pm the wife is wanting to check on this nightmare.

I got it on the cutting board and it smells amazing.

MY LESSON I LEARD FROM THIS

I will NEVER plan on starting my brisket no later than 11:00pm the night before.
LET IT REST
LET IT REST.

It can rest the next day and IT WILL be ready when I want it.

I NOW KNOW MEAT WILL BE DONE WHEN IT WANTS TO BE DONE.

It was not the best ever, but it was very good 6.2 out of a 10. Salt and pepper with RecTeq's Heffer Dust. The next day for dinner. I made Chipotle bowls and the family did enjoy them.

This is great therapy I hope this helps someone as much as it has helped me

Bro, that is one nice looking smokering, not bent enough for my liking but dang it looks good.
Brisket is a strange animal, my last one was 15lbs and it was done in 10.5hrs, way faster than I thought. Set temp was never over 225º and it cooked really fast. It for sure got plenty of rest though.

 

[Blues1]

My first brisket on the Bull was 3.5 lb. Took 15 1/2 hrs. Had to eat fish for supper...

 

[clw2613]

@clw2613,
I was not going to talk about my 3Lb brisket from Sunday because I was sure I did something wrong.

But I had the same crazy issue. 3Lbs 1.5 hours per pound = 4.5 hours.
So I put it on The Bull at 10am @ 200° 4 hours in I see that it has stalled at 140° IT for the last 2 hours.
I wrapped it in butcher paper increased The Bull to 250° the brisket climes to 152° IT and stalls for another 2 hours.

**My plan was to have it done by 4pm and resting it for one hour or two. Not be done right at dinner time 6pm**

I also used my ThermaPen 4MK and it was spot on with The Bull's probe every time.

It is now 4pm 6 hours in. I increased The Bull to 275° after an hour the brisket went up to 168° IT.

It is now 5pm 7 hours in. The wife is starting to give me the crazy look I increased The Bull to 290°
Now at this point, I am thinking I have done everything wrong and I should turn in my BBQ tongs I don't deserve this beautiful smoker and I need to send The Bull back.

Ok so The Bull is at 290° the brisket is wrapped and still at 168° IT and it's coming up on 6pm.
I have now gone off the deep end.

at 6:10pm the brisket hit 173° IT so I am thinking we are moving forward

6:30pm hits and the wife has jump ship and made her dinner from leftovers

The brisket is now setting at 178° IT. 8.5 hours into this I am not quitting now.
So as any crazy person would do I increased The Bull to 320° and I was thinking this is going to be the best brisket or and doorstop.

7pm the brisket has increased to 184° IT so we are almost there
But NOT SO FAST 8pm it's still at 184° IT. NOW I AM SO MAD. 8:30pm I check the temps again with my 4MK 184° IT
I unwrapped the brisket, throwing everything I have heard/learned out the window.

So it's 8:30pm The Bull is running at 320° the brisket is now unwrapped and @ 184° IT

I don't care anymore I stopped looking, I set the alarm to let me know when it hits 200° IT.
I just want the brisket to get to 200° IT. Just get there and we will see how it all comes out.

@ 10:06 I get an alarm NO it's not at 200° IT. The Bull has dropped below-set temp by 10°

I have ran out of pellets (about 15Lbs for the day) BUT the brisket is @ 198° IT. So I pull it wrapped it again wrapped it in a towel put it in the cooler to rest.

12 hours into a 3Lb brisket (I am 100% positive this would have gone longer than 12 hours if I had not pushed the temp. And now I wish I would have let it ride @ 275° and see where it would have taken me)

10:30pm the wife is wanting to check on this nightmare.

I got it on the cutting board and it smells amazing.

MY LESSON I LEARD FROM THIS

I will NEVER plan on starting my brisket no later than 11:00pm the night before.
LET IT REST
LET IT REST.

It can rest the next day and IT WILL be ready when I want it.

I NOW KNOW MEAT WILL BE DONE WHEN IT WANTS TO BE DONE.

It was not the best ever, but it was very good 6.2 out of a 10. Salt and pepper with RecTeq's Heffer Dust. The next day for dinner. I made Chipotle bowls and the family did enjoy them.

This is great therapy I hope this helps someone as much as it has helped me

I feel your pain! Unreal that it should take so long. Mine was taken off after 15 hours. Most say it will do it's own thing so just be patient, but I have little patience with this.

Yesterday's brisket is for dinner tonight after having to improvise yesterday. We'll see if it was all worth while.

Lesson learned - put it on the night before, regardless of size. Better to be done early than have dinner plans ruined because it didn't get done on time!

 

[ifican]

So I have never had a prime brisket take that long and never had a choice one cook as fast as a prime. The other thing i have learned to do is, keep in mind i rarely wrap anything, is once a good crust is formed i have no issue bumping up the heat quite a bit. Have been known to push to 375 if it didnt look like it was moving or going to be ready in time. Keep in mind the flesh is all well done anyways, after a few hours smoke is no longer having an impact and as long as its been on long enough to break down the collagen, it really doesnt matter what temp you push it too. Just dont leave so long at higher temps you dry it out, otherwise youll be fine.

 

[zueth]

I never plan on eating time for Brisket, the Brisket will be done when it is done, that's it!
I always plan doing FTC and eating the Brisket somewhere between 4-6 hours later. If that timing doesn't work out, just give it an ICE bath and reheat it up in SV or reheat it on pellet grill slowly. No need to ever try to plan dinner around when the Brisket may or may not be done. I always try to never rush a Brisket, just let it do its thing

Next time try cooking a Packer brisket, you will be pleasantly surprised in the end result.

 

[Dean]

First it is called "The Art of Smoking" and I use 165 degrees for the stall temp...you might check what others use... and it is hard to smoke a 3 lb.flat, doable, and more skill....Oh , forgot LUCK.... LOL

 

[DesertRat]

@clw2613,
I was not going to talk about my 3Lb brisket from Sunday because I was sure I did something wrong.

But I had the same crazy issue. 3Lbs 1.5 hours per pound = 4.5 hours.
So I put it on The Bull at 10am @ 200° 4 hours in I see that it has stalled at 140° IT for the last 2 hours.
I wrapped it in butcher paper increased The Bull to 250° the brisket climes to 152° IT and stalls for another 2 hours.

**My plan was to have it done by 4pm and resting it for one hour or two. Not be done right at dinner time 6pm**

I also used my ThermaPen 4MK and it was spot on with The Bull's probe every time.

It is now 4pm 6 hours in. I increased The Bull to 275° after an hour the brisket went up to 168° IT.

It is now 5pm 7 hours in. The wife is starting to give me the crazy look I increased The Bull to 290°
Now at this point, I am thinking I have done everything wrong and I should turn in my BBQ tongs I don't deserve this beautiful smoker and I need to send The Bull back.

Ok so The Bull is at 290° the brisket is wrapped and still at 168° IT and it's coming up on 6pm.
I have now gone off the deep end.

at 6:10pm the brisket hit 173° IT so I am thinking we are moving forward

6:30pm hits and the wife has jump ship and made her dinner from leftovers

The brisket is now setting at 178° IT. 8.5 hours into this I am not quitting now.
So as any crazy person would do I increased The Bull to 320° and I was thinking this is going to be the best brisket or and doorstop.

7pm the brisket has increased to 184° IT so we are almost there
But NOT SO FAST 8pm it's still at 184° IT. NOW I AM SO MAD. 8:30pm I check the temps again with my 4MK 184° IT
I unwrapped the brisket, throwing everything I have heard/learned out the window.

So it's 8:30pm The Bull is running at 320° the brisket is now unwrapped and @ 184° IT

I don't care anymore I stopped looking, I set the alarm to let me know when it hits 200° IT.
I just want the brisket to get to 200° IT. Just get there and we will see how it all comes out.

@ 10:06 I get an alarm NO it's not at 200° IT. The Bull has dropped below-set temp by 10°

I have ran out of pellets (about 15Lbs for the day) BUT the brisket is @ 198° IT. So I pull it wrapped it again wrapped it in a towel put it in the cooler to rest.

12 hours into a 3Lb brisket (I am 100% positive this would have gone longer than 12 hours if I had not pushed the temp. And now I wish I would have let it ride @ 275° and see where it would have taken me)

10:30pm the wife is wanting to check on this nightmare.

I got it on the cutting board and it smells amazing.

MY LESSON I LEARD FROM THIS

I will NEVER plan on starting my brisket no later than 11:00pm the night before.
LET IT REST
LET IT REST.

It can rest the next day and IT WILL be ready when I want it.

I NOW KNOW MEAT WILL BE DONE WHEN IT WANTS TO BE DONE.

It was not the best ever, but it was very good 6.2 out of a 10. Salt and pepper with RecTeq's Heffer Dust. The next day for dinner. I made Chipotle bowls and the family did enjoy them.

This is great therapy I hope this helps someone as much as it has helped me

Well done. Your story, not the brisket. Gave me a couple of good laughs.

 

[DenStinett]

Not sure, but I believe it has something to do with the Fat content

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Seems like the leanest briskets take the longest to push past the stall.

 

[fullhouse32]

@DenStinett @Roaniecowpony - now that y’all have said that I would have to agree 100%. There was very little fat on this flat. NO FAT CAP.
I’m going to make a note of that. Buy a brisket with some fat next time.
thanks.

 

[kennethk]

Saturday night I smoked a 9 pound (after trimming) Brisket at 225 for 9.25 hours . Injected with beef broth and rubbed with Jack Daniel's Steak Rub. After 6 hours it hit 160 and I wrapped with foil. 3 mores hours and it hit 201. Pulled it and placed in cooler for 4 hours. Was very good. No idea why it was so fast.