Appreciation post: That one Saturday my brisket took 18 hours and turned out perfect

My brisket stalled at 160 degrees for almost 5 hours last month in my backyard in Austin. I was ready to give up and order pizza, but when I finally pulled it off at 7 am Sunday, the bark was like candy and the fat rendered like butter. Anyone else had a smoke session where everything clicked at the last second?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor.jessica3d ago

Oh man, that 5 hour stall sounds brutal. I had a similar thing happen with my first brisket last fall up here in Oregon. The temp just sat at 155 for what felt like forever, I was pacing around my back porch checking the thermometer every 10 minutes. But then something magical happened around midnight, the temp finally started climbing again and when I pulled it at 6 am the next morning, the whole house smelled like heaven and the meat was so tender I could barely slice it without it falling apart. There's really nothing like that moment when you think you've ruined dinner but it all comes together in the end. It's like the meat just decides to cooperate at the last possible second.

johns183d ago

Wrapped mine in butcher paper right when it hit 160 and that cut the stall down to about 2 hours. @taylor.jessica you nailed it about the meat just deciding to cooperate. I started spritzing with apple cider vinegar every 45 minutes during the stall too and that bark turned out ridiculous. Its like the universe finally says "okay you get a win out of this 18 hour ordeal.