That brisket stall nightmare at my first competition cook

I signed up for a backyard comp in Austin last month and hit a wall with my brisket. Internal temp sat at 156 for almost four hours, way past the usual stall time. I kept opening the smoker to check, which made things worse and cost me precious heat. Finally figured out my cheap probe was reading wrong, the actual temp was higher than I thought. Swapped to a digital thermometer and it jumped to 165 within minutes. That whole ordeal took around six hours total before I got it wrapped. Has anyone else had a bad probe throw off their whole cook timeline?

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felixw9917d ago

...and THAT'S why I now buy probes in bulk. My first comp I had one reading 140 while the meat was literally steaming. Wrapped it, threw it in the cooler, came out like a brick of sadness. The stall is bad enough when it's REAL, but a lying thermometer turns a stressful cook into a SWEARING contest with a piece of meat. Cost me an hour and a half of sleep and a whole lot of dignity standing out there in the dark staring at 156 like it owed me money. Cheap gear will always pick the worst possible moment to betray you.