Warning: My brisket stall took 8 hours to break and I almost cried

I threw a 15 pound brisket on my offset smoker at 6 AM thinking it'd be done by dinner, but the stall hit at 160 degrees and just sat there for nearly 8 hours. I kept cranking the heat up to 300 and it still wouldn't budge past 165 until I finally wrapped it in butcher paper around midnight. Has anyone else had a stall that long or did I just get a cursed piece of meat?

3 comments

3 Comments

wader714d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, that sounds brutal and I feel your pain. Ngl, I had a packer stall for over 10 hours once and ended up pulling an all-nighter with a cooler full of coffee just to finally get it wrapped at 4 AM.

ward.anna4d ago

Ha @wader71, 10 hours is a marathon! I once got so fed up with a stall I just took the brisket off, sliced it up, and served it as "Texas style pulled beef" to save face. Everyone ate it up without a second thought.

the_claire1d ago

Do you think @wader71 ended up with decent bark on that 4AM wrap job... or was it more like cheating your way to the finish line? Man, I've been there with the all-nighter thing - nothing like watching the sun come up over a smoker, wondering if it's even worth it anymore. Stalls will test your soul, that's for sure.