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Brisket temp dropped overnight
If you have a brisket that went out overnight, don’t worry.
It can be still salvageable and if you were concerned as to why that happened then consider this.
What are the reasons why temperature may drop over a period of time specifically overnight, is due to the fact that it may have gone through the stall period of the cook.
Not only that, the fire that you were using to cook the brisket may have slightly gone out as well.
This is the two main causes of why a brisket may decrease in internal temperature over a certain course of time.
Smoker went out for an hour brisket
It actually isn’t that uncommon for a smoker to go out for about an hour or so during the course of a long BBQ.
It’s definitely happened to me and plenty of other Pit-masters, so don’t feel too bad.
When you have a smoker that has gone out for about an hour, you’re in luck because if you have a good quality smoker with thinking of steel or in casing, the temperature can actually be held constant ambient wise and the brisket may not have actually experienced any ambient temperature decrease.
Other words, if the fire happens to go out when you aren’t suspecting it or overnight, if the smoker has good enough insulation, then the ambient temperature can actually be held constant without it decreasing or faltering at all.
This is despite even though the fire may have actually gone out for a period of time.
Can brisket sit out overnight?
If you’re wondering whether or not the brisket can sit out overnight, just make sure that if you are placing it in a well insulated container such as an ice chest or cooler, then you certainly can leave it out overnight and rest assured that there won’t be any harm in doing so.
Also, let’s say your smoker goes out overnight, and you’re worried about the brisket sitting there while you were sleeping.
Remember that if your smoker is well insulated, the brisket was probably go down substantially in internal temperature, but will be kept relatively warm until you wake up more than likely.
Once you realize this, you can sleep soundly and if necessary, just turn the heat back on when you wake up and get back to smoking or cooking the brisket.
Why is my brisket losing temp?
Let’s say that you were leaving the brisket on the smoker overnight, but after looking at the temperature rating, you notice that the temperature starts to actually decrease even though you were cooking it longer and longer.
What are the reasons for this is because of the stall.
This is basically when the temperature of the meet begins to stay very stable and will only increase very little or more than likely will actually decrease over a period of several hours.
Also noted, be sure to pay close attention to the actual firebox and cooking chamber.
This is one of the main reasons why sometimes pit-master is my experience decrease in internal temperature for the briskets.
This also applies to any type of barbecue that you happen to be smoking, particularly overnight.
One of the reasons why this is most prominent during overnight cooks, is because the pit-master is most likely asleep.
They don’t have as much time to tend to the fire therefore the fire tends to go out on them while they are sleeping.
The fire itself was starting to go out, rendering me to probably wake up after hearing the alarm and start the fire back up again.
Can a brisket stall at 130?
If you notice the brisket you are smoking overnight start to decrease in internal temperature at around 130°F, it most likely is not the result of having it go through the stall.
Perhaps, the brisket is just so large that it’s beginning to take longer and longer to actually cook all the way through.
Since it is taking longer to cook all the way through, this can take a lot of fuel.
And, as you know, if you are smoking a big brisket overnight that is taking a while, you will more than likely be asleep and not be able to turn to the fire and keep the temperatures are in adequate amount.
Also, if you are sure that the fire is cranked up nice and hot, consider checking the thermometer accuracy.
Sometimes over the course of many many cooks, you’ll notice a slight variations in a temperature reading.
This is natural, and is usually the result of not cleaning the probe thoroughly enough after or before every cook.
So, a simple solution would be to just scrub very thoroughly the thermometer with hot water and dish soap.
Once you clean the thermometer and have tested it against a boiling pan of hot water, then start reassessing how far into the cook and brisket may experience a start.
Personally, I have never experienced a brisket that has a stall around 130° and internal temperature.
What is the lowest temperature you can smoke a brisket?
The lowest temperature that you can smoke a brisket at, particularly overnight, is usually no lower than 225°F.
Personally, I would recommend smoking a brisket no lower than 250°F and ambient temperature.
That’s because at 225°F, it takes almost 24 hours to cook it simple and commonly size brisket around 12 to 15 pounds.
That is frankly way too long.
Particularly, if you happen to be smoking a brisket overnight, you don’t want the temperatures to be at the lower end of 225°F.
That is already low enough, and if the temperature happens to go out when you were sleeping overnight, then that means there is no carryover heat in the chamber to cook it warm until you wake up.
Therefore always consider cooking out around 250 and 300°F in ambient temperature if you were smoking one overnight.
What temp should brisket be after 5 hours?
After around five hours, you should expect a brisket to be halfway through the store.
In other words, the internal temperature should be around 160°F. this is purely an estimation, and should only be used as a basis of around one hour per pound of meat.
Also, you have to consider how hot you were actually cooking the meat.
If you were kicking towards the hotter end of around 300°F, you should expect the brisket to be on the higher end of the spectrum and internal temperature after a period of five hours.
Use these estimations as you begin to consider smoking a brisket overnight color and understand that as you sleep, the temperature readings may fluctuate greatly due to having going through the stall or not having enough time to actually turn to the fire and add more fuel to increase the ambient temperature.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.