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Unwrap brisket after stall
If you’re wondering whether or not you should unwrap your brisket after it concludes to the stall portion of the cook, you have come to the right place!
You should absolutely consider unwrapping your brisket after the stall. During the wrapping portion of any cook, it destroys the smoke flavor and the bark, along with the seasoning on the brisket itself.
By unwrapping it after the stall, you will be allowing the meat plenty of time to obtain the smoke flavor and bark that was most likely lost in the process of wrapping it.
To get even more specific, let’s take a look at exactly what unwrapping a brisket does.
What does Unwrapping a brisket do?
You need to understand the effect that different types of wrapping has on your brisket, as well as what happens when you happen to leave a brisket on the smoker unwrapped. There are some pretty significant changes that happen in both directions, in terms of the smoke flavor and the seasoning on the barbecue.
There are two different types of wrapping that many seem to use for their briskets during a stall. The first is foil and the second is butcher paper.
Both of which have the effect of destroying or significantly diminishing the smoke flavor and the crust and seasoning that is layered on top of the brisket itself. You’ll notice that it basically is like placing a brisket inside of an oven which defeats the entire purpose of putting it on a smoker, which is to let them obtain as much smoke flavor as possible.
Therefore, by unwrapping the brisket after it concludes the stall portion of the cook at around 175°F, you will allow plenty of time for the brisket to reobtain all that smoke flavor that you’ve always wanted, along with the crust and caramelized seasoning on top of the meat.
Let’s now take a quick look at the proper way to unwrap your brisket after the stall has concluded.
How to unwrap a brisket after a stall
Let’s say you have your brisket and it just reached 175°F, you can then rest assured that the stall portion of the cook has now come to a close.
If you had actually wrapped your brisket during this phase, you should strongly consider unwrapping it to obtain the smoke flavor and seasoning improvement for your brisket.
To properly do so, go ahead and take the brisket out of the smoker and place it onto a nearby counter top of some sort. Make sure to wear some gloves, since the BBQ is most likely very hot.
You’ll then want to quickly begin unwrapping the foil or butcher paper and eventually take the brisket out of its encasing. Place it directly back onto the smoker.
You don’t want to leave your smoker door open during this time, since you could take a little longer than anticipated.
In other words, you don’t want your smoker doors opened as you’re unwrapping the meat, since this can cool down the ambient temperatures and thus prolong the overall cook.
Where should you place the brisket after you unwrap it
The simplest place to put your brisket while you unwrap it, is on a flat countertop surface near your smoker.
If you don’t have any type of flat countertop surface in the immediate vicinity, then consider putting it inside of a large container that will allow you to easily transport the meat. Take it inside and place it onto a cutting board or other flat top surface in your kitchen.
All you have to do at this point is to begin unwrapping the foil or butcher paper and make sure not to burn yourself in the process.
Take it out and place it back inside of the overall container and transport it back to your smoker. This process should take no longer than about 5 to 10 minutes.
When should you unwrap a brisket after the stall
In terms of when you should consider unwrapping a brisket directly after the 175° mark, you should be doing so immediately.
The reason why you want to do so as quickly as possible, is to give the brisket ample time to begin accumulating as much smoke flavor and further develop the seasoning and the bark that has most been lost during the wrapping phase of the cook.
Who should be unwrapping the brisket after it stalls
Anyone smoking brisket and is considering obtaining as much smoke flavor as possible, should be doing the unwrapping technique after the stall. It basically will just ensure that you can obtain the best smoke flavor possible for your BBQ.
It’s not really a complicated task, but it is important to understand when, how, and why you should be unwrapping a brisket after the stall.
Final Thoughts
Any pitmaster with brisket concluding the stall portion of the cook, should consider unwrapping it once it is finished. This is just so the BBQ can obtain the best possible smoke flavor while also re-forming the crust and seasoning that was most likely lost during that phase of the cook.
After unwrapping, it is critical to continue to smoke and cook the meat until a very tender internal temperature of about 200 degrees is reached.
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.