The day my brisket turned into a brick at a family cookout in Tulsa

Last July I had a big cook for my cousin's engagement party, about 40 people. I ran my usual setup on a cheap offset smoker, trimmed two briskets the night before, used oak splits like always. Everything looked great until I wrapped after the stall, hit 203 internal on both, rested them in a cooler for two hours. When I sliced, the flat came out like dry roast beef, no give at all, and the point was tough too. My uncle tried a piece and said 'you cooked the life out of it,' and I didn't have a backup protein. Turns out my thermometer probe was reading 15 degrees high because the battery was low, so I pulled them at what was really 218. I checked with a second probe later that night and nearly threw the thing in the yard. Has anyone else had a bad probe ruin a whole cook, and do you trust wireless models or stick with wired ones now?

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the_drew1mo ago

Funny you mention the battery thing, because I once pulled a pork butt at what I thought was 204 and it came out like a leather shoe. Turns out the probe was stuck at 187 the whole time, so I actually cooked it to 205 AND THEN some, because I chased a number that was a lie. Wired probes are my go-to now, especially the cheap ones with a cord that you can't lose in the yard, but I still double-check with the instant read before pulling anything. My uncle still brings up the "shoe butt" every Thanksgiving, so at least you're not alone in the post-brick family shame.

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finleyl391mo ago

Did you try wrapping it in foil and letting it rest longer before you pulled?

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