Just realized everyone at the Memphis in May contest was wrong about wrapping brisket

I was at the Memphis in May competition last year, and my brisket stalled hard at 165 degrees for over 2 hours. Every pitmaster around me was yelling to wrap it in butcher paper immediately. I decided to just leave it alone and let the fire do its thing, and it pushed through after another 90 minutes. The bark was the best I've ever made, super dark and crunchy. Has anyone else had a better result by NOT wrapping when everyone says you have to?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaretr762d ago

Yeah that stall is brutal, I mean idk why everyone panics and wraps it right away. Sometimes just letting it ride works out better.

hall.rose2d ago

Totally get what you're saying, @margaretr76. I've had a few briskets where I just left it alone through a long stall and the bark turned out way better. That extra time unwrapped seems to really set the texture.

the_hayden2d ago

Man, my buddy had the exact same thing happen at a cook-off in Texas. He was getting roasted by his team for not wrapping when the stall hit, but he just kept adding a little wood and left it alone. That brisket came out with a bark you could almost break a tooth on, and it was way juicier than the wrapped ones next to him. It made me question the whole wrap-it-fast rule.