Help with BRISKET that jumped past stall really quickly

[PaulS-UT]

Started a 12lb Brisket last night at 10:30 PM (grill set at 200⁰). Pulled and wrapped in butcher paper at 6:30 AM (into temp 150⁰) (grill now bumped up to 250⁰). Now 3 hours later I am @ 188⁰.
Clearly I passed the stall very quickly, am i better to turn down to 225⁰ and leave it until internal of 203⁰ ish or...... worried it might have dried out or.....
Suggestions welcome please.

 

[737mat]

I think that's about what I would do. More time is better. I don't have experience with butcher paper, though, so I don't know if there's a possibility it would dry out more without using foil. I like to wrap with parchment paper and foil to collect the juices, then put the juices back on the meat after I slice.
Bottom line is I think you'll be good once you get to 203 and let it rest for quite a while.

 

[Parrothead1809]

Agreed. I would gauge it with how easily the temp probe goes in, vs. the actual temperature. Once it goes in without much pressure, pull it, wrap it in towels and drop it in a cooler until it's time to eat.
Just my $0.02.
-PH

 

[PaulS-UT]

I dropped it to 225⁰ when I first posted which seems to have made the temp stop rising and is at 196⁰ and not climbing (which is probably a new issue) With a probe the meat it still too firm so I have bumped the temp back up to 250⁰. Hopefully it becomes more tender quickly and gets at least to 200⁰ before drying out. I may not wait until 203⁰ this time and focus more on it being tender.

 

[PaulS-UT]

OK, so i eventually gave up on getting to 200⁰, pulled it at 198⁰ and straight into the cooler. It was clearly done long before 198⁰. In hindsight I should have pulled it about the time I first posted knowing full well something went wrong. It was edible but the flat was really dry.
I think I am done attempting butcher paper. It just isn't consistent like foil is. Foil probably covers my mistakes better.

 

[midwest]

I have never experienced inconsistencies with paper, could be something else causing the problems. Every cut of meat is different. We cooked 2 briskets last year from the same cow we had butchered. Basically the same size and appearance. Started them over night, one was done at 10:00 am the other wasn't ready until almost 3 PM. Moisture content, fat content, etc. can all affect cook time. Differences from one cook to the next are not likely caused by the paper.

 

[RayClem]

Once you wrap the brisket (or other roast) in butcher paper or foil, steam is trapped inside the wrapping and the internal temperature of the meat climbs rapidly. For that reason, it is common practice to avoid wrapping until the meat enters the stall phase, which is somewhere between 160-170F. The stall is the point at which the heat supplied by the fire is sufficient to evaporate moisture, but not sufficient to increase the meat temperature. Once you wrap, all the heat goes to increasing the meat temperature since water no longer escapes.

As long as your final temperature reaches your desired level, the brisket should be fine. The difference is that by wrapping early, the bark will not be as well defined as it might have been had you wrapped later.