That week my brisket flat dried out three times in a row

Honestly, last month I had a run where every single brisket flat I cooked came out dry and tough, even when the point was perfect. It happened on a Tuesday, then again Thursday and Saturday, which really messed with my head. I was running my offset at 250 like always, wrapping in butcher paper at 165, and pulling at 203. Tbh, I finally figured out my new thermometer was reading about 15 degrees too high, so I was actually pulling them way too early. Has anyone else had a probe go bad and ruin a whole week of cooks?

3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

3 Comments

fox.jason6mo ago

Man, that's the worst feeling. I had a probe die on me last summer and it threw off my whole game for like two weeks. I was pulling pork butts at what I thought was 205, but they were still tough. Finally checked it in boiling water and it was off by almost 20 degrees. Now I test all my probes in ice water and boiling water at the start of every big cook. It's a simple check that saves so much heartache.

7

daniel2144mo ago

@lane.angela Did you calibrate with both or just the ice water?

6

lane.angela6mo ago

Ugh, that's such a gut punch... How many cooks did you ruin before you figured it out? I had a probe go bad right before a big family party, and it was a total disaster. My brisket was like leather. Now I do exactly what @fox.jason does, the ice and boiling water check before anything important. It takes two minutes and saves you from wasting so much time and meat. I even keep a little log now to see if a probe is starting to drift over time.

1