The Brisket Stall, and Why You Should Wrap
Around 165F a smoking brisket can plateau for hours. The cause is evaporative cooling: surface moisture wicks away as fast as the fire adds heat. Newcomers panic and crank the pit, but the meat still refuses to budge until the surface dries.
The fix is wrapping. Butcher paper or foil traps moisture against the meat, ends the cooling effect, and lets the internal temperature climb steadily through the stall. Paper preserves more bark; foil cooks faster but softens the crust. Choose based on whether you prize bark or speed.
Wrap when the bark is set and the color is deep mahogany, usually near 165F. Add a swipe of tallow for moisture, then keep going until a probe slides in like soft butter, somewhere around 203F. Then rest it, wrapped, far longer than feels necessary.