Can salty rub dry out brisket?

[Pat McCreight]

Yesterday, I cooked a small packer. Normally, I rub the brisket with either worcestershire sauce or mustard, and then apply my rub. I usually do this while the smoker is getting ready, so it only sits on the meat 10 minutes or so before going into the cooker.

Yesterday, I rubbed the brisket with worsey and then sprinkled a fair amount of Montreal steak seasoning. The difference being that I did this 12 hours in advance.

The brisket had decent flavor, but turned out a little on the dry side.

All other things being equal, which of course they aren't

, could the salty rub have drawn out too much moisture in the 12 hours it sat rubbed?

Here are pictures.

 

[K Kruger]

Yes it can. If salting the meat first well ahead of time you need to wrap the meat well so that the salt (after it dissolves into the water it will draw out) has a better chance of absorbing into the meat along with the water.

It is hard to know whether that is what occurred in your situation. If when you removed the meat from the fridge there was quite a bit of moisture left behind then, yes, it had something to do with it. If not, the pproblem was something else.

 

[Pat McCreight]

Thanks Kevin.

It was wrapped tightly. When I removed it from the plastic wrap, there was a decent amount of moisture on the plastic. I don't know if it would qualify as significant, though.

Could just be one of those briskets. It wasn't bad, just a tad drier than I have been used to getting with similar procedures.