Did my first brisket, but was dry, need some help.


 
K

Kyle-Toronto

New member
Hello,

I did my first brisket. Flavor was good, was tender, but was dry.

I was going to do the crutch, but I put it on at midnight and just wanted to leave it overnight. Plus I read the crutch could make the bark soggy, so I decided not to do it. Maybe next time I will.

Couple things:
1) When I woke up in the morning the smoker was 350 degrees. How can I prevent this happening on an overnight cook? Set alarm for every couple hours? Is this why it was dry?
2) Temp came up to about 199 degrees. I was going to take it off at 201, so it sat for about an hour or more trying to get to 201. Doing some reading, I guess I should have started probing to feel for doneness, correct? Maybe that extra time dried it out.
3) The brisket for the most part was pretty skinny except the center part which was softball sized. Of course this is where the probe went in. So who knows for how long the skinnier part was fully cooked, and continued cooking. How do people normally handle this?
4) I wasn't going to add water to water pan, but my fire really shot up hot right from the start. So I added water to try and regulate temperature. But then I didn't add anymore water. Should I have kept adding water to it? DOes that matter?

If I make sandwiches or something today, is there any methods to get it moist again? Cook in some bbq sauce?

Thanks for the help!
 
Last edited:
1. Do you use a wireless thermometer? I used either the maverick et-732 or igrill2 to alarm me if the temp goes too high. Other than that it's just practice with dialing in the vents. I usually let my temp come up slow and for me it takes 2 closed vents and one vent at 1/4 to keep 225 to 250. This absolutely could be why it's dry, although you can cook that hot with good results, but typically you need to wrap at some point.

2. You answered your own question. Start probing for tenderness around 190. A set temp can make you overcook it which may or may not have happened.

3. I don't worry about it.

4. This could have mattered because when you lost your water as a heat sink and if your vents stayed the same you'll probably see a temp rise. You could have just shut the vents more.

Finally put some sauce on it! It should still be good.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
1. Do you use a wireless thermometer? I used either the maverick et-732 or igrill2 to alarm me if the temp goes too high. Other than that it's just practice with dialing in the vents. I usually let my temp come up slow and for me it takes 2 closed vents and one vent at 1/4 to keep 225 to 250. This absolutely could be why it's dry, although you can cook that hot with good results, but typically you need to wrap at some point.

2. You answered your own question. Start probing for tenderness around 190. A set temp can make you overcook it which may or may not have happened.

3. I don't worry about it.

4. This could have mattered because when you lost your water as a heat sink and if your vents stayed the same you'll probably see a temp rise. You could have just shut the vents more.

Finally put some sauce on it! It should still be good.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. Was still pretty good. Made a hash with potatoes the next day, which was very good. And made sandwiches today, were very good as well. The gf wasn't a fan of some of the fat in in though :/

Dave from Denver said:
Dry and crumbly or dry and tough? If the latter, it was probably undercooked and not overcooked.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't say either. Was dry, still fairly tender, just dry.
 
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