Dry brisket

[Hairbag]

Hello all. I'm sure this has been asked before but I tried to search the site with no luck. I've had my 340 for about five months now and enjoy it very much. I've smoked about five briskets and they were all good except for this last one. I cooked it till internal was just under 200 degrees and then let it rest wrapped in butcher paper in a dry cooler. The taste was amazing but very dry. What can I do to make sure this doesn't happen again? There was not a lot of fat on the slab prior to cooking(came that way). I usually like to get a full slab and leave as much fat as I can on there but it wasn't available this time. Thank you all for your help.

 

[Ostrichsak]

What is the ambient temps of your previous smokes combined with this one? What area are you located in as in is it more dry or humid there? Same source for meat? Need more variables to give you a better idea of what the changes were that likely had the most affect from one smoke to the next.

 

[sandyut]

FP or flat?

 

[Hairbag]

What is the ambient temps of your previous smokes combined with this one? What area are you located in as in is it more dry or humid there? Same source for meat? Need more variables to give you a better idea of what the changes were that likely had the most affect from one smoke to the next.

Im in So Fla so always humid. All meat comes from costco however this time was just a big trimmed flat,

 

[Hairbag]

FP or flat?

flat

 

[Waterboy]

It almost sounds undercooked. Did you pull if off when it was probe tender or at a certain temp? Did it bend into a horseshoe over your knife or finger or was it tighter than that? If it doesn’t bend and is dry it’s undercooked. If it bends and falls apart it’s overcooked. You hit it right when it horseshoes but need a slight tug to come apart.

 

[Gonefishin]

Brisket rookie here. I've done a couple flats, no FP's as yet. The flats I did I injected with beef broth, wrapped in plastic wrap and let them sit for a while before seasoning and smoking, they came out pretty good, not dry anyway. Both had the fat pretty much trimmed away.

 

[gwrace1]

Here was a quick cook done by recteq. Since brisket is the mainstay here in TX were always interested in trying new recipes.

 

[Kanco Connection]

I think Waterboy’s gotcha covered. Tough/dry = undercooked; crumbly when you try to slice it means it’sovercooked. Yours sounds more the former. And of course once in awhile you just get a tough hunk of beef that just won’t play. I’ll add that you’re more likely to win the moisture battle with a packer rather than a flat.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

My limited experience with brisket is there is no substitute for starting with a great piece of meat. If you don't want to spend the money for a really good prime brisket, I recommend you try a different cut like tritip. Brisket is a huge investment in cooking time and it never worked for me to scrimp on the meat quality.

But you can "fix up" dry meat by making an au jus. Use beef stock as the base, add rub, a bit of soy sauce, a dash of hot sauce, a little splash of red wine, simmer a little while on the stove, optionally add some fat flavor with bacon, pork or beef fat while simmering. Cool to use and store sliced brisket in it in the fridge or ladle it over the meat.

 

[tanson2]

Cooked a 2lb chuck roast like a brisket seasoned last night covered it put in fridge, set b/e 380 at 225 and at 9hrs internal temp was 194. Put a pan of water under it to catch fat and water was gone meat is dry has a decent flavor, used Montreal steak seasoning and sea salt. Where did I go wrong. T I A

 

[Greg Jones]

Cooked a 2lb chuck roast like a brisket seasoned last night covered it put in fridge, set b/e 380 at 225 and at 9hrs internal temp was 194. Put a pan of water under it to catch fat and water was gone meat is dry has a decent flavor, used Montreal steak seasoning and sea salt. Where did I go wrong. T I A

Sounds way overdone to me. A 2# chuck roast at 225° for 9 hours is about twice or more as long as I would expect it would take. A temp probe can be a helpful tool, but nothing beats manually probing for doneness (probe tender) while cooking.

 

[C. Keeper]

Cooked a 2lb chuck roast like a brisket seasoned last night covered it put in fridge, set b/e 380 at 225 and at 9hrs internal temp was 194. Put a pan of water under it to catch fat and water was gone meat is dry has a decent flavor, used Montreal steak seasoning and sea salt. Where did I go wrong. T I A

As much as I don't like doing it, foiling at 155 - 160 would help.

 

[BNeal]

It would probably be helpful to add some tallow - especially with the flat.

 

[SmokeOCD]

You can make it edible with sauce or au jus - but the meat will still be dry. Even though it's literally dripping with whatever moisture you added, you should be able to tell it's overdone. Slice it up and with whatever liquid you have chosen and put it in the oven (or crock pot) for about an hour. Alternatively - a pressure cooker with your sauce of choice for brisket sliders topped with coleslaw -or- some salsa/rotel will force moisture back into the meat for brisket tacos.
My best brisket ever - was foiled. It's the first time I foiled (2 weekends ago) and it was my best end result ever. I've had my share of practice doctoring up a dry brisket.

 

[SmokeZilla]

Rule number 1: If you didn’t raise the cow, you don’t know how the meat will react. I have seen choice that is better than prime, select that is better than both and it is usually up to the butcher to determine how it is graded locally. If you can find a place that has fairly consistent quality (e.g., Costco, Sams Club, local butchery) give them their business. That being said, Chuck and Brisket are 2 different things and cook 2 different ways. I agree with GJones, it sounds like you overshot the runway. Because of the fat content, I would treat it more like a steak than a brisket. Always keep an eye on your temps and never underestimate the power of probing the meat to see how it is doing. One last tip, every cook, good or bad creates and opportunity for a lesson learned. Never give up, there will always be more opportunities.