Hello Pitmasters,
This is a great site, I have both Meatheads books and absolutely love them.
I need some help. My brisket always comes out dry. This weekend i did 12 hours at 225, wrapped at the stall, took off at 205 let rest for 4 hours. I dont know what I'm doing wrong. Used both Meathead and Franklins books for reference, thought i did everything right. Any advice appreciated.
A couple of questions if I may.
What USDA grade is the meat that you're cooking?
Are you having similar issues on other large muscle cooks? Like pork butts, chuck roasts etc...
What was the internal temp when you wrapped?
Was there any moisture added to the meat during the cook and when it was wrapped?
You're using some of the best reference guides on the planet, so you probably have a small issue rather than a large one...
205 could be too high, start poking it around 195 or so. A toothpick (or instant read) will go in smooth when it's ready. Most of my briskets are done between 201 and 203 some have been 195 some have been 207
I also wonder if the current beef shortage is bringing some inferior meat to the market. A couple of months ago I injected and smoked a Creekstone brisket that was supposedly prime, but it came out tough and dry. I've had many good briskets using exactly the same technique, so I suspect that it was just a bad cut of meat.
I know the tried and true method of 225 F is supposed to be magic. I get much better results with hot and fast. I smoke at 300 F to probe tender then wrap and rest. I also get great results wrapping at 185 IT and going to probe tender. The leaner the brisket the more I tend to wrap. texastweeter gave us his injection recipe a while back. I’ll be trying it soon.
Actually, this is a good point and we don't know what type of cooker robdp1395 is rocking. If it's a pellet cooker, generally you wanna stay at 250 or below for max smoke at least the first hour or so. If it's electronic of any sort I'd be verifying the accuracy of probes.
Thanks for all the feed back. I did not inject, i did marinate with a beef broth mixture the night before. I used the remainder of the marinade and some more broth in a water pan. I am cooking on a ceramic kamado, not an offset so it is close to the heat source. I had a thermometer in for the entire cook, stall hit around 150, that was when i wrapped. for meat quality i always get butts ribs and brisket at sams club i use the prime beef for brisket
Thanks for all the feed back. I did not inject, i did marinate with a beef broth mixture the night before. I used the remainder of the marinade and some more broth in a water pan. I am cooking on a ceramic kamado, not an offset so it is close to the heat source. I had a thermometer in for the entire cook, stall hit around 150, that was when i wrapped. for meat quality i always get butts ribs and brisket at sams club i use the prime beef for brisket
robdp1395 Seems like you're doing so many things right that I'm thinking (as others above have suggested as well) I would try, injecting the flat (I use low sodium beef broth in mine) a little hotter faster cook and pull when probe tender (the temp can vary). Let us know how things go on the next cook and what worked (or didn't work) for you. Don't forget the pictures...
Hang in there... You'll get there.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
I had the exact same issue as you, and using a LBGE.
Ignore the point, it will take care of itself. If the flat is right, the point will be right. So just probe for “like butter” in the deepest part of the flat. If you don’t know what “like butter” feels like, it isn’t there yet. When you get it, you’ll think, “OH. That’s what they mean!”
Otherwise, keep it simple. It’s a big piece of meat. Cook it. I switched from wrapping to foil boating. It’s easier to monitor. Before I went simple, I tried injecting, marinating, and a bunch of other stuff I don’t do any more. Now I trim, season, cook, and rest.
I don’t bother with some of the extreme trims that commercial pitmasters recommend. They are cooking a couple dozen briskets in 250 gallon smokers, using huge stacks of wood, and they need all of them to come out the same; I’m cooking one brisket in about 2 cubic feet of oven chamber, using a few wood chunks, and I only need this one to work. They need to be concerned with streamlining and air flow over half a day; I’m going to fill that kamado with smoke for a couple-three hours, then let it cruise. They’re going to take the trimmings and make sausage and burgers and tallow; I’m going to look at the trimmings and promise myself that I’ll do something with them, and find them in the bottom of the freezer a year later. So on my briskets, the mohawk stays on. The edges get trimmed, but not past what I wouldn’t want to eat.
As for rub, I only can say: find something you like, and use it liberally and often. Everything I’ve tried, I’ve liked. I use Meathead’s rub from the free site, or a simple SPG. Either one. When you do it right, the meat’s the star. Nobody will ask for sauce, I don’t bother to put it out and nobody notices.
I do my briskets at 275°. If it’s going too fast, I knock that down to 250°. It’s a timing thing more than it is a quality thing, though. I just want them done at a certain time. I took a class where we learned hot and fast, 325°-350°. Eh. The trick was adding beef broth at the stall, then wrapping really tight and steaming it, then an hour of bark tightening at the end. It was a good compromise if you need to have brisket in 4 hours, I guess. I thought it tasted like smoked pot roast. Not bad, but not what could be given more time, either.
My experience is, the longer the rest the better, as long as you stay above 140°. 4 hours is good, and isn’t the cause of your issue. If you do one overnight, try a 12 hour rest, 6AM to 6PM. That feeling of unwrapping the brisket and watching it jiggle… can’t beat that. Keep an eye on the temp, though.
The good thing is that once you get a brisket to come out right, all the pieces lock into place in your mind, and from then on your briskets will always come out right. I don’t know why that is. I don’t keep records, and I don’t keep track, I just cook stuff. I do use a temp controller, but that’s just so I can do briskets overnight. Then they’re done in the morning, and I can rest them all day.
I hope this helps. It’s a really long winded way of saying, relax. No worries. It all comes down to keeping the pit temp reasonable and taking the meat off at the right time. Everything in between is just nuance and preference. Once you get one right, they’ll always be right, from then on.
" I’m going to look at the trimmings and promise myself that I’ll do something with them, and find them in the bottom of the freezer a year later" That is me EXACTLY!! haha
Lots of good advice here. I'm a big fan of a long hold too. I have been pulling at 190 - 195 or so then I let the brisket cool for an hour or so wrapped on the block then put it into my Yoder at 150 F and hold for 10-12 hours. Works great.
I think after we get the general process down, everyone develops their own methods. It’s also Very dependent on the equipment you are using, and your geography/weather (humidity, elevation, ambient temp, wind all play some part).
I shoot for 275 on my offset stick burner, about 9 hours, give or take.
That temp normally varies by +/- 20F during the cook as wood is added ~ every 15 minutes.
I wrap when I like the bark and color. Usually after about 6 hours.
I peek after a couple hours, lightly spritz any hotspots on the edges with water.
I usually use pink butcher paper. I hold (2-4 hours) in a tinfoil pan in a cooler with towels to save juices.
I bend test at the store, looking for the biggest point and softest (bendable) flat.
I wet age in the cryo wrap for a week or two in the fridge.
I don’t inject, anymore or add broth and I don’t usually cook prime brisket.
I trim the fat cap to about 1/8-1/4”. Removing too much off the flat can dry it out.
I trim a lot of fat off the point so I can get more bark on it. It already has a lot of internal fat.
Lots of salt and pepper before I start the fire, about an hour before putting it on.
The flat is always leaner and so not as juicy as the point. It should be beefy, savory and tender.
I use a fat separator and cut a commercial bbq sauce with some juice for a nice thin gravy for the flat.
The point goes to burnt ends.
Edit: Forgot the burnt ends. I de-glaze with the thin bbq sauce/au jus.
Last edited by Johnny Booth; September 23, 2025, 11:47 AM.
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