I've tried twice to cook a market trimmed brisket or a flat only on my pellet grill. Both turned out tough and dry. You might consider injecting it with beef broth and wrapping it in foil before 170 to finish it. Rubs? See if your local Ace Hardware has Meat Church rubs and try the Holy Cow. Sauce? Don't know, never put sauce on brisket.
Rub - equal parts kosher salt and coarse ground pepper and a half part granulated garlic.
I’ve never done a flat by itself except for pastrami, so I’d defer to jayjordan ‘s experience on that.
I don’t put sauce on brisket, but my wife has been known to put some Lily Q’s Hot and Smoky sauce on her plate for dipping.
Flat only is gonna be rough especially since they tend to be over trimmed. I'd probably foil boat it for the best chance of success if ya don't cook 'em often. Or let it ride, worst case, have a laugh with the kids and make the imperfect result into something else.
I’m not a pellet grill person but there are some general things to try. I would wrap as soon as I got good bark. You want to save every drop of moisture you can. texastweeter put his recipe for a brisket injection that contains gelatin in a thread not long ago, I’d see if I could find it. I’ve had good results with injecting gelatin. I only inject when looking at a lean brisket. The rest and slow cool down at the end of the cook are very important. If you unwrap your brisket and start to slice it when it’s too warm it will dry out before your eyes. I’m a proponent of cooking a brisket hotter and faster than some do. That will necessitate keeping a watch on your temps especially on a flat only cook. Don’t obsess on the temps a few degrees either way with your pit temps, it will be fine. Your instant reed probe sliding in like butter is what will tell you it’s time to take it off the cooker. A long slow cook can add to dryness IMHO. These are a few general do’s and do nots to consider. There’s no magic involved, you’ll do just fine, relax and enjoy. This is about as well organized as my sock drawer, sorry.
Just mixed up a batch of injection and my BEv0 Bark rub a bit ago. Cooking for my TX crew and had another fella literally say he wants me to cook 2 of the brisket and he cook the other two for a blind tasting contest. Looser buys the winner a bottle of hooch. I dunno why I always get called out and end up in these dang BBQ and chili contests, but I cant back down from a fight. I got a reputation to uphold ya know.
Last edited by texastweeter; December 16, 2025, 06:52 PM.
As mentioned above, Meat Church Holy Cow is a good store brought rub. If you are going to use sauce, go light. 50/50 mix of steak sauce and KC sauce. I do like the homemade rub described above, that’s how I do it when making my own.
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’ve smoked a couple “flat only”s, and they didn’t turn out well. That cut is trimmed for braising. Cook it like a chuck roast. Dutch oven, carrots/celery/onion/garlic, some tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, etc.. Slice across the grain.
I do flats based on Troutman ‘s method. In his post he dry ages his first but I never had. He sous vides the flat, after dry brining, for about 30 hours and then finishes on the cooker. Might be worth a look.
Brisket flat on a pellet grill may be the most challenging cook you will do.
+1 on injection- it seems texastweeter has a proven winner there.
Use the Texas Crutch. Save the juice after you rest it, add it to any commercial brand you like to make a thin sauce.
Use a process, stick with it.
It’s done when the probe goes in without resistance. That should be something around 200-205f in the middle.
Thanks, everybody, for the great details. You forgot to mention one step - "shoot the butcher". I thought that dryness might have been the case with the flat, but he insisted it was no problem. Maybe I should flog him with the dried out, tough thing once it's cooked LOL
It can be tender and tasty, but the ‘moisture’ comes from marbling in the meat. Flats tend to be lean, so moisture addition/retention will be key. Look into “dry brining” and injection as it helps retain moisture. BE careful with salts. If you dry brine, use minimal (if any) salt in your rub and/or injection. Get some beef tallow to add to the meat when you wrap. Reintroduce the strained juices from the foil wrap back into the meat after you slice.
I'm glad someone mentioned injecting. I think it helps flats lots. I use beef stock and Butchers BBQ Prime Brisket Injection. Like others, I'm a big fan of dry brining as well! Good luck on your cook! Looking forward to seeing pics!
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