Interesting...never tried brisket for jerky, as it's a tough cut requiring low & slow to get tender, but then, jerky is supposed to have some chew to it, so, I'm interested in hearing about your results. Come to think of it, brisket flat is lean muscle, so that in itself makes it a good candidate for jerky. Sliced with the grain will be a very chewy texture, but puncture-0tenderizing may offset that a bit.
Assuming the kit you have contains a cure agent (cure #1) in a separate packet from the spices, this allows for low temp smoking and drying. 1/4" thick is average for me...may take most of the day to dry, depending on how the smoker is loaded and ventilation rate.
For faster drying, use water in the pan until the jerky has taken on a very dark mahogany color and has shrunk quite a bit, indicating it's mostly dried. The extra water vapor in the smoke chamber will keep the surface fibers of the meat loose and porous, allowing interior moisture to evaporate more quickly. Once the bulk of the moisture is gone from the meat, then, remove the water from the pan, reducing the chamber humidity, and this will finish drying the meat from the outside in. May sound backwards to use elevated humidity during meat dry, but the process is just the opposite of what you would think.
Smoke first before drying...if it starts to dry, it won't take on smoke. OK, 1/4" thick, with hickory and JD/Oak, about 20-25 minutes of smoke, then pull the smoke wood, or it could get pretty intense. Jerky slices have a lot of surface area, so they don't take long to get a good amount of smoke flavor. Temp during the smoke can run from cold (60* up to 100* or more), or you can smoke a bit higher if your smoker won't generate smoke at that low of temps. The higher the chamber temp, the less time for smoke reaction, so you're kind of forcing it onto the meat at that point, as the meat's surface begins drying more quickly when higher temps are used. With colder temps you can smoke longer, as the meat won't readily take on smoke when temps are too cold, but I generally smoke around 100-120* chamber temp.
For drying, I like to bump the chamber temps up from the smoke temp over a few hours up to around 160*, sometimes a bit less. Once you're up to target temp, just let it ride for a few more hours, then start checking texture and color, shrinkage, etc. When a few sample pieces are leathery in texture, and will bend but not break when folded, it's getting close. If they break in half when folded, they're a bit brittle...it's done...ready to lay out on a sheet pan and cool to room temp and finish air drying...bag 'em up and enjoy whatever won't fit in the first bag...just kidding...LOL!!!
Now, that's for cured jerky meats...un-cured is a whole nuther animal altogether.
Eric
