a little help with a brisket

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fdlt

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 16, 2013
9
10
Simi Valley Ca
I had a small 3 lbs brisket flat. The flavor was good the meat was tender, however the meat was dry. I used a store buy Texas style rub. I added a little salt, onion salt and garlic power. I used mustard so the rub would stick better. I let the meat sit for about 45 mins before I put the flat in the smoker. The meat was on the rack not in a pan. I had the temp at 250F. I had a big pan of water as well. At about the 7th hour into it, I triple foiled wrapped the meat (with little beef broth added), the internal temp was 175F at that point. I put the meat back in the smoker until the internal temp reached 195. Total cook time was about 9 hours. Took the meat out and wrapped the foiled meat in a towel for about one hour before I sliced into it. As I said good taste, tender but dry. I did notice that the meat did not have a much marbling.  Thanks for taking the time...Frank
 
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9 hours seems like a long time for such a small brisket. Typically if you are going to wrap you should do it when it hits the stall.
 
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kinda sounds like the one i just did the other weekend, but i didnt wrap mine and i didnt pull it until 205, mine was cooked nicely, tasted awesome and very tender but dry. maybe just maybe your temp probe isnt reading right. and i only let mine rest about 20 minutes.

 
 
Have you Temp tested your meat probe?

Also.......don't trust the therm on your pit if it's factory.

9 hours @ 250º for a 3lb  flat is a bit long.

A longer rest time will also help.
 
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I wouldn't cook at a higher temp but I would foil earlier than you did. The stall typically comes around 160 so that is when I would foil. Also what type of fat cap did the brisket have?
 
It was a very small fat cap not real thick. It did stall at about 157 and took and hour or so to start moving again. 
 
Wow, 9 hours on a 3 lb brisket at 250.  That's definitely the issue for dryness.  I did a 7 lb'er at close to the same temp Memorial Day, wet smoked, wrapped at 165 IT when it finally stalled, and it was at 200F IT in 7 hours total time.  165 IT is a little high for a stall.  Usually see it in the 150s, but it climbed steadily until then.     
 
 
How should I speed things up? higher temp? Thanks for your help.
Here's what I recommend for a juicy, succulent brisket until you develop your own brisket preferences.  Use rub and prep you listed above and smoke at the same 250 temp.  Lay down the smoke until the IT is 150.  On a 3 lbs brisket it will be about 2.5 - 3 hours, but can be longer.  I've never done a brisket that small but I've done plenty of chuckies that size and I've had some take 4 hours to get to 150F IT.

Wrap the meat up at that point in two layers of HD aluminum foil with about a half cup of liquid, like beef broth (you can experiment with liquids later).  If using a Maverick stick the meat probe through the foil and let the IT climb to 200F.   If using an instant read temperature probe instead of a Maverick, check it after 45 minutes to see how it is doing and get a rough idea when it might be finished.  Just stick it right through the foil.  Check again when you think it might be close to getting done.

Once at 200F IT remove it from the smoker, leave it in the foil, then wrap it in old towels on your kitchen counter for about two hours.

Open, save the liquid, slice or chop and serve.

After you get a good one under your belt you can experiment with wrap temps, rubs, liquids, etc.  
 
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