Hi there and welcome!
Good work for your first brisket attempt!
If it was a little dry my guess is that it could have been cooked more. A brisket tells you it is done when it is tender. It is tender when you stab all over with a tooth pic and it goes in like butter. The Internal Temp (IT) of the brisket is the indicator for you to start checking for tenderness. I usually start checking around 198-200F. Many suggest starting to check at 195F. If it's not tender enough let it go a degree or 2 and check again for tenderness until it passes the tenderness test!
Also know that getting a probe placed correctly into a brisket is tricky. I always suggest trying to get the probe in the thickets center most part of the flat. I run 3 probes in my brisket because I find that I can get 1 out of the 3 in the proper location hahaha.
As for the end drying/crusting/burning up on you that happens with a brisket because the end of the flat gets thinner and is less uniform in thickness than the rest of the flat. I always recommend trimming off that portion of the flat and using the meat for burnt ends or grinding or whatever else you want to do. If you don't then it basically goes to waste burning up on the brisket.
This is how I explain trimming away that good thin meat of flat so it can be used elsewhere and not be lost to the cook:
Flats are the problem child of the brisket. Don't be afraid to trim the good meat of the flat to use for burnt ends, keep at it, and you will learn something just about every time you do a brisket!
Great job so far!
