Brisket FAIL! Don't Repeat These TWO MISTAKES

There comes a time in every pitmaster's life when he must admit his failures. Today I committed an irredeemable error. A cardinal sin. A BBQ faux pas: I smoked a DRY brisket.

Learn what I did wrong so you don't repeat my mistakes!

My BBQ Essentials Buying Guide:

Meater+ Wireless Leave-in temperature probe (Essential for long cooks, temp alerts and temp graphs for nerding out and recording how your cooks went. It’s a game changer for BBQ):

[adamdalejohnson]

I really appreciate you putting it out on your failures too. Not a lot of people will own up to them. I know it’s just a video, but glad you did post it. I have been watching a lot of your videos and have learned so much from them. I think these are just as important as the ones you have success with.

[justinwilson]

I appreciate your bravery in uploading this video lol

[BeersAndBeatsPDX]

If you haven't messed up a cook then you haven't been cooking long enough. Good on you for learning and teaching others with this one.

[AVR_]

I also recommend Double checking your Pit Boss temperature in the cooking location with an independent probe. Don’t fully rely on the display. I was having trouble with cooks taking longer than they should and the meat coming out drier than it should have been, so the next time I did a few racks of spares, I placed a temperature probe on the cooking surface directly between the two racks of spares. What it revealed was that my actual temperature was approximately 50° cooler than what the built-in temperature probe was displaying. Making an adjustment to compensate for that resulted in faster cooks with much more retained moisture. This is just my personal experience.

[douglasbrown]

Looks like an extra thin brisket. Good video. People learn as much more from failure than success

[UriasMedia]

I had a bad cook today, and was wondering why. Saw your video and noticed I made two similar mistakes. Wrapped it too late and my brisket was a thin, I was cooking for a thicker cut. Thank you for sharing and letting us compare notes! 👍🏽

[timjones]

I’ve been making tri-tips for several decades now. I feel like I have it down. My pops is getting a little bit old and doesn’t do too well on the grill now. So the last dinner we had at his house I offered to cook a couple tri-tips. I bragged about marinating one and dry brining the other. Well I cooked them to the consistency of a hockey puck. It happens to all of us.

[coffeebitt]

You just SAVED my brisket 2022! First time smoking a brisket, it’s thin no fat. I’ll pull it off at 145 and put wrapped in oven at 180 for 2 hrs and then let rest for 2 more!!! Thank you Thank you👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[denmyos]

It looks like you took it directly from the smoker into the cooler.
So it will keep cooking in the cooler. You should cool it first before putting it in the cooler.

[GoOutsideAndCook]

You nailed it bud, it was the quality of the meat and the absence of fat that got ya. Brisket flats without the point are not an easy task. It ain't hard to get that kind of result from a flat. AND YES, BARK DOES MATER!

[zacktalbot]

I can’t believe you don’t have more followers. I really like your channel. Hope it continues to grow.

[jasonSC]

Man THANK YOU SO MUCH for showing that NOT every Brisket cook isn't this perfect melt in your mouth brisket. Ive watched probably almost 50+ vidoes of perfectly cooked briskets the last few days. I attempted my 1st today on my Masterbuilt Gas Smoker. I followed ALL the typical rules, & i just knew it was going to be Perfect. Surprise Surprise it wasnt. I dont know exactly why, but maybe a similar reason to yours. I think my brisket hit the stall at 150f, i was waiting for 165f but that took 2.5 more hours. I also didnt let it rest long enough. I read where 45min was good enough. Huge mistake. Heart broke cook. It taste great but still its kind of dry & im oblivious to why the bark is moist & not crunchy. I wanted it to be perfect after 10+hrs work prepping & smoking its just a kick in the testes since it didnt come out perfect. Thanks for showing that they dont ALWAYS come out perfect. All these videos make it look like everything is simple, easy & the brisket should come out perfect.

[chrisvaun]

Love the fact you put " a LOSS" up there.
Everyone only ever show wins, how is anyone supposed to learn if all you see are wins.
I wonder what your thoughts are on putting rub on, "Chargrilling" for nice crispy burnt bark, and then wrapping? Do you think that would come out OK on the thinner cut?

[jwhit]

I never brine a brisket. Thanks for posting your fail. Not many would do this. Honesty, I like that.

[billmitchell]

Shootting brine in just before cooking, may have been a little to much.??

[robertjackson]

Getting ready to do my first brisket this video has helped learn alot thank you for sharing your failure so others can learn

[deftonenations]

I did the same exact thing haha first time ever making a brisket and first time using my Traeger. Lesson learned. Expensive lesson. But, learned.

[wmbrust]

Does the brine not dry the brisket out? If salt draws out the natural juices would it not be better to salt just before cooking?

[Slashingthrough]

Seems like you also just put it from the smoker straight into box. I think if you rested it a bit let it cool down a bit then put it in the box. During resting in your case it kept on cooking.

[AGuyCalledRmmy]

You might try letting it rest outside the cooler until you get close to 140. The cooler might have held it at the 203 it was at when you pulled it for a while, continuing to carryover, rather than resting...?