First Brisket Cook. Came out Dry(overcooked?)

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All,
I did my first brisket cook yesterday on a weber otg 22.5". 9 pound packer. I did not touch the brisket, just let it cook until the probe read 190. It took 12 hours, but the brisket came out dry and I think overcooked. I let is rest 1 hour in a cooler. I had a water pan under the meat and the probe was in the middle of the flat. Any ideas?

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Just a suggestion, try wrapping it and adding some moisture inside the foil after you have the color you're looking for next time. Also, try a larger packer. Smaller cuts are harder to keep moist, at least 12 lbs. Good luck!
 
Yeah since it was my fist cook I just wanted to leave it alone. I only opened to lid to add charcoal. I will try a larger brisket next time.
 
It was undercooked. See that line of connective tissue right below the fat/bark in the last picture? That's collagen. It holds the meat fibers together. During the cooking process it draws up, toughens and squeezes out all the "moisture" in the meat. Then, at some mysterious point known only to that particular brisket, it melts, loosening up all those meat fibers and producing that ooozy, juicy, unctuous, delicious gelatin that makes properly cooked brisket the stuff of legend and lore.
This is why, if you read more than a couple posts on brisket in this and many other forums, you'll see phrases like "probe tender", "cooked to tenderness", and "probes like butter". It's done when you can stick a toothpick or some other implement in the meat with little or no resistance. If you haven't eaten it all or tossed it, you can still salvage it. Just wrap it in foil with a little beef broth and put it in a 300˚ oven for an hour or so until it probes easily.
 
Yep... Dry brisket is almost always undercooked. Overcooked brisket falls apart.
 
Ron_L said:
Yep... Dry brisket is almost always undercooked. Overcooked brisket falls apart.
Click to expand...

This....also 190 is not super low but I don't start probing mine till 200 or so. Don't know how many times I have heard it but until it probes like butta. I ain't done. The wrap with liquid is pretty good for keeping them moist. And larger packers help also. I normally don't buy anything under 13 lbs.
 
And also on probing like butta you have to try different parts of the flat. I don't know how many times one spot I probed was awesome and stuck it a few other places they weren't quite there yet.
 
At 190 internal temperature it is undercooked. You can't go by doneness on brisket by internal temperature. Start probing for doneness at 195. Dont be afraid to let the brisket go past 200 IT temperature. The last brisket i did was 13lbs and it finally probed tender at 212 IT.
 
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I have never had a brisket probe tender before 202*
The hardest thing about brisket is waiting!
 
Brisket Slice Reading:

Take a slice from the middle of the flat. Note how it felt slicing, and how it looks.

If it felt hard or resistant to a sharp knife, clue one for undercooked.

If the meat fibers fuzz up (like your slice) you need a sharper knife, and it is undercooked as well. A dullish knife mashed brisket fibers when they are over-cooked.

If the slice falls apart of cracks in the middle, regardless of moisture, it is overcooked, if it is stiff, and when you bend it, you can see tiny threads of tissue, it is undercooked.

Pull the slices, holding the ends about 1/2" in your fingers. If the meat practically cleaves upon starting, it is overcooked, if it pulls slightly, the splits cleanly, cooked right, if it pulls and you see fibers pulling with the meat, then you are undercooked.

These signs will always be true, no matter how moist or dry the meat is. From there, you can make adjustments with the certainty that you are adjusting in the correct manner.
 
oh, BTW, AARRRRGGH! You will never have sharp knives as long as you use a glass cutting board.
 
aawa said:
At 190 internal temperature it is overcooked. You can't go by doneness on brisket by internal temperature. Start probing for doneness at 195. Dont be afraid to let the brisket go past 200 IT temperature. The last brisket i did was 13lbs and it finally probed tender at 212 IT.
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Under*
 
Yep. Under cooked. If you'd like the recipe for over cooked brisket let me know and I can PM it to you.
 
aawa said:
At 190 internal temperature it is overcooked. You can't go by doneness on brisket by internal temperature. Start probing for doneness at 195. Dont be afraid to let the brisket go past 200 IT temperature. The last brisket i did was 13lbs and it finally probed tender at 212 IT.
Click to expand...

Typo of undercooked.
 
I agree with the aforementioned. Looks undercooked to me. I'd still hit it though.
 
aawa said:
At 190 internal temperature it is undercooked. You can't go by doneness on brisket by internal temperature. Start probing for doneness at 195. Dont be afraid to let the brisket go past 200 IT temperature. The last brisket i did was 13lbs and it finally probed tender at 212 IT.
Click to expand...

Agree! A lot of newer folks cant ditch the thermapen, (happened to me too) and start getting worried that the briskky is at 200+ and pull it off early. So yeah, it's done when it's probed tender.
 
+1 for undercooked. You may also want to try getting a choice or prime packer next time. They are no guarantee but they usually yield a moist brisket.
 
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