grant569•1d agoMost Upvoted

I finally found out why my brisket was drying out after 8 hours of smoking

I spent about 6 months trying to figure out why my packer briskets kept coming out dry. I tried different rubs, different woods, even switched from an offset to a pellet smoker. Nothing worked. Last month I was talking to a pitmaster in Kansas City and he asked me what temp I was pulling the brisket at. I told him 203 like everyone says. He said that's probably too high for my smoker. Turns out my digital probe was off by about 8 degrees. I calibrated it and pulled the next one at 195 and it was the best brisket I've made in 2 years. Has anyone else had a thermometer throw off their whole cook like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade6181d ago

Had the same thing happen to me but with a cheap wireless thermometer I got off Amazon. Was pulling my pork butts at 205 like every recipe says and they were always dry and stringy. Finally got a Thermapen for Christmas and discovered my old probe was reading 10 degrees low. The 205 was actually closer to 215 and my meat was way overcooked. What really opened my eyes was testing all three of my probes in boiling water. Only one was accurate. The other two were off by 5 and 8 degrees. Now I check them every few months with ice water and boiling water. Its such a simple thing but it can mess up your whole cook.

jake_mason301d ago

Ain't that the truth? I had three thermometers all reading different temps before I finally got smart and checked them in boiling water - two were way off. Now I test mine before every long smoke because nothing ruins a weekend like dry brisket.