Why does nobody talk about how hard it is to keep brisket moist on a budget smoker?

Last month I was running a 14 hour cook on my old offset smoker down in Austin. I had the fire dialed in perfect, spritzing every 45 minutes with apple juice, but when I pulled it off at 203 degrees it came out dry as cardboard on the flat. My neighbor runs a pellet smoker and his briskets are always juicy, but I can't drop $1500 on a new rig right now. Anyone else stuck using a thin metal smoker and found a trick to stop the meat from drying out?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.xena1mo ago

Nah, cheap offset smokers just need better temp management and a wrap, not a $1500 pellet rig.

the_nina1mo ago

Wait, "dry as cardboard on the flat" is EXACTLY what happened to me last spring. I was SHOCKED when I pulled my brisket off after babysitting that thin metal offset smoker for 16 hours and the flat was like eating sawdust. That apple juice spritzing trick is fine but honestly I think the real problem is those cheap smokers just can't hold heat steady so the meat dries out way faster than it should. You mentioned running 14 hours at 203 degrees and I'm wondering if you checked the temp on the cooking surface versus your dome thermometer. My buddy showed me that the dial on my cheap smoker was off by like 40 degrees so I was cooking hotter than I thought. I started wrapping my briskets in butcher paper after the stall and it helped a TON with keeping moisture in. Also loading a water pan in the firebox side really helps since those thin metal smokers let all the humidity escape. Don't give up on the offset life, pellet smokers are nice but nothing beats that real smoke flavor you get from wood and fire.