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The go-to guide for perfect Smoked Brisket every time. Use our seven step guide, from selecting, trimming and how to smoke it. This Smoked Whole Brisket Recipe can be perfected by following some key steps.
We also have a complete guide for a Smoked Brisket Flat as well if you can’t find a full-packer brisket.
Recipe Highlights
- Smoked beef brisket is not about perfecting a recipe, it’s a process you can only learn by practicing on whatever BBQ you own, and using a few key milestones while you smoke it. Use this guide to master your smoked brisket skills.
- For a more savory flavor, you can use our Beef Seasoning with herbs and heat.
- Check out our guide for Brisket Burnt Ends as well.
- You can make tender brisket on any cooker, from pellet grill to offset smoker, with this tried and true recipe and tutorial.
Table of Contents
Smoked brisket is complicated. It’s more about a process than a recipe. As professional caterers and authors of a BBQ cookbook, we have smoked hundreds of briskets throughout our careers. No two briskets are ever the same, so we developed these milestones on how to smoke brisket perfectly every time no matter where you are in your brisket journey.
So please read this in its entirety first, before skipping down to the smoked brisket recipe. You can also check out our top 15 tips for perfectly smoked brisket.
Recipe Ingredients
- 12 – 15 pound packer brisket, flat and point
- Extra virgin olive oil, for binding
- SPG Seasoning, you can also use our Brisket Rub with more herbal and savory flavors
What is a Brisket?
The brisket is the pectoral muscle that comes from a steer or cow. Briskets are made up of two distinct muscles with important connective tissues — The point and the flat (or deckle). Each has different layers of marbling as this is an area of the cow that is used a lot as the cow moves, so low and slow cooking helps get it tender.
Longer cooking times, at low temperatures, is what break down all the dense muscle and fat for a tender bite.
For the ideal situation, you want to buy an entire packer brisket (the point and the flat together). When possible avoid buying just the flat. The flat is leaner and is only half the muscle when compared to a whole packer.
To get that full flavor you need the entire packer (both cuts of muscle). Go big when buying, like at least a 14 pound cut, because you will trim off a fair amount of fat, so a 12 pound packer is likely to be 10 pounds after being trimmed, and more like 8 pounds after cooking.
Plan 60 minutes of cooking time for every pound of brisket as a general rule of thumb.
Equipment Needed
We go into even more detail in our article about the must-have brisket tools.
- Sharp knife for trimming – You are removing a lot of fat and silver skin.
- Dependable brisket carving knife – A long carving knife makes it easier to slice into thin slices.
- Peach butcher paper – For wrapping the brisket.
- Two-zone thermometer – We use the Thermoworks Smoke Unit.
- Instant read thermometer – We use the Thermoworks Thermapen One.
- Large tongs – Or you can use your hands.
Steps for Smoking Brisket
We focus on seven steps for a perfect smoked brisket.
- Selection
- Trimming
- Seasoning
- Smoking
- Wrapping
- Resting
- Slicing
Step 1: Selection
This brisket recipe contains only two ingredients – brisket and seasoning. Therefore, the quality of the meat is the most important decision for a great brisket.
Marbling is the term used for the intramuscular connective tissue, or fat. The marbling of the entire cut is going to dictate a large part of the cooking experience. In order to get that rendering for a juicy tender meat morsel, you have to make sure that the brisket you are buying is of the highest quality you can afford with good marbling.
- Grass Fed – Not as ideal for smoking because most often it has very little intramuscular fat, therefore it won’t break down into tender meat.
- USDA Rated – Select, Choice, or Prime are your USDA-rated beef options. You can see more on the difference in our article on Choice vs Prime beef. We recommend you buy Choice or Prime if selecting a USDA-rated brisket.
- American Wagyu – Incredible marbling, and also some of the most expensive. It will also cook faster, but results in some mouth-watering brisket!
Chef’s Tip: When buying one at a grocery store, physically lift it and bend it to see if it’s tender and pliable. If it is too stiff move on to a different one that bends a little bit. If it’s pliable when you buy it that will carry through the cooking. If it’s stiff then we find it stays relatively tough even after smoking.
Step 2: Trim the Brisket
Good brisket has a fair amount of fat. Some that will render, some that will not. So you have to prepare the brisket by trimming off the fat that won’t render before seasoning. Be sure to have a sharp boning or filet knife.
Start by trimming the flat side by removing the silver skin and any fat pockets just sitting at the surface. See video for full tutorial on trimming.
- The brisket flat and the point are also separated by a layer of fat. The best briskets are those that are able to render that fat pocket down enough that it is pleasant to eat. But before you season, you need to remove portions of those fat pockets.
- With the flat still facing up, remove the dense white fat pocket that is on one side of the brisket. You will remove a fair amount of the dense fat pocket, almost starting to cut into and under the flat. That is about the time to stop trimming.
- Next, flip it over and trim the fat cap. This fat cap sits just above the brisket point. We leave about 1/4 inch of fat on the fat side of the brisket. This will allow a small layer of fat to protect the brisket while cooking. Take care when removing the fat, do it in slow and small cuts so you don’t remove too much or accidentally get into the meat.
- The sides of the brisket may have some fat hanging over the side. We typically remove another 1/4 inch from both sides of the brisket to smooth out the sides and expose the meat.
At this point it is not uncommon that you have removed up to 4 pounds of trimming. This is why it’s best to have a quality trimming knife.
Step 3: Season the Brisket
After trimming, we coat the brisket with olive oil, which acts as a binder and helps the dry rub stick. We mix equal parts coarse black pepper, kosher salt, and granulated garlic (not garlic powder) in a small bowl. It’s our go-to SPG seasoning. Alternatively, you can use our brisket rub recipe which adds paprika, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
Injecting?
We typically don’t inject with liquids, such as apple cider vinegar, as we have found that when buying quality cuts you don’t need it and only run the risk of creating more of a roast flavor due to the moisture, essentially steaming out of the meat. We also don’t add brown sugar because sugar caramelizes when cooked for a long time and we want the beef and smoky flavor to be the main profile.
Step 4: Smoking A Brisket
- Preheat Smoker: Set the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (F) with both lump charcoal and wood. We use fruit woods for brisket for a sweeter flavor. Insert a remote thermometer probe into the flat of the brisket. The flat is leaner and the more important part of the brisket to monitor while cooking. The temperature for smoking perfect brisket is 250 degrees F for slowly rendering fat. At 225 it takes longer than we prefer and makes no material difference in flavor or texture.
- Flat Side Up or Down? Different styles of smokers have the heat source radiating from different parts of the smoker. Make sure the fat cap points toward the hotter part of your smoker. It will insulate the more delicate flat. For pellet smokers, as an example, the heat radiates from the top down, therefore the fat cap should be up.
- Smoke: The brisket will smoke for about five hours in the smoker where the smoke connects with the brisket giving both bark and smoke flavor.
- Spritz (Optional) – This is a bottle of liquid that you spray (or spritz) onto meat after the bark forms. We don’t do this for all of our briskets, but can be done for more flavor. If you spritz, it should be done while the brisket is in the smoking step and not wrapped. For fun brisket spritz check out our Merlot spritz from our cookbook Fire + Wine.
Step 5: Wrap the Brisket
When the smoked brisket reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, we remove it from the smoker and then wrap it in pink butcher paper. This is called the Texas crutch.
Wrapping allows the internal temperature to rise faster. Peach or pink butcher paper is more breathable than aluminum foil, which translates to less of a “pot roast” flavor and texture. The wrapping period is also important because it is the final stage to allow the intramuscular fat to fully render out.
Don’t have butcher paper? Use foil, that’s ok. For smoked brisket, you can cook it all unwrapped. It just may take slightly longer and the finishing temperature guide is still the same.
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Step 6: Remove and Rest
As the wrapped brisket reaches an internal temperature close to 195 degrees F, you will want to start probing the flat portion of the brisket with an instant-read thermometer (like a Thermoworks Thermapen One) to see if it is done. If the thermometer is meeting resistance as you insert it that means the intramuscular fat hasn’t fully rendered out and you should continue cooking. It should feel as if you are inserting the probe into room-temperature butter.
Be patient and wait for that soft butter-like feeling. We find many people get nervous and want to pull at a specific temperature. The range a brisket can be done will range anywhere from 195 degrees F to 215 degrees F. Trust the probe and keep checking every 15 minutes until you get that softer feel.
Pro Tip – Avoid taking the temperature in the fat pocket between the flat and the point. That will come up in temperature much faster than the surrounding brisket. So be sure to temp in the middle of the flat and the middle of the point in multiple places.
Lastly, please make sure you let it rest for at least 30 minutes after removing it from the smoker!
The brisket rest is very important. If you slice the brisket right after removing from the smoker, you’ll see all the juices just pour out on the cutting board versus staying in the meat. The horror!!! All of your hard work, gone, just like that, because you were too impatient to let it rest!
What if my brisket is done early? If it’s done early then hold the temperature to slowly let it cool. What do you hold it in? A cooler (with NO ice) works well. This acts like a Cambro warmer. You can hold the temperature for four hours in the cooler in case your brisket is done early. Just be sure to leave it wrapped.
Step 7: Slicing Brisket
For best results, the most important step after cooking is to slice against the grains of the brisket. This is true especially for the flat cut because the muscles are in different directions than the point. Start with a long carving knife.
- Cut it in half about where the point ends. This separates some of the flat from the point.
- Slice the flat into pencil-thin slices across the grain. The grains are at a slight angle.
- Take the larger cut that is both the point and the flat, and then slice that in half. From there simply make more pencil thin slices.
See video for more details on slicing.
Smoke Times for Brisket
This is the post-trim weight of the brisket with the temperature of the smoker at 250 degrees F.
| Weight | Cook Time |
|---|---|
| Up to 10 pound brisket | 8 – 10 hours |
| 10 to 12 pound brisket | 10 – 12 hours |
| 12 to 16 pound brisket | 12 – 14 hours |
| 16 – 20 pound brisket | 14 – 16 hours |
Note on Wagyu: We find that American Wagyu Brisket cooks slightly faster than Prime or Choice, so we shave off about 10% of the time when smoking American Wagyu.
The Stall
During the smoking process, the brisket will encounter a period of time called “the stall”. The stall can happen when the smoked brisket reaches an internal temperature between 160 to 175 degrees F. As the heat from the smoker renders the pockets of fat and muscle fibers, the fat liquefies. As the fat liquefies and interacts with the meat there is a cooling effect that happens, almost like when you sweat.
So don’t be alarmed if you see a couple of hours of incremental movement in the internal temperature of the meat. This is normal. You have pushed through the stall when the fat has rendered enough that there is balance and the meat starts to increase in heat again.
This is why, regardless of the stall, we wrap when the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 165. Once the brisket hits 180 degrees, you’ll see the temp increase much faster. This is also important to note that we cook to temperature, not time. Some briskets will just take longer (or not) and why we focus on temperature milestones rather than a specific time.
Monitoring Brisket Temperature
We use the Smoke Unit from Thermoworks to monitor the internal temperature of brisket throughout the BBQ cook. It even has a remote unit so you can see the temp from afar.
In addition to the Smoke Unit, you should also use a Thermapen or equivalent instant-read thermometer, then you can probe in multiple areas while keeping the Smoke unit in the same location as it nears the end of the cook.
What to Serve with This Recipe
Side Dishes: For great dishes to serve alongside smoked brisket, consider quick pickled veggies, like peppers. Add some BBQ Beans and a no-mayo coleslaw for the perfect spread.
Wine Pairing: Brisket is incredibly rich and because of the heavy weight of the dish we opt for a clean and crisp wine to cut through the richness of the meat. For whites try sparkling wine or a dry and crisp rosé. If you like red wine then we love tempranillo or a nice red zinfandel.
Smoked Brisket Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of the most common questions we receive for smoked brisket.
How To Make Burnt Ends
Like Kansas City style BBQ? Cut out the point, or parts of point, from the brisket before the wrap. You then slice it into cubes, re-season, and place it back into the smoker to render out. Check out our Brisket Burnt Ends recipe for details.
Should Brisket Be Wrapped While Smoking?
There is no right or wrong answer here, it’s about your flavor preference. If you elect not to wrap you get a greater bark. People love that texture. You won’t really add more smoke flavor, as that pretty much gets absorbed by around the fifth hour of cooking.
But we have found wrapping in pink butcher paper is the best of both worlds. Note that if you do not wrap, it may add 20 minutes per pound to the cooking time. So be sure to account for that.
Should I Inject A Smoked Beef Brisket?
In the end, your flavor preference is what is key. We generally do not inject smoked briskets because we buy brisket with good marbling, which translates into a juicy brisket. If you don’t see much marbling, supplement moisture with beef stock or other liquid using a culinary syringe. Don’t use liquid smoke (ever).
Best Dry Rub For Smoked Beef Brisket
SPG Rub for us (equal parts kosher salt, coarse black pepper, granulated garlic), keeping it simple so we highlight the meat flavor and smoke. For a more savory flavor, you can use our Brisket Rub.
Best Wood For Smoked Brisket
We opt for apple and cherry, or other fruit wood, as it burns sweeter and avoids the campfire-like flavor you can get from mesquite. In Texas? Obviously post oak.
What Do Do With Leftovers?
We’ve got you covered with the best recipes for leftover brisket.
How Many Hours Does It Take To Smoke Brisket At 250 Degrees?
On average it takes 60 minutes per pound for a whole packer brisket. A 10-pound trimmed brisket should take roughly 10 hours when you include resting. Be sure to calculate your time based on the trimmed brisket.
How Long To Smoke A Brisket At 225 Degrees?
Plan 90 minutes per pound at 225 degrees. We find there is no material difference in flavor or texture and recommend cooking at 250.
This post was originally published in 2016, and updated in 2023 with more Q&A and details on tools used. The original recipe remains the same.
About Vindulge
Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.
The Ultimate Smoked Brisket Recipe
Equipment
- Two zone thermometer
- Sheet Tray
Ingredients
- 12 – 15 pound packer brisket, flat and point
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Rub
- 1 cup beef rub
Instructions
- Season Brisket: The day before cooking, trim the excess fat off the brisket. In a separate bowl, combine your dry rub ingredients. Apply olive oil to the brisket, and then liberally apply to the brisket. Leave in the fridge overnight (before cooking) covered in plastic wrap.
- Preheat Smoker: The day of cooking, preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F, we use fruit wood like apple or cherry.
- Smoke Brisket: Place the brisket on the smoker when the temperature is a consistent 250 degrees, and then insert your two-zone meat probes. One for the meat inserted into the flat, and one to monitor the ambient temperature of the cooking chamber. Smoke for up to six hours until it's ready to wrap.
- Wrap Brisket: When the internal temperature of the brisket is 165 degrees, carefully remove the brisket and place it onto two pieces of pink butcher paper to wrap. Remove the meat probe, tightly wrap the brisket, and then add the meat probe back into the same general area. Place back into the smoker to continue smoking until it's done.
- Continue Smoking: Keep cooking at 250 degrees for another several hours until the brisket approaches 195 degrees. At that point, you will use your instant-read thermometer to insert and probe the flat and the point for that smooth buttery texture as you check for doneness. Anywhere from 195 to 205 it may be done.
- Remove and Rest: Once the brisket is done, remove, still wrapped in butcher paper, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes (or place into a cooler with NO ice to hold the temperature until ready to serve).
- Slice and Serve: Slice against the grains and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve used this “recipe” a couple of times now and it works great! When I buy the brisket, I ask for another piece of butcher paper to use as the wrap. They always give it tome, no questions. Using this methodology it turns out perfect every time!!!
I’m cooking our first brisket and was wondering what would happen if I pulled it, refrigerated it and smoked again the next day for a few hours then rested in the paper for an hour before slicing. I’ve had it smoking now for 11 hours at 225 and an hour in the butcher paper. We have a birthday party tomorrow and just wondered about reheating it, thanks for any input
Candy, For reheating brisket, we like to take the finished and cold brisket, and then wrap in foil with a touch of beef stock. We then cook in the oven at 325 to warm it up. The stock will help with moisture and keeping the texture. No need to re-smoke if you finished it yesterday.
Excellent
Thank you!
Just completed my 2nd brisket. Both turned out pretty darn good. This one is a bit strange – traditional texture on the top 2/3 and a little like pot roast (stringy) on the bottom. I have to admit I added a little bit of bourbon and brown sugar when I put in the foil. I’m wondering if that caused the issue. Can’t wait to try again!
Mike if the liquid sat on the bottom and the more stringy portion was where the liquid was, then likely it braised the meat, pushing it through to a faster cooking temp than the top portion not sitting in the liquid. Another option is to make your spritz that same liquid mix and spray it throughout and then heavily when you wrap it too. Thanks for the feedback!!!
This was a very good article. I can’t wait to see how it comes out. I just had a comment about the USDA Grading. It is a common misconception that they are USDA inspectors. They are in fact USDA Graders. It is a voluntary service that is fee based, meaning the packing plants are the ones that incur the expense of having their product graded. They are part of the Agriculture Marketing Service because the grade helps to determine the value of the carcass. USDA inspectors are part of the Food Saftey Inspection Service (FSIS). They are a mandatory service because they monitor food safety. Once again thanks for your article. It was very informative.
Thanks for taking the time to explain raters versus the inspectors and for the post feedback. We love hearing that level of detail, especially when showcasing a lot of great ranchers with prime quality meat, who may just not have elected to pay for it.
I did a brisket this past weekend and cooked it to an internal temp of 202. What I got was basically chipped beef. It was impossible to cut without shredding. Is it just because my knife sucks or are there other ways to prevent this? I figured I would try only cooking to 200 next time. Any suggestions?
Nuzzi, question, do you recall what type of brisket you bought? Was it USDA rated? Also the slicing helps, so slicing against the grain. Lastly, was the point and the flat both fall apart soft? Every brisket can be different, and some can even come off done at 190. Especially leaner briskets like Select.
Thanks for the reply. It was very lean. Flat cut. Not sure about the USDA rating, but I assume so, since it was bought at one of the best meat shops in CT. I definitely sliced against the grain. And just about everything was fall apart soft. It was tasty, could have been juicier, but very shredded.
Nuzzi, if this was just the flat versus the flat and the point (the packer), then for just flat, we will actually wrap and add a little liquid. It can also be done sooner, so there is a very small window when you go from done to overcooked or shredded. I would suggest with the next one, try adding liquid (like beef stock or Worcestershire or a mix) to the wrap, and then taking the temperature sooner. Also the rest is important giving at least an hour in a cooler for that rest period.
“Feed a fish or teach to fish”…. this gal is a TEACHER!! I love how she explains the process and allows you to make your own decision based on preference. Grilling/Smoking is an art. She encourages you to gain the experience, make adjustments, and learn from it all. Good base points and explanation that helped me understand and experiment a little… which we all know is part of the fun. Great job Mary!!!
Sean -I’m confused – in an earlier post this was offered. “For our offset smoker, we go fat side down, as it’s hotter directly under the smoker grate. For our Big Green Egg we go fat side up as the convection in the smoker is hotter on top.” getting ready to try my FIRST brisket ever and just wanted to get a good understanding of the process. Thanks for all the great advice and helping us rookies along!
Rob King
Rob, great question. In the end, we place the brisket in our cooker so the fatty side points toward the hotter part of the smoker. This fat layer sits atop the point typically and acts as a shield. So in the offset, the heat comes from the bottom up. For the BGE the hotter side is heat coming down. So we adjust our fatty side to point toward the hotter part of the cooker. Let us know how the brisket comes out!!
Thanks for the clarification Sean!! After reading the recommendations from the earlier post, it all made sense. Duh -on me!! My *1ST EVER* brisket (13lb’er) came out on Target! I ran the smoker at 240/250 for right at 8.5 hrs. After the 8.5hr run I pulled it at 200°, wrapped it in foil and moved it over to the vertical chamber (150° and falling very slowly) and let rest for about 2.5 hrs. I have a 16″ Horizon Ranger offset smoker which has a about a 36″ horizontal surface. I placed the brisket, uncovered and in the center with the Point closest to the firebox. I built a convection plate when I got the smoker which transfers the heat further down the barrel. I keep a 2″ deep 9″x12″ pan full of water, apple juice & a beer on top of the plate & directly under the slab. My butcher trimmed the brisket to my direction and I carried him my rub, so after trimming it was dusted-down and vacuum wrapped & refrigerated for 3 days. Had great bark and a good 1/4″-5/16″ deep smoke ring. I handed it out to all the friends and neighbors, and all I got back was “When you doing the next one?” I’m a little proud here, but I believe it would have medal’ed in the Brisket Olympics! Lol… Just kidding. Lucky?? Maybe so – i’ll take it! I’m smoking #2 today. I’ll send some pics (Good or Bad). A Happy 4th of July to you guys and again, thanks for all the input!
Rob that is AWESOME!!!! So glad to hear that it went well, please do send pictures!!! We can even feature in our newsletter! (With your permission of course) Love how you had your butcher trim. Cheers and have a great holiday!!!
If I am smoking the night before, how would you suggest I bring it back to serving temp the next day?
Thank You
Schane, If you can time the cook, you can always take your finished brisket and keep uncut and wrapped in a cooler with no ice, and that will hold temperature up to four hours. If you can’t do that, I would slice after the rest period, let cool in the fridge, and then warm up in the oven wrapped in foil with beef broth and a little apple cider vinegar thrown into the foil.
Hi guys would really appreciate some advice from some brisket pros after trying my first big packer brisket and not too pleased with the results… I’ll give as many details as possible so hopefully someone can point out some suggestions (thanks).
Bought a full packer brisket from Costco, about 17 lbs before trimming fat.
Watched several videos over past few weeks on trimming, smoking etc.
Have a new Louisiana Grills LG900 pellet grill. Have done some cooks with great results but have never smoked a brisket before.
Trimmed some fat similar to videos, left about 1/4 inch.
Started cooking at 10pm last night. Applied a rub. Wanted to smoke at around 225, used a dual thermoprobe to ensure temp was accurate. One for smoker and one for brisket – I don’t trust my LG900 digital readout because when I set it to 225 my probe shows temp is around 250-280 so I have found when I set it to around 200 the actual temp fluctuated between 220-245, usually in the 225-235 range so that’s where I had it.
Put the brisket fat side up. Cooked from 10pm to about 530am at which point the brisket hit approx 168 – I had the probe in the thickest section of the point. Around this time I wrapped the brisket in peach butcher paper and returned to grill. Seemed to stall right around here – took a little over an hour to get past 170 but then climbed fairly quickly. Maybe a couple hours to get from 170-190.
Grill Temp was usually between 220-240 during this time.
Once it got to around 195 I was starting to get a little worried because guests weren’t coming until 6 and it was around 9am with brisket at 195 degrees – plan was to cook until 203 then rest until dinner.
After it hit 195 it climbed very slowly, probably took 3 hours to get to 200, and another 3 hours to go from 200-203. Temp was maybe a little lower, probably 220-225 on average with occasional drops to 215 and occasional short spikes to 250.
I pulled it at 4:15 when the probe finally showed it was 203. Rested in cooler, paper was soaked and I thought it would be juicy (I thought wrong). While it rested it went down from 203 at 4:15 to about 180 at 6:00.
When I started slicing it was really crumbly and dry, moreso on the flat but even the point wasn’t great… Thick part of point was juicier but still not what I’d hoped and texture was also more like pulled pork – just flaked apart when slicing.
Not sure what I did wrong here. Overcooked? Cooked too low and too long? Thought I followed the different videos but definitely not the same results. A few weeks ago I did a small 3-4 lb trimmed flat brisket (no fat) – thought it was at 225 but didn’t know at the time how off my pellet grill was so it was probably cooking at 300-325. Finished very quickly, texture was more like steak and would have failed pull test but was juicier than this one I just did tonight.
Should I have cooked it higher and not as long? Maybe 250-275 instead of trying to keep it low around 225 (especially at the end when it was climbing so slow?)
Should I have had the probe in the flat instead of the point and taken it off when the flat hit 203 (don’t really know what temp that was at because probe was in thick point).
When I wrapped it mid way through at 168-9 it looked so good it almost looked like it was ready! Probe actually slid back in real easy – not quite like butter but pretty close. But having read what I read I wanted to keep it going until it got to 203.
Any help is appreciated since you guys have lots of experience with these cooks. Thanks!
Chris,
As I think many will attest, no two briskets cook the same. One thing I feel good about, is you know your cooker and the ambient temperature inside the grill. Also based upon “crumbly” and “dry” it would suggest that it was overcooked. I know that can seem frustrating given when you pulled it, it seems it was likely done closer to the 190 – 195 mark. I have found most of my briskets from start to rest take 12 – 13 hours tops. (less for under 12 pound briskets). So I would offer that your next one, plan to consider pulling sooner, even if guests coming over later. You can wrap the brisket in a towel, and then put into the cooler and it will hold temperature for a few hours.
Knowing there are so many variations to cooking, I am going to make a few assumptions to trouble shoot and hopefully get your next one to be perfect. First, I am curious if you grabbed a choice or prime brisket? Only to get a sense of the marbling you may have started with. Some things to consider: 1> I like to make sure my brisket point is facing the hottest part of my smoker. In my offset, that is fat side up, point facing the hotter side of the smoker. In my egg, it’s actually fat side down, as the BGE is hotter for us right above the heat plate. So I would consider first position the brisket in the same fashion. 2> Consider a water pan. If you are in a drier climate, it helps keep moisture in the chamber. We use a water pan in our offset and pellets, but on the BGE we do not need one as it contains a lot of that moisture from the meat in the cook. 3> Consider less cooking time for the next one. Sounds like you considered up to 20 hours, and I just haven’t found at 225 – 250 that the cooks take that long.
I would also try adding the probe to your flat meat, and then if you have a Thermapen or other instant read thermometer to check the point. No matter what, keep pushing. We have brisket fails still, some pulled too soon, some pulled just an hour too late. You start to dial in over time, and can always use the leftovers for chili!!