First Brisket - Dry : (

probably was trimmed of fat too close by the butcher and needed to go to 195F or higher.

there's a school of thought that wrapping the brisket in foil w/ liquid once you get to 165F can reduce the stall time.

Don't know about true "dry" but at 165º you ordinarily would need to slice it paper thin to chew.
Personally,I've never seen one come done at that point.

I'd give Smokin's Brisket 101 a good read and that should give you a good start next time.

As Tom correctly states, 165 is the point a brisket hits "plateau". It will stay within 5 degrees of that mark for up to several hours before the temp will again begin to rise.

The finish temp you're looking for will be between 190 - 200. Doneness is easily determined by inserting a fork or skewer, top thru bottom of the meat. When it slides in and out with liitle resistance, you're good to go.

A higher smoking temp of 235 - 250 will speed the process along.

Did a packer friday night. It went on at 9pm at 230 and when I checked it at 8am it was 197. So I pulled it.

Each brisket will be diferent. But it takes what it takes.

Yours might have need an extra hour or two.

RandyE

I've attempted my fair share of brisket flats in the past several months that I've had my smoker (an SM025). From my experience in flats. I had to use the "Texas Crutch" method to get them to finish in a reasonable amount of time, and to ensure that they didn't dry out.

While this worked for me. It's a lot of effort to put into a 6 pound, or smaller, piece of brisket. I'd much rather spend my time practicing on full packer briskets, which is what I look for now, to really nail my technique.

And, like everyone here, I'll recommend Smokin's 101. It has all the information you need to get started!