My brisket comes out dry

I guess we'd have to know more about your cooking - time, temp, brisket weight, flat or packer, etc.? CS electric smokers are very tight and don't generally need more moisture in a cook.

Most of the expert brisket cookers here (not me) say dry and tough = under cooked. Dry and crumbly = over cooked. You can search many discussions on this topic here. Try searching "brisket 101."

More details about your cook would help diagnose 

What temperature did you cook it to?  Usually dry and/or tough brisket is under cooked.  Buy a good remote read electric thermometer.  Cook the brisket to 195 degrees internal temp, and then probe your brisket with a skewer.  When the skewer goes into the brisket with the feeling that it warm butter, it is done.  The brisket will actually jiggle like it jello.  Wrap the brisket, and place it in a warm ice chest for 2 to 4 hours before slicing.

Thank you.  I will try your suggestion next.  

@jay1924 posted:

I guess we'd have to know more about your cooking - time, temp, brisket weight, flat or packer, etc.? CS electric smokers are very tight and don't generally need more moisture in a cook.

Most of the expert brisket cookers here (not me) say dry and tough = under cooked. Dry and crumbly = over cooked. You can search many discussions on this topic here. Try searching "brisket 101."

Thanks Jay.  Might not have cookes it long enough.  I had a 5 lb full brisket cooking at 225.  Thought about 1 hour 15 min/ pound was good enough.  Will make sure my internal temp gets to 195 before I remove.  Always afraid it is on too long but I guess I need to keep it on longer

Sounds right. I never pull earlier than 195 - 198. Sometimes I go to 200 or over if the probe test in the flat doesn't feel really tender, like butter. Just a thought- 5 lb sounds really small for a full packer.

I could be mistaken about what it was - new to smoking.  Thanks again for the info

Matty:  We all have to start somewhere.  Go to very top of this page and click on Forums.  There will be a window open that will let you navigate down to "Additional smoking topics.  Click on this and it will open a window that shows more topics.  Click on Brisket.  At the very top of the page will be a Brisket 101.  Click on this and read the whole article.  I have learned more from the Cookshack Forum than I have given back to it.  

Thanks.  Appreciate everyone’s thoughts 

An additional question - if you are smoking a full packer (point and flat), do you smoke it in one piece?  i guess my thought was, could the brisket be dry in the thinner end because it is over cooked to accommodate the internal temperature reading of the thicker portion?

You can find a lot of discussion of this topic here. Lots of folks trim as much fat as possible around the point and flat and then leave them together. Some cook separately. I've done both and the thing that I found important is that they cook differently, and the flat is the important part to get done right. The point is going to be OK pretty much no matter what, since it is so fatty. I'd say trim fat to around 1/8 to 1/4 inch everywhere, leave them together, and make sure the flat is done at at least 200F. The point makes great burnt ends (another search for you) and there is nothing better than a tender and juicy flat basted by the fat from the point during the cook.

Another point when buying a packer is to look for a flat that is as uniform in thickness as possible, to avoid the problem you mention. The thicker the "small" end of the flat, the better.

I know I'm infringing on the expertise of a lot of other people here, and I'll happily defer to their opinions if (as I hope) they jump in.

Jay is right.  I probably do a lot more trimming than most, I try to get all of the hard fat off because it doesn't render out doing the low slow method.  I trim the thin parts of the flat off.  I do my briskets with the fat side up so that as the fat renders the brisket gets basted by it.  I keep the whole brisket together.  I have looked for just points with the plan of cooking them and then doing burnt ends but can't find them locally.  There are ton of videos on the internet about trimming Brisket, but most of them are geared for Competition, and you really don't need to trim to this point for back yard BBQ.  Use the KISS system, jeep notes of each cook, and have fun.  I am famous for looking at how I can make it better rather then going back to notes, and seeing what worked and what didn't.  Keep things as simple as you can when you start, and add on as you go.  I think all of us have eaten a lot of mistakes over the years, and for the most part it is better than what you will get at Famous Whatever.  Just cook and have fun learning.

Thanks again for all the feedback.