Picked a water pan over wrapping in foil for my first brisket, and the flat still came out dry

Riley Garcia · 2026-10-18T22:20:03.930915+00:00

I did my first packer brisket on my offset last Saturday, a 12 pounder from the butcher over on 5th, and I had to pick one way to keep it moist. I went with a water pan in the cook chamber and no foil wrap, mostly because wrapping felt like cheating to me. Seven hours in at 250 the bark looked great but the flat was tough as shoe leather when I sliced it. Turns out the water pan kept the chamber so humid the bark set slow and the flat dried out anyway. Should I wrap in butcher paper next time, or is there a way to make the water pan setup actually work?

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Picked a water pan over wrapping in foil for my first brisket, and the flat still came out dry | BBQ Pitmasters - The Community Guide