Best Wood For Smoking Brisket

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Brisket is king of Texas BBQ and if you’re going to smoke it, you need to pick the right wood for the job. Oak, Hickory and Mesquite are top favorites but you have more options getting popular today. Let us explain. When I make brisket, I’m typically making it Texas style which means I’m using…

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Brisket is king of Texas BBQ and if you’re going to smoke it, you need to pick the right wood for the job. Oak, Hickory and Mesquite are top favorites but you have more options getting popular today. Let us explain.

Best Wood For Smoking Brisket

When I make brisket, I’m typically making it Texas style which means I’m using Oak wood. However, Texas-style brisket isn’t the only way to make brisket. Kansas City-style brisket typically uses a blend with hickory being the base.

Our smoking wood chart can come in handy. Download a copy of it for future reference.

Brisket is a cut of meat that stands up remarkably well to smoking. At the same time, creating that perfect smoked brisket can take a while to master. It is considered one of the best cuts of meat to smoke and you can expect a variety of excellent results by choosing the right kind of wood. The results can also depend squarely on the type of smoker you are using, the temperature you set, and the overall cooking time.

With that said, let us take a look at some of the best wood chips, chunks and pellets for smoking brisket.

Nicely smoked brisket with oak.

Oak – Best Wood for Smoking Texas Brisket

If you are looking for a smoking flavor that has a medium intensity and is friendly to most palates, look no further than the most popular wood for smoking beef brisket, oak. This long-burning wood is a hit with beginners with enthusiasts alike and is especially suited for use with briskets.

The mild flavor and smoky aroma that you can achieve by smoking with oak go particularly well with tough cuts like the brisket. The wood burns for a long time while also being capable of reaching high temperatures. Therefore, it is an extremely versatile choice, letting you smoke your brisket low and slow as well as quick and hot without much tending.

The mild flavor of the smoke is what makes oak a hit with BBQ beginners. Its versatility can also be leveraged if you are looking to smoke a variety of meats. Oak can work well with other meats like pork and poultry. Also, if you are looking for a fuller flavor, you can combine oak with stronger woods like mesquite or hickory to achieve the desired results. If you are a fan of experimentation, oak can be your friend.

If you’re trying to make a Texas-style brisket, then oak is the only wood you want to work with. I always use oak with my briskets as I prefer Texas-style brisket.

Tired of brisket prices? Try doing a smoked chuck roast next time. Tastes nearly as good and is much more affordable.

IMAGE MODEL FEATURES
byb2-table__imageBear Mountain Wood Pellets : Oak
  • No binders or fillers
  • Works well with all major grill brands
  • Low moisture
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageCamerons Wood Chips: Oak
  • 100% natural wood
  • Coarse Cut
  • Made in USA
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWestern Premium Cooking Chunks : Oak
  • 100% natural wood
  • Large size
  • Heat treated
CHECK PRICE

Apple

Starting with one of the mild flavors, using apple wood to smoke your brisket can result in very subtly sweet and fruity flavors. Applewood is usually used to smoke milder meats like chicken and turkey. 

However, you can also use this to smoke brisket if you are looking to retain the brisket’s natural flavor as much as you can and want a bare minimum of the smoky flavor.

Applewood usually emits a thick, dense smoke, making it a much simpler process for the smoke to infuse deep into the meat and impart the characteristic sweet, fruity flavor. If you are accustomed to the traditional smoked brisket, this can be an interesting break from tradition and bring you an entirely different, more nuanced experience.

Applewood is also an excellent choice as a secondary component in your smoke. If you smoke your brisket with some of the more traditional wood choices, adding apple into the mix can dilute the intense smoke flavor and infuse a little more sweetness into the brisket.

IMAGE MODEL FEATURES
byb2-table__imageBear Mountain Wood Pellets : Apple
  • No binders or fillers
  • Works well with all major grill brands
  • Low moisture
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWestern Premium Wood Chips : Apple
  • 100% natural wood
  • Heat treated
  • Large sized chips
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWeber Wood Chunks : Apple
  • 100% natural wood
  • Long lasting
  • Kiln dried
CHECK PRICE


Maple

Another wood choice that brings to the table mild and subtle flavors is maple. A favorite of beginners, maple wood can impart a slightly smoky and overall sweet taste to briskets without masking its deep natural flavor. It is an excellent choice if you are looking to enjoy a brisket in its purest form without imparting too much smoky flavor.

Maple is a great allrounder when it comes to wood choices. Apart from brisket and other beef cuts, you can also get great results using it with poultry and pork cuts.

IMAGE MODEL FEATURES
byb2-table__imageBear Mountain Wood Pellets : Maple
  • No binders or fillers
  • Works well with all major grill brands
  • Low moisture
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWestern Premium Wood Chips : Maple
  • 100% natural wood
  • Heat treated
  • Large sized chips
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWestern Premium Cooking Chunks : Maple
  • 100% natural wood
  • Large size
  • Heat treated
CHECK PRICE


Pecan

An excellent mild option is pecan wood. Pecan wood smoke can deliver a superb savory, sweet, rich, and slightly nutty flavor that goes amazingly well with a quality brisket. In fact, if you like your brisket on the sweeter side and plan to complement it with primarily sweet sides and sauces, smoking with pecan wood can be a great choice.

Suppose you want a more balanced flavor with a more pronounced smoky aroma. In that case, you can also use a more traditional smoking wood like oak and mix it with the pecan to tone the sweetness down and end up with a new, interesting combination of flavors and aromas that can really lift up your brisket to a new level.

I find I use pecan wood more than any other type of wood for smoking. It seems to be the most universal smoking wood.

IMAGE MODEL FEATURES
byb2-table__imageBear Mountain Wood Pellets : Pecan
  • No binders or fillers
  • Works well with all major grill brands
  • Low moisture
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWestern Premium Wood Chips : Pecan
  • 100% natural wood
  • Heat treated
  • Large sized chips
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWeber Wood Chunks : Pecan
  • 100% natural wood
  • Long lasting
  • Kiln dried
CHECK PRICE


Mesquite

A mainstay of Texas-style BBQ, mesquite is a popular choice when it comes to smoking brisket. This imparts a robust and characteristic flavor to the meat. Mesquite is a quick-burning wood that produces intense smoke and a powerful, unique flavor. The pungent nature of the smoke really penetrates the meat and imparts its flavor right to the core.

Just a sniff and a bite would be enough for BBQ enthusiasts to tell a brisket that has been smoked using mesquite wood. The very characteristic aroma and pungent flavor that is so characteristic of Texas BBQ also makes it a difficult wood to work with. If you leave the meat on for too long or too much wood at any point in time, the distinct flavor can definitely overpower your meat and mask the brisket’s true flavor. To avoid this, it is important to keep things in control or add a secondary, milder wood into the mix so as to tone down the flavor.

IMAGE MODEL FEATURES
byb2-table__imageBear Mountain Wood Pellets : Mesquite
  • No binders or fillers
  • Works well with all major grill brands
  • Low moisture
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWestern Premium Wood Chips : Mesquite
  • 100% natural wood
  • Heat treated
  • Large sized chips
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWeber Wood Chunks : Mesquite
  • 100% natural wood
  • Long lasting
  • Kiln dried
CHECK PRICE


Hickory

Popular and widely available, hickory is one of the staples when it comes to smoking brisket. The wood creates a pungent smoke that penetrates the meat well, lending a smoky, mildly nutty, and pungent flavor that is characteristic of the wood. The taste and aroma of brisket smoked with hickory wood is easily discernible and it is a favorite of many BBQ enthusiasts.

The signature smoky aroma of hickory imparts a bacon-like flavor in the meat. This makes it a popular choice when smoking pork cuts but also enhances its popularity when it comes to smoking tough cuts of beef like brisket that usually need a little help during the cooking process. 

The signature flavor can work particularly well if you are planning to use additional ingredients like brown sugar or a sweet sauce with your brisket.

While the distinct flavor of hickory is not as strong as mesquite, using it can leave the chance of the meat flavor becoming overpowered in the end. Also, using too much hickory wood can impart a bitter flavor to the smoke, which also permeates the meat. Therefore, it is important to be careful and stick to conservative proportions and cook times while using hickory. It is also a prudent idea to cut hickory with a milder wood for smoking if you want to tone down the characteristic flavor and end up with something more subtle.

IMAGE MODEL FEATURES
byb2-table__imageBear Mountain Wood Pellets : Hickory
  • No binders or fillers
  • Works well with all major grill brands
  • Low moisture
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageWestern Premium Wood Chips : Hickory
  • 100% natural wood
  • Heat treated
  • Large sized chips
CHECK PRICE
byb2-table__imageCamerons Wood Chunks: Hickory
  • 100% natural wood
  • Precision Cut
  • Made In USA
CHECK PRICE


Wood Matters – Wood Choices

These are all the options you can explore when you are trying to smoke your brisket. It is important to choose your wood wisely. Once you are appropriately acquainted with the signature flavors of individual woods, you can start experimenting by mixing them in particular ratios so as to achieve more satisfying results. It is also vital to purchase high-quality wood from the right source to achieve the desired results. 

Wood for smoking can come in the form of pellets, chips, chunks, and logs, and you must choose the right format for your smoker. With a little attention to detail and a will to experiment, you can achieve excellent results with your briskets by choosing from these woods for smoking.

AngryBBQ Team

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2 Comments

2 thoughts on “Best Wood For Smoking Brisket”

  1. I’m new to smoking, I have a weber kettle grill. I’m smoking my first beef brisket that is only 2& a half lbs. Already seasoned. Should I use flavored pellets or chips?

    Reply
    • Hi Tony, You can use pellets but I would recommend going with chunks if you are using a Weber Kettle. Get your coals fired up, then add a wood chunk and let it ignite and burn for a while before you put the brisket on. Add another chunk after 1.5 hours or so. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

      Michael

      Reply

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2 thoughts on “Best Wood For Smoking Brisket”

  1. I’m new to smoking, I have a weber kettle grill. I’m smoking my first beef brisket that is only 2& a half lbs. Already seasoned. Should I use flavored pellets or chips?

    Reply
    • Hi Tony, You can use pellets but I would recommend going with chunks if you are using a Weber Kettle. Get your coals fired up, then add a wood chunk and let it ignite and burn for a while before you put the brisket on. Add another chunk after 1.5 hours or so. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

      Michael

      Reply

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