Learning how to smoke a brisket can be a very daunting task and through this process you will have some failures but eventually you will start to understand how to smoke it perfectly. I learnt the hard way by ruining numerous briskets before I got serious and started doing my research.
After talking to BBQ fanatics, friends, family and scouring the internet for the best information, I was able to start making a great brisket. Recently I went through the entire Aaron Franklin Masterclass on on BBQ to get some of his perspective on brisket. I definitely took a couple gems from this course that I believe made my brisket better.
A couple questions that I get is how long does it take to smoke a brisket? A brisket takes 1 to 1.5hrs per pound. So give yourself 10-14hrs of cooking time. There is nothing worse than your company waiting until 10pm to start having dinner. It has happened to me several times and that is when the “Angry” in Angry BBQ kicks in.
This guide is a work in progress and I consider it a constant pursuit for perfection. Keep checking back as I refine my methods and keep figuring out how to make the best brisket possible. I update this article several times a year and I only update when I believe the changes makes a positive difference.
What Is A Brisket?
The brisket is the breast or lower chest of the beef. Originally, the brisket was used to make ground burger at butcher shops. Later, the popularity of smoked brisket took off and now it has become an expensive cut of meat. My father in law is a retired butcher and he can’t believe what people are paying for brisket today. When I first told him that I’m doing brisket for a family dinner, his eyebrows raised and was wondering why I’m serving such a low grade cut of meat. After he ate the brisket, he understood why it’s gaining popularity.
The brisket area of the beef is a major muscle that supports over 60% of the beef’s weight. Because of this type of muscle the brisket contains a lot of connective tissue (ligaments, tendons, muscle fibers), which are not typically appetizing. This is why brisket needs to be cooked low and slow to taste great.
Brisket usually comes in very large sizes, such as 10-20lbs cuts, so you’ll be making a meal for a lot of friends and family. Good news is my family and I enjoy the leftovers and make brisket sandwiches the next day. Another favorite leftover is brisket tacos which we have listed in our recipes. If you’re into Keto, then brisket is right up your alley.
We go into much more detail about the beef brisket here.
Aaron Franklin teaches you how to fire up flavor-packed Central Texas barbecue, including his famous brisket and more mouth-watering smoked meat.
Brisket Selection and Preparation
How To Pick A Good Brisket
When going out to buy your brisket, do not cheap out. The butcher shops will have prime and select grades available. I recommend buying a prime (AAA) grade packer brisket. You are investing a lot of time and effort to make a great meal, do yourself a favor and spend more on a premium cut. Be picky with your brisket. When you pick up a brisket, do the “flop test”. Pick the brisket up in the middle, and if it “flops” on the ends, you have a good brisket. This means it has the right amount of fat marbling throughout. If it is hard and does not flop, put it back and keep looking.
Also try to find a brisket that has at least 1/4″-1/2″ of consistent fat on the fat cap. We want to trim down to a 1/4″ of fat so if you do not even have a 1/4″ before you start, you are going to end up short.
Our friends at Snake River Farms sell Wagyu briskets. Wagyu is by far, the most premium beef on the market today. Check them out for your next brisket cook. They sell some amazing wagyu briskets.
A question we often hear is, ‘how much brisket do I need for my dinner party?’ We answer this in detail on our post called how much brisket per person. Give it a try.
What items do I need to make a brisket?
Smoking a brisket does not require a tremendous amount of gear or ingredients. Here is an easy list to work with.
- Prime Packers Cut Brisket (obviously)
- Smoker: This can be any smoker that can provide consistent heat and good quality thin blue smoke. I mainly use my pellet smoker for simplicity and ease of use. If you have the time and patience, an offset smoker provides the best results.
- Oak Smoking Wood: I typically use oak because I prefer the Texas style Brisket.
- Meat Thermometer. I find a wireless or wifi thermometer works great because you can keep a close eye on your brisket temp at all times. I’m a big fan of the MEATER 2 Plus for my long cooks.
- Brisket Rub. I use the Texas standard. 50% coarse pepper and 50% coarse salt. Simple and perfect.
- Butcher Paper: Wax-less butcher paper. (This is optional but I strongly recommend, this is an Aaron Franklin idea)
- Heavy Duty Tin Foil. Wide cut if available. (Optional)
- Towels: Old towels to wrap the finished brisket while it is holding (resting).
- Large Cooler (Cambro). (Optional as well, an oven that can keep warm at 150F works too)
- Sharp Knife: Narrow Curved Boning Knife. Or any medium sized sharp knife
- Water
- Apple Cider Vinegar in a Spritzer
- Nitrile Gloves (Optional but good to have when handling the brisket. Thanks for the idea Duane!)
- 12 Beer or More
- Patience
How to trim a brisket (Very Important)
Trimming and preparing a brisket is a crucial step in making a proper brisket. Mastering this part takes time and you will get better at this by your third or fourth brisket. We are still getting better at this every time. Make sure the brisket is very cold for this step. I sometimes throw the still packaged brisket in the freezer for 20 mins before I plan to start trimming.
I prefer a narrow curved boning knife because it makes trimming the fat easier. The brisket has two different sides to it. The flat (lean side) and the point (taller, fatty side). The point is often turned into burnt ends due to the high fat content.
This is where the Aaron Franklin Masterclass really helped explain brisket trimming. He has a simple method but it really helps shape the brisket, and aids in a more even cook.
- You will want to start off by cutting on the long edges of the brisket illustrated in the image below. Don’t be afraid of cutting too much off. I remove pounds of meat from my brisket when I trim. I remove any meat or fat that is discolored. Cut each long side as straight as possible. Both sides should be cut so they are congruent to each other.
2. You’ll notice a very hard and thick part of fat on the underside of the brisket. Remove most of this as you can. This fat will not render and is not the type of fat that compliments the flavors of the brisket.
3. After this step I start to shape the brisket as best I can. I’ll cut off the end of the flat until there is at least 3/4″ of meat showing. This seems wasteful but if you do not remove this thin meat area, it will dry out and burn in the smoker. The thought is to prep this brisket so we can focus on only smoking the meat that we actually want to eat and enjoy.
I also try to round out the front of the point as much as possible. You want the air and smoke to flow freely around the brisket. Any sharp points or angles are prone to burning.
4. The final step is to trim the fat cap. Try to get the fat down to 1/4″ thickness all around. This is tricky to do and if you cut through and hit the meat, that is fine, it will happen. If you leave more than 1/4″ thickness, you will find there is still to much fat on the brisket when the cook is complete. 1/4″ is that perfect amount.
This is how my brisket looks when the trimming is done and the rub is on. Nice and uniform without any sharp points or angles.
Here is a decent video I found on youtube where Aaron Franklin demonstrates a bit of his brisket trimming.
Texas Style Brisket Rub Recipe
Once trimming is complete, it is time for the rub. I prefer Texas style brisket so I use the traditional Texas brisket rub. 50% coarse black pepper and 50% coarse Kosher salt. This is all you need. For a more sweeter taste, you can try our homemade Kansas City style Brisket Rub. We also have our own spin on the traditional Texas brisket rub.
Evenly spread the rub over the brisket but don’t overdo it. You can easily put too much rub on. You can let the brisket sit on the counter up to an hour before cooking.
Should I Inject a Marinade in the Brisket?
Injecting brisket is a really popular step that many Pitmasters will include in their cook. I do not typically do a marinade as I prefer the taste of the beef/smoke on it’s own. Injecting a marinade typically does two things to your brisket.
- Provides a more moist/juicy brisket.
- Can add more flavor. The flavors are based on how you mix your marinade. Here we posted some of our favorite brisket injection recipes.
Start the Smoking Process
Smoker Setup
Now is a good time to get the smoker started and brought to temp. I like to run my smoker at 250 degrees F. Depending on your smoker, this may take some time. We are going to be changing our smoker temps as we go but I start the smoking process at 250F.
Everyone has a different opinion of what wood to smoke. I typically use oak wood for my brisket but everyone has a different opinion when it comes to smoking woods. . My favorite BBQ joints in Austin, Texas use Oak. Oak provides a medium smoky flavor that is a bit lighter than Hickory. Hickory provides a sweeter finish and is great for low and slow cooks.
Once the smoker is at temp it is ready for the brisket. Now is the time to insert your meat thermometer into the thickest part of the brisket. Make sure the probe is in the meat and not the fat. Place the brisket in the smoker with the fat cap facing up and the point facing the heat source (more important on offset smokers). The point requires more time to cook compared to the flat, so it is best to have the point closer to the heat source.
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To keep the moisture up during the cook, I put a stainless steel bowl of water in with the brisket. This helps the brisket stay moist and creates a better bark because smoke likes the cool and moist areas of meat. When you’re smoking brisket for a long period, keeping the smoker humid helps ensure the brisket does not dry out. After the first 3-5 hours of smoking, I start to spray the dry areas of the brisket with apple cider vinegar.
After 3-4 hours of smoking time, I move my smoker temperature up to 265F. We will slowly increase the temps as it helps cook the point more evenly.
Now is the time for patience. Do not constantly go back and open your smoker to inspect the brisket. Trust your meat thermometer and leave the brisket alone. Slow and consistent heat is what makes the best brisket. Also, make sure you’re providing quality thin blue smoke to the meat and not billowing white smoke (this is more of a concern with offset smokers, whereas pellet smokers cannot be controlled). White smoke contains creosote which is gives an off flavor to the meat and is also unhealthy to consume. Understanding the science of smoke with meat can help you with future briskets.
The Brisket Stall
After around 7 hours you will notice that your brisket internal temp has been sitting at the same temp for quite a while. Probably around 160/165F. This is normal. It is called “The Stall”. Here is what’s happening.
The brisket is at a temperature where the fat is rendering down and creating a cooling effect on the meat. This can go on for hours depending on how much fat content is in the brisket. When this happens, the inexperienced BBQ’er starts to panic.
Do not panic at this point. Once you hit this stage and there is a nice bark on the brisket, it is time to implement the Texas Crutch.
Brisket Texas Crutch
The Texas Crutch has been used for a long time. It is used to speed up the cooking process of the brisket, especially through its time consuming stall. I believe it makes a better brisket in keeping the brisket juicy and moist. There have been two trains of thought with the Texas Crutch.
- Wrap the brisket in aluminum foil and cook
- Wrap the brisket in wax-less butcher paper and cook. Both work but they provide different results. (Recommended)
Aluminum Foil Texas Crutch
The foil definitely speeds up the cook through the stall, but this method will give your brisket more of a roast beef taste and texture. You’ll typically lose that bark finish that I love on a good brisket. If you use the aluminum foil, make sure to wrap the brisket very tight and keep your meat probe in the brisket (it’s helpful to have the extra wide heavy duty aluminum foil).
Butcher Paper Texas Crutch
Many people are using wax-less butcher paper to wrap their brisket during the stall. The butcher paper can still breath and let some of the smoky flavors through. It helps speed the cook like Aluminum foil and it also leaves a bit more bark on the brisket. Again, make sure to wrap the brisket tightly without leaving air gaps around the paper and brisket.
Finishing the Brisket Cook
Once the brisket has entered the stall (160-170F) and the brisket has a nice dark bark finish, the next step is to wrap in the wax free butcher paper. This is the Aaron Franklin method and it seems to give the best results.
Before I remove the brisket, I lay out two 4′ lengths of butcher paper on a table. See picture below. I overlap the two pieces. I have started to use melted beef tallow and apply it over the butcher paper where the brisket will sit. This seems to aid in keeping the brisket extra tender and juicy.
I then place the brisket on the butcher paper and wrap it very tightly. You do not want to leave large air gaps in the butcher paper because you could get a steaming effect. Take your time and wrap the brisket tight.
Put your meat probe back in the brisket and return it to the smoker. Set the temp to 275F and we are in the final stretch of the cook.
Now after the 10-14 hours of smoking your brisket you are nearing the end of the cook. When the brisket starts getting close to 190 degrees, I suggest staying very close to the smoker. The final degrees can happen quickly and you do not want to overcook your brisket.
How To Know When A Brisket Is Done
As the temperature gets to 190 degrees, I’ll check to see if the brisket is done. I’ll take a instant read thermometer and poke into the brisket to feel how tender it is. I do not want to feel any resistance when I’m poking into the brisket. If there is still resistance, it may not be ready.
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Once I can poke the probe in without any resistance, I know the brisket is done. The final temperature could be 190-210. I have had briskets totally done in that large range, so you really have to poke the brisket to know if it is done. Doing a jiggle test below demonstrates when a brisket is done. If you tap the brisket it should jiggle just like the video below.
You can also pick up the brisket and use your fingers to see how soft it is. If it feels extremely tender and soft, it is probably done.
What Temperature Is Brisket Done?
When I do a final temp check, it seems most briskets are done around 202F-205F. Read our full guide on brisket doneness temperatures here.
How To Rest A Brisket
I’ve changed this step dramatically over the years and I think I have it mastered. I simply leave it wrapped sitting on a counter with a towel over top for about 2 hours or until the internal temp hits 150F. Once it hits this temperature, you can either put it in a warmed cooler or I put it in an oven that can maintain a keep warm temperature of 150F.
How Long to Rest Brisket
You can rest your brisket for hours as long as the internal temperature does not drop below 140F. I typically let me brisket rest a minimum of 2-3 hours. The longer the better. As the brisket rests, it reabsorbs the moisture and juices making a much juicier meal.
How To Cut A Brisket
You’ve finally waited the 2 hours of resting and now it’s time to cut the brisket. There actually is a proper way to cut a brisket. I use a serrated bread knife, as it cuts through the bark of the brisket.
I start by cutting the flat. You want to cut about 1/4″ thick slices. It is important to cut across the grain of the meat.
Once you have cut about half way up the brisket, you will notice another line of fat in your slices. This is where the point meets the flat. You want to stop at this point. You will want to cut the point in half, perpendicular to the slices of the flat. One half of the point will consist of good meat and the other will consist of a lot of fatty meat. It isn’t hard to identify. Cut the good side of the point in 1/4″-1/3″ slices again. Remove any remaining large fat layers before serving.
Congratulations. You’ve just smoked your first brisket and I hope it went well for you. If you followed all the tips and guidelines, I’m sure you are quite happy with the end result. Feel free to share with your friends and family so their next BBQ will not be an Angry BBQ.
Good Slicing Brisket Video.
Brisket Sides and Sauces
Try making out Amazing Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe that goes well with Brisket. Homemade Mac and Cheese is a perfect side to serve alongside your brisket. Finish off the dish with a vinegar-based coleslaw. Jannah and I love our smoked cheesecake for a delicious dessert after brisket.
Brisket Leftovers
You’ll have plenty of leftovers from a brisket, especially if you were only feeding your family of four with it. Check out our brisket tacos. They are a huge hit and our kids prefer them to a same day brisket dinner. If you still have leftovers, we detail the safest way to freeze and reheat your brisket.
How To Smoke a Brisket – Texas Style
Equipment
- Smoker: This can be any smoker that can provide consistent heat and good quality thin blue smoke. I mainly use my pellet smoker for simplicity and ease of use. If you have the time and patience, an offset smoker provides the best results.
- Oak Smoking Wood: I typically use oak because I prefer the Texas style Brisket.
- Meat Thermometer. I find a wireless or WIFI thermometer works great because you can keep a close eye on your brisket temp at all times. Instant Read as well.
- Butcher Paper: Wax free butcher paper.
- Heavy Duty Tin Foil. Wide cut if available. (Optional)
- Dish Towel
- Oven with 150F Keep Warm Temp. Or Warmed Cooler
- Sharp Knife: Narrow Curved Boning Knife. Or any medium sized sharp knife.
- Nitrile Gloves Nice to wear when handling the brisket during prep.
Ingredients
- 16 lbs Prime Packers Cut Brisket
- 8 tbsp Brisket Rub Standard Texas rub is 50% coarse black pepper, 50% coarse kosher salt. For a more sweeter taste; try a Kansas City Brisket Rub.
- 1/2 cup Water To be mixed with Apple Cider Vinegar Spritz
- 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar To be mixed with Water for Spritz
- 1/4 cup Beef Tallow
Instructions
- Trim the Brisket : Make sure the brisket is cold for this step. I sometimes throw the still packaged brisket in the freezer for 20 mins before I plan to start trimming. The brisket has two different sides to it. The flat (lean side) and the point (taller, fatty side). You will want to reduce the fat cap to about ¼” thickness. This helps keep the brisket moist and juicy through the smoking process. You’ll notice very hard and thick parts of fat on the point and underside. Remove most of this as you can. This fat will not render and is not the type of fat that compliments the flavors of the brisket.
- Brisket Rub : Evenly spread the rub over the brisket but don’t overdo it. You can easily put too much rub on. You can let the brisket sit on the counter up to an hour before cooking.
- Smoker Set Up: I like to run my smoker at 250 degrees F at the start. Depending on your smoker, this may take some time. Everyone has a different opinion of what wood to smoke. I typically use oak wood for my brisket but everyone has a different opinion when it comes to smoking woods. Oak provides a medium smoky flavor that is a bit lighter than Hickory. Hickory provides a sweeter finish and is great for low and slow cooks.
- Once the smoker is at temp it is ready for the brisket. Now is the time to insert your meat thermometer into the thickest part of the brisket. Make sure the probe is in the meat and not the fat. Place the brisket in the smoker with the fat cap facing up and the point facing the heat source (more important on offset smokers). The point requires more time to cook compared to the flat, so it is best to have the point closer to the heat source.
- To keep the moisture up during the cook, I put a bowl of water in with the brisket. This helps the brisket stay moist and creates a better bark because smoke likes the cool and moist areas of meat. When you're smoking brisket for a long period, keeping the smoker humid helps ensure the brisket does not dry out. Now is the time for patience. Do not constantly go back and open your smoker to inspect the brisket. Trust your meat thermometer and leave the brisket alone. Slow and consistent heat is what makes the best brisket.After 3-4 hours of smoking I start to spritz the brisket with apple cider vinegar every hour until it is time to wrap.
- After 3-4 hours of smoking, move smoker temp to 265F.
- Keep Spritzing the dry parts of the brisket every hour.
- Brisket Stall : After about 7 hours you will notice that your brisket internal temp has been sitting the same for quite some time. Probably around 160/165 degrees F. This is normal. It is called “The Stall”.The brisket is at a temperature where the fat is rendering down and creating a cooling effect on the meat. This can go on for hours depending on how much fat content is in the brisket. When this happens, the inexperienced BBQ’er starts to panic.
- Once the brisket is in the stall and a nice bark has formed, the next step is to wrap in the wax free butcher paper. This is the Aaron Franklin method and it seems to give the best results. Before I remove the brisket, I lay out two 4' lengths of butcher paper on a table. See picture below. I overlap the two pieces. I have started to use melted beef tallow and apply it over the butcher paper where the brisket will sit. This seems to aid in keeping the brisket extra tender and juicy. I then place the brisket on the butcher paper and wrap it very tightly. You do not want to leave large air gaps in the butcher paper because you could get a steaming effect. Take your time and wrap the brisket tight. Set the temp to 275F and we are in the final stretch of the cook.
- Re-insert the thermometer and place back in the smoker.
- Finishing the Brisket: As the temperature gets to 190 degrees, I’ll check to see if the brisket is done. I’ll take an instant-read thermometer and poke into the brisket to feel how tender it is. I do not want to feel any resistance when I’m poking into the brisket. If there is still resistance, it may not be ready. Once I can poke the probe in without any resistance, I know the brisket is done. The final temperature could be 190-210. I have had briskets totally done in that large range, so you really have to poke the brisket to know if it is done. Doing a jiggle test below demonstrates when a brisket is done. If you tap the brisket it should jiggle just like the video below.You can also pick up the brisket and use your fingers to see how soft it is. If it feels extremely tender and soft, it is probably done.
- On average I find the briskets are done around 205F but this can differ from one brisket to the next.
- Resting the Brisket: I've changed this step dramatically over the years and I think I have it mastered. I simply leave it wrapped sitting on a counter with a towel over top for about 2 hours or until the internal temp hits 150F. Once it hits this temperature, you can either put it in a warmed cooler or I put it in an oven that can maintain a keep warm temperature of 150F. You can rest your brisket for hours as long as the internal temperature does not drop below 140F. I typically let me brisket rest a minimum of 2-3 hours. The longer the better. As the brisket rests, it reabsorbs the moisture and juices making a much juicier meal.
- Cutting the Brisket : I start by cutting the flat. You want to cut about 1/4" thick slices. It is important to cut across the grain of the meat. Once you have cut about half way up the brisket, you will notice another line of fat in your slices. This is where the point meets the flat. You want to stop at this point. You will want to cut the point in half, perpendicular to the slices of the flat. One half of the point will consist of good meat and the other will consist of a lot of fatty meat. It isn't hard to identify. Cut the good side of the point in 1/4"-1/3" slices again. Remove any remaining large fat layers before serving.
- Serve Immediately!
Thank you. Great article. Just bought a smoker so this will be my first attempt.
Hi Tim,
Good luck with it. Start the brisket earlier than later. I usually start mine around 9-10pm and if it finishes early, I let it rest in the cooler/cambro for 4-6 hours, as long as the brisket temp stays above 145F. Have fun.
Michael
Thanks for the recipe! I always brush up with some good literature prior to smoking a brisket. My question is, what adjustments do I need to make when just smoking the flat portion of the brisket?
Thank you for you support!
Hi Matthew,
If you are just smoking the flat, it is going to finish quite a bit faster than a whole packer brisket. Keep your eye on it and make sure you use a good temperature probe to monitor the temp of the flat.
Good luck and thanks for stopping by our site.
Michael
I googled how to smoke a brisket (Texas style) and since I’m on Lake LBJ this July 4th weekend (40 miles from Austin) – I looked on your site. I’m an old lady (68 and widowed) and don’t have a great dealing of smoking or grilling experience – but I’ve got company coming! Your instructions were top notch. I followed your rub recipe and just put the brisket in the smoker with charcoal and soaked wood chips. I will let you know how it turns out. The rest is the hard part. Thanks!
Thanks Valerie. I hope it turned out well for you. Let us know.
Cheers,
Michael
I loved your step-by-step instructions, very helpful! They gave me a great deal more confidence, than I would have otherwise had, for my first attempt at a Brisket. Although I lived in Texas for several years (New Braunfels / San Marcos – and loved it), KC is home now, and my tastes have always reflected those sweeter recipes for smoked meats. I really just search out your directions to get a better feel for how long a brisket was going to take, and I stuck around for all of the other wonderful bits of information. I do have some suggestions though.
– Describe “blue smoke”, what it is and how to achieve it.
– I would add nitrile gloves to the “Equipment” list. I worked with my brisket bare handed this time, but next time I plan on having some gloves. It’s just a bit too warm for a very long grip.
– Your ingredients list calls for 1/2 cup of water. I find I need more than a 1/2 cup of water in the drip pan, with a 10 hour plus smoke. It was unclear what the purpose of that 1/2 cup of water was for – for the drip pan, or to be combined with the Vinegar for spritzing the meat. Maybe you could clarify that.
– I liked the idea of using a marinade injection, but I was cooking for someone with a VERY limited ability to handle spices, so I left the Worcestershire out and went with just beef broth and bullion. I opened a 32 oz box of beef broth for the marinade, but I only needed about half of that. So, I made an Au jus with the rest of the broth, since it would otherwise likely go bad in my frig.
– I also liked the idea of using a bit of tallow when you wrap the brisket in butcher paper, to help keep the meat moist. But, instead of using store bought tallow, I cut all the fat that I trimmed off (even the hard fat) into small chunks, tossed them into a pot, added the left-over and dripped out marinade, covered it, and simmered it for 30 mins – 1 hour, to render out my own tallow. The end product also left some very tasting bits of “fat candy”, after I drained off the liquid fat. Basically, the fat boiled in beef broth and the dry rub (I had brown sugar in mine) that was left in the pan after marinading the brisket overnight, and it made for some sweet little bits of “fat candy”. I don’t think these would have been as good without the brown sugar in my rub, but again… that fits my palette. I wouldn’t recommend eating a lot of it, but it was yummy.
– I have an electric smoker, that is a bit narrower than I like, so I was not able to fit the entire length of a brisket on a single shelf in the smoker. At first, I thought I would just split the thing in half, but after considering it for a bit, I decided to cut the Flat from the Point (kind of a diagonal top-to-bottom cut through the fat layer), which made for two thinner pieces and a shorter overall smoke time. I was also able to treat the different thickness of meat, with separate cooking durations. And, it gave me more surface area for the rub and the smoke.
– I think the last sentence of step 5 should be combined with step 6. It’s the same 3–4-hour time point, not two separate points 3-4 hours apart.
– I know when it comes to times, “your mileage WILL vary”, but it would be nice to have an approximate time on the clock (based on an average weight brisket and the cooking temperatures you define) at each step in the process. Something like:
1 hour – Step 1. Trim the Brisket: (includes 20 mins in freezer) …
15 mins – Step 2a. Brisket Rub: …
15 mins – Step 2b. Inject Marinade: …
12-24 hours – Step 2c. Marinate in Frig
1-2 hours – Step 3. Set the brisket out on your counter to allow it to come up to room temperature, and while that’s happening, get your smoker prepped and pre-heating
etc.
Thanks for the detailed directions. They really helped a lot, and my brisket turned out really nicely done.
Hi Duane, Thanks for letting us know and providing all this feedback. I agree with some of your recommendations and I’ll update this brisket guide.
Cheers,
Michael
I have an electric smoker. Can I still do the brisket the same way? Love your site!
Hi Charlie,
Absolutely you can use an electric smoker. Most times they are not large enough to fit a whole packer brisket on one rack, so I typically would cut the brisket in half (separate the point from the flat) and smoke it that way. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.
Cheers,
Michael
Michael
Just getting into smoking meats, your video on trimming a brisket was excellent. Definitely would not have known how to do that without your help.
Thanks
Pete
Glad you found it helpful. \
Cheers,
Michael
Hi Michael,
I smoked my first brisket Thursday while following these instructions as closely as possible. I selected my brisket not knowing anything about the selection process or criteria, but luckily it turned out really good. The primary difference was that it was only 11 pounds and relatively thin.
HOWEVER, following your recipe where applicable it turned out really good. I think that wrapping the brisket in butcher paper was key. I’ll use that technique when I smoke other meats as well. Thanks again !
Glad you found it helpful Ted, and thanks for commenting.
Cheers,
Michael
This is all really good information! I think one thing worth mentioning that I didn’t see is cooking this on a Traeger, depending upon your model it should be cooked on the highest grill rack. In this case, The Ironwood 650 allows for the main grate to be elevated, which can be clearly seen in his photos! My Traeger 750 Pro does not allow that main grate to be elevated. Need to take that into consideration cooking fat side up on a Traeger.
Good point Steve. Thanks for commenting.
Cheers,
Michael
Third brisket ever. I followed these instructions very closely and had the brisket turn out GREAT. I placed most of my focus on what type of meat I bought (Costco Choice vs Prime) and the “resting” stage (wrap in unwaxed butcher paper for 2 hrs vs not doing that at all) after a poor turnout the last time I smoked a brisket – two things I did not focus on the previous time. It turned out a little dry once it cooled off a bit which may be normal but that could have been the result of the temp getting a little too high 4-5 times over a 10 hour timeframe. Next time I will probably try to cook it at the same temps but for an hour or so less time and see how it turns out. Keep doing what works and try modify what doesn’t.
I’m glad it turned out great, Daniel! And so much of barbecue and grilling for me has been that experimenting and making tweaks. The best part is unless the meat is ruined, we always get to eat it anyways!