07/16/2021
Smoking Your First Brisket
Brisket is notoriously difficult cut of meat to master.
Many amateur pitmasters have turned a 4lb brisket into a 4lb hunk of beef jerky.
You shouldn’t let these horror stories put you off though. There is no greater accomplishment than slicing a juicy, perfectly cooked brisket after 12 hours tending to your smoker.
His brisket is so legendary that people willingly line up at 6:00am to queue for a taste.
In this guide we go through his whole process from choosing the brisket, trimming and preparing it to how to manage the fire during the long cook.
There is a lot of great advice whether you are smoking your first brisket or you’ve done this many times before.
1. The brisket – how to properly trim and add a rub to your brisket
The problem most people have with brisket is that it’s a tough cut of meat. This makes it perfect for low & slow cooking.
Great brisket isn’t about fancy rubs, mops, marinades or BBQ sauce.
Selecting the the right brisket from the butcher shop and preparing it properly will set you up for success well before you even fire up your smoker.
Selecting the the right brisket from the butcher shop and preparing it properly will set you up for success well before you even fire up your smoker.
If you want to go straight to the good stuff, Snake River Farms sells top-quality American Wagyu brisket and deliver everywhere in the continental United States.
We recommend buying a whole packer brisket, which lets you have full control over the trimming process.
When selecting your brisket look for marbling in the meat and a thick flat so the leaner part will cook at almost the same rate as the larger point.
Look for USDA Choice, Prime or Certified Angus Beef.
How to Trim a Brisket
Use a good narrow curved boning knife for trimming the brisket (using a blunt knife is a good way to stab yourself).
If you don’t trim any fat off the brisket it will taste too fatty, but trimming too much will make your brisket dry. Aim for around 1/4″ of fat.
Brisket is much easier to trim when it’s still cold so trim it right after you take it out of the fridge.
There is a thick membrane called the deckle that will not render out during cooking, you will you need to cut out (some butchers will have done this for you)
Trim off any bits which are significantly thinner than the rest as they will cook too fast and burn.
Think about where the heat will be coming from and how the brisket will be placed on your cooking surface. Areas that run hotter can have a little more fat to help protect the meat.
So long as you leave around 1/4″ of fat and get a good shape don’t worry too much about trimming. Practice makes perfect.
Barbecue Brisket Rub
A lot of people use complicated rubs with chill powder, cumin and paprika on their brisket.
For true Texas style brisket you want to use even parts salt & black pepper. This simple style rub will still give you a great bark, while still letting the beef flavor dominate.
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Mix ingredients in a bowl or rub shaker and then apply to your brisket.
2. The biggest mistake people make is putting on too much rub. You want to be conservative with the rub so that the meat flavor stands out.
3. Make sure you swirl the mixture as you apply it, as the salt can settle to the bottom.
4. Apply rub to the edges of the brisket, using your free hand to catch rub and push it back on.
5. Let the brisket warm up to room temperature for an hour before putting it on the smoker for a more even cook.
2. The cook – how to manage the fire and treat the brisket while it’s cooking
Use an offset smoker for preparing, smoking and slicing the brisket can still be used if you are using a charcoal grill or offset smoker, converted Kettle or any other smoker.
Positioning the brisket on your smoker
Fat side up vs fast side down is a surprisingly controversial topic. While how much this actually matters is up for debate, the right way depends on your smoker setup.
We recommend placing the brisket on the smoker fat side up.
Depending on your smoker, if the heat is coming from below, consider smoking fat-side down to protect the muscle from drying out too much.
Place the fattier point of the brisket closer to the fire. The extra fat will help insulate it.
The flat end of the brisket should be closer to the smoke stack.
Always use a water pan to help keep moisture in the cooking chamber and avoid burning when using a charcoal grill.
How long to cook brisket
Ask any experienced pitmaster how long to cook a brisket and they’ll roll their eyes and tell you to cook until it probes tender.
Two similar sized briskets can have very different cook times based on a number of factors.
But none of this helps you if you’re planning a dinner party and need to have things ready by 6:00pm.
A good rule of thumb for working out how long a brisket will take to cook is 1 hour and 15 minutes per LB (0.45kg) of brisket at 250°F (120°C).
For example: 10lb Brisket x 1.25 hours = 12.5 hours cooked at 250°F.
You can also cook a brisket hot and fast and finish it in less time, and still get great results so give that method a try if you are short on time.
Managing your brisket during the cook
You need to keep a close watch on your smoker and keep the temperature steady.
When the lid of the smoker is open you’re losing heat and smoke and it’s going to take awhile to recover the heat. “If you’re looking you ain’t cooking”.
Check it as little as possible, and if it’s looking dry consider spritzing it using a spray bottle with some apple juice or apple cider vinegar or beef broth.
To ensure a steady temperature and avoid opening the lid too often, make sure you have a quality wireless thermometer setup with dual probes so you can measure the temperature of the smoker, as well as the internal meat temp.
Try and avoid choking off the oxygen too much which can cause a ‘dirty fire’. This can create creosote (a thick, oily substance left over by fire) which causes a bitter, over smoked taste.
Wood choice for brisket is important, so try and avoid green wood or overly cured wood. Using a very dry wood like Post Oak, Hickory and Mesquite woods that has been cured for 9-12 months.
You want to see clean heat coming out of the smoker and not a lot of smoke.
Knowing your cooker and how to manage your fire only comes from a lot of experience so try and maintain an even temperature but don’t freak out if you don’t get it perfect on your first brisket.
How to Keep Your Brisket Moist
Keeping a water pan in the smoker is the best way to retain moisture.
After the first 2-3 hours start spritzing your brisket with water, apple juice, hot sauce or apple cider vinegar every 30 minutes to an hour. This helps keep it moist and stops it from burning.
Some people use a liquid mixture to mop the meat but this causes a bunch of mess and can interfere with the bark on the brisket.
Wrapping your brisket and dealing with the dreaded stall:
Wrapping the brisket in foil (the Texas Crutch) or pink butcher paper is an optional step that can help you in some circumstances.
It can help the brisket retain moisture push through the stall faster.
If your smoker is giving off too much smoke wrapping can also help.
Wrapping in foil can help accelerate the cook time if your guests are getting impatient.
You can wrap the brisket after around 4-6 hours or you can cook for 11 or 12 hours and never need to wrap it. It all comes down to fire management and personal preference.
When the internal temperature of your brisket hits around 150°F -170°F
the temperature can stall as the brisket tightens up and squeezes out moisture. Patience is key.
3. The payoff – wrapping, resting and slicing your brisket
Finishing your brisket
When your brisket has a nice bark formed and is still soft and pliable you might want to wrap it.
• We recommend wrapping the brisket with butcher paper. If you can’t find it in the shops you can get a roll of unwaxed butcher paper on Amazon.
• At this point you might want to start preparing your BBQ sauce and sides
• Once wrapped, put the brisket back on the smoker at 250°F until done. We happen to use appearance and feel of the brisket along with a temperature of 195-203°F to measure when it’s done. We recommend using one of the leave-in thermometer or a good instant read thermometer, and taking it the brisket off the smoker when it’s at an internal temperature of 195-203°F.
Slicing your brisket
Once you’ve taken the brisket off the cooker and let it rest for about an hour, now you are ready to slice.
The proper way to slice a brisket is to cut against the grain on the flat side until you get to the point. And then turn the brisket 90 degrees and then cut against the grain.
Try and avoid scraping off the bark.
Use a sharp knife to slice the brisket.
Cut each slice around the thickness of a big pencil on the fattier part and a small pencil on the leaner part.
If you’re not going to use it right away leave the brisket whole and cut it just before serving so it doesn’t dry out. Make sure the finished brisket is wrapped in butcher paper or in foil and then a towel and hold in a cooler for a few hours.
Brisket is a very uneven cut of meat. Some parts are fatty, some are lean some are thick and some are thin. That’s why it can take so long to master it.
You’re done! Time to relax and enjoy your barbecue brisket with a few drinks. And if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, check out our guide on what to do with brisket leftovers.
