Smoked Brisket
Brisket done low and slow — Smoked Brisket, Sunday Smoked Brisket Flat, and Smoked Brisket Flat! for weekend cooks feeding a hungry crowd.
★ lunch
lunchIngredients
- 12 lbs Brisket
- 1/4 cup Pepper
- 1/4 cup Salt
- 2 tbsp Garlic
Instructions
- 1You are just combining black pepper, kosher salt, and granulated garlic.
- 2Trim the fat cap to ¼-inch to ½-inch thick.
- 3Rub the brisket all over with the spice rub. Paul will usually do this the night before, and tightly wrap the rubbed brisket in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight. Once ready to cook, be sure to pull it out of the fridge and let the brisket sit at room temperature for a full hour.
- 4Start the smoker and get the temperature up around 225°F to 250°F. Fill a disposable aluminum pan with water and set it on the smoker to create humidity. You will want the water pan to be full during the smoke.
- 5Place the brisket on the smoker fat side up and close the lid. Leave the lid closed and smoke the brisket for at least 3 hours, then start to check it every 30 minutes or so to see that a nice dark color is developing, spritzing the surface of the brisket with water or vinegar in a spray bottle if it starts looking dry.
- 6When the brisket has a dark color and reaches an internal temperature of around 165°F to 170°F on an instant read meat thermometer (around the 5 to 6 hour mark), you might choose to wrap your brisket in unfinished butcher paper or foil. There's nothing scientific about this, just wrap it all up by folding the paper or foil around the meat and stick it back on the smoker. Wrapping the brisket (aka the "Texas Crutch") is totally optional, and we've done it both ways.)
- 7Continue to cook through the stall (a long period where the temperature of the brisket doesn't go up and may even decrease a bit). This can go on for hours, but don't worry, it's totally part of the process of making truly amazing smoked brisket.
- 8The brisket will be done when the internal temperature reads somewhere between 200°F and 210°F (203°F seems to be the magic number) when measured in the middle of the flat part of the brisket (the thinner side of the brisket is called the "flat" and the thicker side is known as the "point").
- 9Remove the brisket from the smoker and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours, still wrapped, until the internal temperature drops to 140°F to 145°F, then slice against the grain and serve. We usually wrap the brisket in a towel and stick it in a cooler during the rest period.
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Open in Pepper →Low Heat And A Long Afternoon
Brisket is a tough cut that turns tender only if you give it time. There's no rushing it, and that's part of why it feels like an occasion — you start early, check the smoker now and then, and the house smells like supper all day.
Cooks on Pepper reach for this collection on a Saturday or a slow Sunday, when there's family coming over or they want leftovers to stretch through the week in sandwiches and tacos.
Every recipe here is brisket and not much else: a simple Smoked Brisket with just salt and pepper, a Sunday Smoked Brisket Flat held together with mustard, a version with hot sauce and seasoning rubbed in, and a Smoked Brisket Flat! with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Quick Tips
- 1
Trim the fat cap
Leave about 1/4 inch of fat on top so it bastes the meat as it renders. Cut away the hard, waxy fat underneath — it never melts.
- 2
Use mustard as glue
A thin smear of yellow mustard helps the salt and pepper rub stick. You won't taste it after 10 hours of smoke.
- 3
Cook to feel not time
Pull the brisket when a probe slides in like soft butter, usually around 203°F internal. Time is only a guess.
- 4
Rest before you slice
Wrap it and let it sit at least 1 hour, longer if you can. Slice against the grain in pencil-thick pieces.
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