Smoked Beef Brisket

Smoking a brisket is a lot more simple than the “experts” want you to believe. All you really need is time.

PREP TIME: 30 mins

COOK TIME: 8–15 hrs

RESTING TIME: 1–2 hrs

TOTAL TIME: est 16 hrs 30 mins

SERVINGS: 8–18 people

Tools You Will Needed to Smoke ThisBrisket

• Smoker. I like to use my Char-Broil American Gourmet Offset Smoker that my dad bought from Walmart over 20 years ago. She’s nothing fancy, has been patched a few times but she will get the job done. When it comes to choosing a smoker you don’t need to go out and buy a $500 smoker. Sure, it’s something to brag about to your friends but so long as your smoker can hold a steady temperature of 225 degrees F you’re solid.
• Cutting Board. You’ll need a surface to slice your brisket on once it’s ready to serve.
• Meat Thermometer. A thermometer isn’t really a need for brisket, after you’ve smoked a couple you’ll soon realize there’s a certain feel they have when they are ready. However, being this is probably your first brisket, any reliable thermometer will do just fine.
• A Knife. A good, sharp knife to slice your brisket is a must!
• Heat Resistant Gloves. Wearing one on your non-cutting hand is a great idea. Maybe I need to toughen the fuck up, but I highly recommend a heat-resistant glove. It will make slicing much more enjoyable.

Selecting Your Brisket

Plan to purchase a whole brisket with both the point and flat muscle included. I recommend spending a little extra money and get the USDA prime cut. You will have more fat marbling and fat in general. Fat + beef is a good thing! Pro tip “buy a 1/2 pound to a pound more of brisket per person than you think you will need”

Season Your Brisket

Let’s keep it simple here. Salt, black pepper, and garlic powder are all we need. If you’re worried about making your own then buy a brisket rub off the shelf. It may have a few more ingredients in it but those won’t change the flavor or take away from the smoke only adding a little extra layer of goodness.

Smoke em Up: Use a hardwood in your smoker. Though charcoal is fine if that’s all you have. I used oak or pecan as the base wood for almost everything I smoke. Our goal here is consistent heat and a steady flow of clean smoke.

Let Your Brisket Rest: DO NOT SKIP THIS!!!! Just like cooking any kind of meat resting allows so many of those hot and bubbly juices to settle down a little and redistribute to the meat. Which helps with dryness. If you’ve ever had a brisket that felt like it was trying to choke you on the way down was probably because the person preparing it didn’t know what the hell they were doing and most likely didn’t allow the meat to rest before slicing and all the good juiciness was lost on the cutting board.

Finally Slice and Serve: You want to slice your smoked brisket against the grain for maximum tenderness. Two overlapping muscles go into two different grain directions. Therefore, these muscles will need to be cut in two different directions. This isn’t a “how to cut a Brisket blog” but there are plenty of videos and other resources that can teach help.

How Long Do I Smoke a Brisket

I wish I could tell you to turn the knob and when you hear the buzzer it’s ready. However, we are working with wood and the elements here, so smoking will not take an exact time. On average, I plan about 8 to 14 hours at 225 degrees F. depending on how big the chunk of meat is. I usually plan an extra 2 hours for each of my brisket cooks because there is no biggie if it is done early. I can always set it in a cooler and allow it to rest for a while longer. The cooler will insulate the meat and maintain temperature until your quest arrives.

At the end of the day smoking, brisket can be imitated if you’ve never done it before. The key factors are to check your temp, allow it to rest, and don’t burn it up. If you can do those with just a little bit of seasoning I don’t see why you and your friends and family won’t be enjoying delicious brisket sandwiches for years to come. Trust me there’s no way you’re messing this one up the key is to let it smoke the time needed and everything else will take care of itself.