Smoked Beef Brisket

The beef brisket is the ultimate test for any pit master. It can be and has been proven to be a difficult cut of meat to cook. This piece of meat needs to be cooked low and slow. When I say low and slow, I mean a low temperature and for a long time. Briskets can be very rewarding for the person to make even more rewarding to eat.

Warning you will be working with sharp items and with a smoker that can burn you. Make sure that you are careful and take your time when cutting and tending the smoker.

Supplies:

· Full Brisket

· Salt

· Pepper

Equipment:

· Smoker, I use a propane smoker but others types will work minus the electric smoker

· Propane tank

· Wood Chucks

· Sharp Knife and sharpener

· Cutting Board

· Cookie Sheet

· Tin Foil or Butcher Paper

· Gloves

· Meat Thermometer

This step you will get everything together that you will need to prepare the brisket. The salt, pepper, knife, sharpener, gloves, meat thermometer and the brisket on a cookie sheet.

Once everything is set out, put your gloves on.

Start to trim the Brisket. When I say trim the brisket, I am talking about trimming the fat off from the brisket. I have found that leaving about 1/4” to 1/2” of fat on the top of the brisket is about right. The fat to melt off when it is being smoked and it will keep the brisket moist. Cut all the fat off the bottom side of the brisket. The top of the brisket will normally have a fat cap on it (fat cap layer of fat across the top). The fat that you trim off can be thrown away.

Tip: I found that if the brisket is still cold the meat is firmer, and it is easier to trim the brisket and having a sharp knife helps.

This is the time that you will put the seasoning on

the brisket. The seasoning that I use is the traditional Texas style, it is just salt and pepper. You can put other seasoning on the brisket, it depends on your taste. Once you have your seasoning on one side flip the brisket over and season the other side. Use your hands to rub the seasoning into the meat some.

Also put the meat thermometer in the big part of the brisket which is known as the point.

Let the meat sit until it reaches room temperature.

Tip: I use the salt and pepper grinders with the grinder set to large.

Go outside and start the smoker. Follow the start up for the smoker that you

are using. I use hickory wood chunks when I am smoking a beef brisket.

I will let the smoker get up to temp for smoking. When I am smoking a brisket, I like to run the smoker between 225 and 250 degrees.

When the smoker is at temp you should have nice smoke coming out of the smoker.

Tip: The smoke shouldn’t be really white and heavy. If the smoke is like that the temperature is more than likely to cool and it can give a bad taste to the meat. In this last picture that is about right for the amount of smoke and color.

It is at this point that you will put the brisket into the smoker and sit back and watch the temperature on the smoker.

This is the long part of making the brisket. This stage can take from 8 hours to 14 hours. It all depends on how big the brisket is and how big the smoker is. The brisket will be smoked to the temperature of 190 degrees.

You will need to add more wood to the smoker throughout the time of smoking the meat.

Tip: The brisket will get to the temperature of 165 degrees where it will hit a wall and stay at the temperature. Don’t worry this is normal and it is at this point if you want to wrap the brisket you can, but it isn’t needed. When I say wrap the brisket, I mean you can take the brisket out and wrap it in butcher paper or tin foil. It will need to go back into the smoker to finish than.

When the brisket reaches 190 degrees it is time to put the brisket out of the smoker and wrap the brisket if it isn’t already.

At this point you will want to put the brisket in the oven or a cooler to let the brisket rest. The brisket will rest for about 1 hour before cutting the brisket. When the time is up you will unwrap the brisket on a cutting board.

The brisket will look black and burnt but that is called the bark. The bark is the seasoning that was put on the brisket. The bark is normal, and it adds to the taste of the meat.

You will cut the brisket now starting with the thinner side which is known as the flat. Once you get to the point which is the thicker part of the brisket you will rotate the brisket 90 degrees and continue to cut the meat. The slice of meat should be about the thickness of a pencil.

At this time, you will be ready to enjoy the work that you put into making this bad boy.

Tip: You will want to cut against the grain of the meat. And you will be doing that to start with the brisket laying in front of you the long way.