Smoke a Brisket

Nothing beats the smell or taste of a smoked brisket. Smoking a brisket takes time and attention, but it is worth the effort to please your guests with this backyard barbecue treat. Learn how to choose meat for a brisket, prepare it for smoking, smoke it like an expert, and serve it up to your guests.

Steps

Buying a Brisket

  1. Buy a fresh piece of meat. Since you are taking the trouble to smoke a brisket, start with the freshest piece of meat you can find. A good piece of brisket should be deep red. It should be tender and spring back to the touch. Make sure it has a fresh, clean smell.
    • Try to ensure the brisket you buy has not been frozen. Frozen brisket makes for a less tender finished product.
    • Lift the brisket. If it feels stiff or flops over, either it has been frozen or it is no longer fresh.
  2. Make sure the brisket has good marbling. Briskets turn out fall-apart tender because they are laced with fat, both inside and out. Choose a piece of meat with a good "fat cap" - the white layer of fat at the tip of the brisket - and plenty of marbling all over the meat.
    • The only part of the meat without much fat is the flat section.
    • The fat should be bright white. If it looks yellow, the meat has likely been frozen or is not fresh.
  3. Choose the right size. A brisket between 8 and 12 pounds will feed a large party. Smaller briskets may cook too quickly, so avoid going below 8 pounds. Larger briskets cook too slowly and become tough after staying in the smoker for so long.

Preparing the Brisket

  1. Start the night before. The brisket has to sit in the refrigerator overnight to tenderize. If you smoke it without taking this step, it will not be as flavorful.
  2. Trim the fat. If the fat cap is too thick, the brisket will not cook as evenly. Trim it back to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} to ensure the smoke can penetrate to the meat.
  3. Choose to use a rub or a marinade. A rub is composed of dry spices that are rubbed into the meat, while a marinade tenderizes the meat with wet ingredients.
    • You can buy a rub made with pre-mixed spices, or make one yourself using your favorite seasonings. Mix salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and pepper in a bowl. Add brown sugar if you want the meat to have a sweet barbecue taste. Pour the mixture of the meat and rub it in.
    • You can buy a marinade made with pre-mixed oils and spices, or make your own using salt, spices, olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Mix the marinade in a bowl. Place the brisket in a large baking dish and pour the marinade over the meat, making sure it is covered on all sides.
  4. Refrigerate the brisket overnight. Wrap the brisket in plastic wrap if you are using a rub, or if you're using a marinade, cover the baking dish. Place the brisket in the refrigerator and allow it to tenderize overnight.
  5. Let the brisket come to room temperature before cooking. Plan to remove the brisket from the refrigerator a few hours before it is time to cook it. This helps the brisket begin cooking faster when you place it in the smoker.

Smoking the Brisket

  1. Get the smoker or grill ready. Smokers cook meat slowly with indirect heat, allowing the fat from the meat to soften and distribute through the tissue, making it tender and delicious. This effect can be achieved Make a Smoker Grill if you don't have a smoker.
    • Use the "indirect heat" method of cooking on a grill by either pushing all the coals to one side and cooking on the other, or only lighting one side of a gas grill.
    • Place hardwood chips that have been soaking in water for at least 1 hour over the fire. These produce the smoke that flavors the meat and the moisture that keeps it from drying out.
    • Add a drip pan below where the meat will sit, since a fair amount of fat will drip off while it cooks.
  2. Place the brisket on the grill. Set it fat side up, not directly over the heat. Let it smoke for 1 hour and 15 minutes for every pound of meat, rotating it 180 degrees in the middle of the cooking cycle. Keep the lid on the smoker when you are not rotating it.
    • Maintain a grill temperature between 200 and 250 degrees, the closer to 200 the better.
    • Consider basting the meat while it cooks to keep the meat moist and add extra flavor. Baste no more than once an hour, since smoke gets released every time you open the lid.
  3. Remove the brisket from the smoker when it's finished cooking. The brisket is finished when it reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees. Keep cooking it until the temperature rises to about 185, then remove it from the smoker and set it on a plate.

Serving the Brisket

  1. Slice the brisket against the grain. This ensures the meat stays tender and does not fall apart. Slice the meat as thin or as thick as you like it.
  2. Serve the brisket. It is wonderful on its own with barbecue sauce, but you can also serve it on sandwich buns.


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Tips

  • Add more soaked wood chips as needed. The smoke gives the meat flavor and the moisture helps in cooking, so do not let them run out.
  • If you have a small grill (or a large slab of meat, or multiple briskets) create a heat shield between the fire and the meat with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Do it in a way that keeps the direct heat off the meat, but does not impede airflow. Rotating the meat occasionally will also prevent one side (or piece) from cooking more than the others.
  • If you are using a gas grill, buy a smoker box to hold your wood chips, or nest them in two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, with an open top, so the smoke can get out.

Warnings

  • Wear leather work gloves when checking the meat to prevent burning your hands.

Things You'll Need

  • Brisket
  • Rub or marinade ingredients
  • Plastic wrap
  • Smoker or grill
  • Wood chips
  • Grill tongs
  • Meat baster
  • Cutting board
  • Knife

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