For barbecue lovers, the holy grail of meats is the smoked brisket. Brisket is a very tough cut of beef from the lower breast requiring special preparation to turn it into the tender, juicy entree that we know and love. Texas style smoked brisket is more of a process than it is a recipe. The process involves 5 steps...
Trimming the brisket
Applying the rub
First smoke to 165 degrees F internal
Second smoke (After wrapping in peach butcher paper) to 195 degrees F internal
30 minute rest in an insulated cooler
Tools:
First of all, you will need a smoker. Smokers are available in all shapes, sizes and of course price categories. Smokers (in addition to adding the smoke flavor to meats) are designed to keep a constant low temperature on the meat for extended periods of time (up to 12 hours). Brisket is one of the meats that must be cooked LOW AND SLOW typically at 225 degrees F for a minimum of 9 hours.
I have experience with two types of smokers, the manual "Bullet Smoker" and the automatic "Pellet Smoker". I will describe each below.
The simplest of all smokers is what is known as the Bullet Smoker. Weber makes a great one called the Smokey Mountain Cooker. This one uses charcoal and it has a water pan to keep steam in the cooking chamber to prevent the meat from drying out. Many professional barbeque competitions have been won using the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.
Pros:
Simple
Inexpensive
Full control of all aspects of the cooking profile
Does not require electricity (You can take it camping)
Cons:
Requires frequent manual intervention to ensure temperature is correct
Requires external temperature probes to sense the internal meat temperature
Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker ($279.00)
For those who prefer to not babysit a smoker for 10 hours at a time, we have the automatic pellet smoker. A pellet smoker uses wood pellets (Similar to a pellet stove) that are fed into the cooking chamber by a motor. The rate of pellet feed is computer controlled so you can set the thermostat like you do an oven and let the smoker do the work.
Pit Boss Vertical Pellet Smoker ($449.00)
Pros:
Easy to use, load it up, turn it on and forget about it for 10 hours.
Some models are WIFI connected, they can monitor meat / smoker temp
WIFI models typically come with an app so you can control / monitor from your phone
Wide selection of pellets make from different hardwood (Apple, Hickory, Cherry etc.)
Cons:
Requires electricity which makes it difficult to take on the road camping etc
If you do get a smoker without WIFI connectivity, consider a standalone WIFI temperature probe that will allow you to monitor things remotely.
Inkbird WIFI 4 probe meat thermometer ($85.00)
About the only other thing you need (besides an appetite) is PINK BUTCHER PAPER. You can get this on Amazon.
That's about it on tools, let's talk Meat Prep...
Briskets have 2 sections the FLAT and the POINT (or Round). The flat is a leaner piece of meat which requires less cook time. You can buy brisket whole (Flat + Point) or you can buy the flat or point separately. The Point is a very fatty portion (up to 70% fat) but it yields the best tasting, juiciest brisket. In my video, I used a brisket Flat that I purchased from Costco.
Once you remove the brisket from the vacuum package, rinse it off with water and pat dry with paper towels. The next step is to trim off the excess fat leaving about 1/8 of an inch remaining.
Next is time for the rub (or spice). There are many camps when it comes to brisket rub. The purists (the legendary Aaron Franklin from Austin Texas) swears by a simple rub of only salt and pepper. I have tried many rubs and have my own special rub recipe that I will share below.
After trimming the fat, cover both sides of the brisket with yellow mustard. (This is not for flavor, its to provide a binding agent to keep the rub on the meat)
After covering with mustard, generously apply the rub to both sides. ITS TIME TO SMOKE !
Into the smoker it goes, smoker temperature 225 degrees F, we are looking for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F which is the point where we remove the brisket and wrap it in pink butcher paper. The butcher paper wrap prevents evaporation temperature stall, and provides some extra steam which helps develop the outer crust.
First Smoke - Smoker Temp 225 degrees, internal meat temp 165 degrees
Second Smoke - Smoker Temp 225 degrees, internal meat temp 195 degrees
Once the internal temperature of the meat reaches 195 degrees, pull it out of the smoker and let it rest in a ice chest (No ice please) for 30 minutes while still wrapped in the butcher paper. This rest step is essential to allow the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat.
That's about it, slice and serve with your favorite barbecue sauce.
Franks Rub Recipe:
2 Tablespoons ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons sweet paprika
2 Tablespoons pure chili pepper powder (e.g. ancho)
2 teaspoons onion salt
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 teaspoons celery salt
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