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smoked brisket

Best Smoked Brisket

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Ingredients
  

  • 12-18 lbs full-sized whole beef brisket, trimmed
  • 1/2 cup yellow mustard, olive oil, or other neutral liquid to adhere the seasonings
  • 1/4 cup of your favorite rub or brisket seasoning mix
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp cracked black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Trim the brisket so there’s only a thin fat cap over the meat. Let the brisket come to room temperature, which takes about 1 hour for a full brisket or 40 minutes for a half.
  • Coat the surface of the meat, including the bottom, with the liquid you’ve chosen as an adhesive for your seasoning. Yellow mustard goes well with the flavors of the brisket, but you can also use olive oil for a more neutral base. Apply a thick coating of your chosen rub or seasoning mix, including to the bottom of the brisket.
  • Bring the smoker up to 240 to 250 degrees F. This is a higher smoking temperature than is used for most smoking recipes, but it helps push the brisket past the stalling point faster without letting it dry out. The result is a thicker bark and juicier interior with a soft but sliceable texture.
  • Place the brisket on the smoker uncovered. Let it smoke for about 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F and you are happy with the amount of bark on the surface. Wrap the meat in butcher paper or aluminum foil, then continue smoking until the meat is 200 to 205 degrees F internally.
  • Let the meat rest for 20 minutes and serve.

Notes

*photo by hwicker licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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