I was terrified to smoke a brisket. With such an expensive piece of meat, I couldn't afford to screw it up. Worse yet, I don't have 18+ hours to spend tending my smoker. So, I learned how to simplify and get a juicy, amazing brisket in just 5 easy steps!
Temperature Controller Kit (if using charcoal smoker)
Tin Foil Roaster Pan - 9x11 or larger
Tin Foil
Cooler for resting meat
Towel for resting meat
Carving Knife
Ingredients
Meat
1Brisket Flat
Seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Montreal Steak Seasoning
1CBeef Brothadd after wrapping in foil
Instructions
Pre-Planning Time Management Tip
Cooking Time - Allow 90 minutes per pound for cooking time. It generally takes 60-90 minutes, but you don’t want to rush. Note, this is for Brisket flat, not full packer which could take longer depending on size. My 7.5lb flat took 11 hours to cook (~90min/lb), but I've also had some take just 60min/lb.
1. SEASON BRISKET
Remove brisket from package and cover with salt, pepper, garlic powder, & Montreal steak seasoning. Seasoning Ratio - I use 4/3/2/1: 4 parts salt, 3 parts Montreal Steak Seasoning, 2 parts Garlic Powder, 1 part Black Pepper. This is a rough estimate as I don't measure, but typical ratios = 4/2/1 for Salt/Garlic/Black Pepper with option to finish with Montreal...I like Montreal seasoning so I add extra. Go with what you like.Trimming Note - I don't trim any fat from the brisket since the flat is already very lean.FUTURE SLICING TIP - Make small cut in one end of brisket against grain to show where to cut later. When I first started smoking brisket I couldn’t find the grain once the brisket was cooked. This is an optional but helpful step.
2. SMOKE BRISKET
Preheat smoker to 250°
Add wood - Once temperature is constant at 250, add ~3 wood chunks to smoker if using charcoal smoker. I use pecan for Brisket. Note, adding wood will cause temp to raise briefly, so you may want to add as temperature is still steadily rising to 250, say at about 240°.Temp Maintain Tip: Use a controller like the Flameboss 400 to maintain contestant temperature if using charcoal smoker. For more temperature tips see bottom of blog post: fulldadmode.com/brisket
Place meat on Grill Grates. IF your heat source is close to the meat, put fat side down. Else put fat side up. I know this is controversial, but I put the fat side down on my Weber Smoker and it turns out great every time.
Smoke until internal temperature reads 165°. Allow 45-60min/lb for unwrapped smoke time. My 7.5lb flat took 5.5 hours.
3. WRAP BRISKET
Wrap Brisket when the internal temperature hits 165.
Prep Tin Foil & Roasting Pan -Use 2 long pieces of tin foil to wrap the brisket. Place brisket on first piece of foil.
Add 1C Beef Broth. Place 1C beef broth in bottom of foil to keep beef tender.
Wrap in Tin Foil - Probe Brisket and wrap around the wire. Wrap with the piece of foil around the brisket then rotate meat 90 degrees and wrap with the second piece of foil. Foil v. Butcher Paper - You can use butcher paper instead of foil, but I like foil because it helps keep juices in brisket rather than absorbing in the paper.
Finish in Oven - Put wrapped brisket in oven at 250 until internal temperature reaches 201°. Keep a temperature probe in the meat to monitor the temperature. Why Oven? - I finish in the oven for efficiency. You can finish on the smoker but if you wrap in foil you're not going to add much more smokiness and save charcoal and effort of not tending to the smoker.
4. REST BRISKET
At 201° remove from oven. Keeping it wrapped in foil or butcher paper and wrap a towel around it. Then put in cooler for 2 hours to maintain moisture.
5. SLICE BRISKET
Cut against the grain in slices about as thick as a pencil. Find the grain on the meat and cut perpendicularly to the lines of the grain. Hopefully you followed my tip to make a small cut in end 1 brisket against grain to show you where to cut prior to smoking. Finding the grain with a fully seasoned and cooked brisket flat can be a challenge.