What is up everyone?? Today I am going to walk you through how to smoke a brisket. After quite a few tries and some major fails, I finally figured out my sure fire way for how to smoke a brisket in a smoker with minimal effort. The thing you need the most for this is TIME! This is by far my favorite meat to smoke and the key to a good brisket is to leave it on the smoker longer than you initially think it takes to cook. The first few times I smoked a brisket, we took it off after it looked cooked…and while it was definitely cooked, it was tough and inedible. One of the lessons I learned immediately was to leave it on the smoker for at least 13-16 hours in order to not only attain the flavor we wanted, but to make the meat incredibly tender and juicy. So let’s walk through how to fake an award winning smoked brisket recipe…even if you’re a newbie smoker!
How to Smoke a Brisket
What you need:
Brisket (about 1/2 lb per person you’re trying to feed)
Salt and Pepper
Wood chips (I prefer Mesquite)
Charcoal
13-16 hours of your time
Step One. You are going to want to trim some fat off, but to be honest when you pull the brisket off the smoker the fat melts off of the meat.
Step Two. Season your brisket with the smoked brisket rub of your choice. Personally, I like to just use Salt and Pepper to season my brisket, but there are tons of options out there for brisket rubs that you may want to try out!
Step Three. Once seasoned and the smoker is ready to go with your charcoal and wood chips (I use a charcoal smoker), place your brisket directly onto the smoker and be sure the temperature remains around 225 degrees for about 8 hours. Fight the urge to open the smoker regularly to check on the meat…it drops the temp every time you do so and slows cooking time.
Step Four. At the eight hour mark, pull your brisket off the smoker and wrap it loosely in Butcher Paper. You’ll likely think that the brisket is done at this time…BUT IT IS NOT! It will be too tough to enjoy, so fight that urge to dig in. Once wrapped in the paper, place back on the smoker for another 7-8 hours at 225 degrees. The paper protects the brisket from getting burnt and helps lock the juices in so it’s nice and tender.
Step Five. At the 16 hour-ish mark, pull your brisket off the smoker and let it rest for an hour (still wrapped) on a baking sheet. How to tell when smoked brisket is done is easy…first, use a meat thermometer to check the internal temp of the brisket, which should be around 190 degrees. Second, you’ll know when it’s done if the meat is tender, juicy, and falling apart to the touch. If it still seems tough, put it back on the smoker for some more time.
Step Six. The best part. ENJOY your creation. I typically smoke my meat the day before I want to serve it because it takes so long to smoke…so plan a day in advance if you’re having company over. The day of, I place in the oven wrapped in foil and heat it up and then slice or shred it for guests to enjoy.
Smoked brisket is one of my family’s favorite dinner items…it’s time consuming but 100% worth it! Try different smoked brisket rubs or smoked brisket marinades and have fun with it! Each brisket, in my experience, gets better after you get your smoking technique down.
If you liked this, you’ll love my Smoked Beer Can Chicken recipe!
Be sure to pin this for later!
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