Tips on smoking brisket the right way

By Thomas Cox

I have tried to cook brisket numerous times and have screwed it up most of them.

Brisket is hard to cook because of timing.

• If you don’t cook it long enough, it is inedible
• If you cook it too hot, the bark is too hard and it, again, is inedible.
• If you cook it too long, it falls apart and that is not what you want.

So, there are a lot of ways to screw it up.

This method worked out wonderfully. We did a video, but left out some of the details. You can watch it here:

I cooked it overnight simply because I did not make the time to do it during the day and we were using the smoker during the day. In the afternoon, trim the fat but leave ¼ in fat but carve big hard fat off. Then season with brisket rub.

I have my own rub that I make that I will be releasing soon.

It is a mix of:

• Salt
• Garlic
• Pepper
• Paprika

Simple stuff.

• Season good both sides.
• Set for 2-3 hours to let it sweat. Do not put in fridge and bring to room temp.
• Load smoker with wood. I use cherry and pecan.
• Put on fat side up and set your smoker to 215 degrees (Be above Boiling point so fat can be rendered). Tip: I put it on at night around 10.

Cooking Times

Small Brisket (10-11 lbs) – 7 Hours @ 215 Degrees

Large Brisket (14-16 lbs) – 9 Hours @ 220 Degrees

• The next morning, pull and wrap with a bunch of foil. Use the heavy duty foil and wrap it 3 layers thick.
• Put back smoker @ 220 degrees for about 2 hours.
• Cook to 202-203 internal temp. Make sure you use an internal thermometer and test it in the thick side of the meat.
• Take immediately off the smoker and put in a cooler. TIP: I use an Orion 65 and it is OK for it to sit in the cooler for 6-8 hours.

• 3 hours before event/dinner: Slice against grain, pour BBQ Sauce on top and wrap in Saran wrap. Then, put it in a ½ pan and put back in cooler.

I did one brisket like this and then I did another one where I left it in the foil and sliced it on site. So, it was in the foil in the cooler for 11 hours. Tip: the one I sliced on site was better.

I cooked this brisket for the same group of friends that I cooked the first one I tested.

After slicing the last few ends off the last brisket of the night, Jeff comes up to me and says, “Brisket was great! Helluva lot better than the first one you did.”

That’s why I love my friends.

Thomas Cox is the founder and owner of mealfit.co
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