Let's get cooking!
If you are a visual learner, check out this video brought to you by Darren Warth, World Champion BBQ Pitmaster!
Trimming
Trim cold brisket to remove excess fatty bits and to the size and shape you prefer. The larger and less trimmed brisket increases its cook time. After you’ve trimmed (it’s up to you how much you want to trim sometimes I don’t take much fat off at all) you want to lightly coat with cooking oil, this is going to help the rub adhere to the brisket. Apply the rub as follows (you don’t have to put the rub on the fat)
Prepping
About 1 to 2 hours before you plan to put the brisket on, pull it from the fridge, remove it from the bag and let it come up to room temp(ish). You don't want to put a cold brisket in your smoker as it will increase your cook time due to the cold brisket bringing down the temp of your smoker.
Low & Slow on the Smoker
Cook time: 10-12 hrs. at 250°F
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Heat smoker to 250°F. Place brisket in smoker fat side down and cook until internal temperature reaches 170°F (about 5 hours)
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Wrap-At this time, a nice crust will form on the outside of the brisket. This is known as bark. Don’t allow the crust to become too charred. To protect the brisket from becoming charred, remove the brisket from the smoker, wrap in foil, and put it back on the smoker.
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Remove brisket from heat when internal temperature reaches 197 - 200°F (approximately 3 to 4 more hours). The best way to tell when it is ready is when the thermometer slides into the center of the brisket like butter. We call this the probe test.
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Rest-Wrap in a thick, heavy blanket and let it rest for 3 hours. Briskets can also be wrapped in towels and placed in a cooler during this time.
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Remove brisket from blanket or towels.
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Slice, add sauce, and serve.
Hot and fast
Cook time: 4-6 hrs. at 300° F
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Heat smoker to 300°F. Place brisket in smoker fat side down and cook until internal temperature reaches 160 - 165°F (about 2 hrs.-2.5hrs.). Mist with a spray bottle of water, beef broth, or apple juice every 30 minutes.
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Wrap-Use the "wrap on color" technique. As soon as the exterior bark is a deep mahogany (dark reddish/brown) color, it's time to wrap (after about 3 hrs.). Wrap brisket with aluminum foil or uncoated butcher paper-cook for 2 more hours.
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Finish-Begin checking brisket for tenderness after 2 hours. To check for tenderness, slightly open the foil and insert the skewer or thermometer probe into the brisket. Desired tenderness is achieved when the skewer easily slides into the brisket. It should feel as though you are inserting a skewer into a stick of butter. If the brisket is still tough, re-seal the foil and repeat the test every 30 minutes. It is far better to slightly over-cook a brisket than to under-cook one. This is a “feel” operation, but the target temperature is about 210°F.
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Rest- Rest brisket for a minimum of 2 hours in an insulated cooler, cambro, or wrapped in towels. Slice and serve!
Take it a step further
From this point, you have a couple of options. You can remove any excess fat and slice everything and sauce and serve, or you can slice the flat and make burnt ends from the point. To make burnt ends, separate the point from the flat and discard any fat. Set aside the flat. Remove all fat from the point and cut into cubes. Placed cubed points back into the sheet pan with juice/drippings. Put back on the smoker for 20-30 min. Remove from heat and discard juice. Slice the flat, put the burnt ends out, sauce, and serve.