Smoked Brisket

Smoked brisket is a classic barbecue food. A friend of mine from Texas told me that in Texas it is a cheap, throw away meat, but to me it is classic Texas barbecue.

Smoking your brisket takes a bit of time. In fact, you’ll probably want to start it the day before you plan to serve it, unless you want to get up at 5 am. The attached video shows how to smoke it overnight. Alternatively, you can smoke it on the same day using the following times and temperatures.

First things first, you need to trim the fat. You’ll want to leave about a 1/4″ thickness. This will allow the rub to penetrate to the meat, but still leave the flavor and moisture that come from the layer of fat.

Next, rub the meat all over with olive oil and then a generous amount of rub.

Cover with Saran wrap and refrigerate for several hours to overnight. In a pinch, you can smoke it right away, but allowing the seasoning time to penetrate is worth the wait and extra time.

Next, uncover the meat and put it in a 225 degree smoker, along with a pan of water. Because of the limitations of size in our smoker, we cut it in half. The water will help humidify the smoker and diffuse the heat. When the meat reaches 160 degrees (this will take several hours), you will double wrap it with aluminum foil, and then return it to the smoker.

When the meat reaches an internal temperature of 203 degrees (after several more hours), it is done cooking. You will want to wrap the meat inside the in aluminum foil in a towel and then keep it in an ice chest for an additional 1-2 hours. This will allow it to rest and ensure a juicy brisket.

Finally, you will want to slice the flat against the grain (the thinner part), and shred the cap (the thicker, fattier end) for serving. You can also dice it up and make burnt ends with it, but we’ll cover that in a future post. Last, but not least, ENJOY!!!!

Smoked Beef Brisket

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Serves: 15-20

Prep Time:  1 hour

Cook Time: 10-20 hrs

INGREDIENTS:

• 12-14 pound whole beef brisket
• 1 Dry Rub recipe
• Optional: 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

The day before you plan to serve your brisket, trim the excess fat off the brisket (leave ¼ inch thick fat on the brisket), apply olive oil and liberally apply rub to the brisket (as much as will stick).  Wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for several hours up to overnight.  In a pinch you can cook right away, but ideally seasoning would have time to penetrate.

Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees.  We use wood like hickory or mesquite (make sure to soak it in water ahead of time).  Place brisket in the smoker along with a pan of water to humidify the smoker.

When the internal temperature of the brisket is around 160 degrees, double wrap the brisket in aluminum foil.  Replace the temperature probe and return to smoker.  Continue to smoke until the internal temperature reaches 203 degrees (this will take several hours).  Remove from the smoker, wrap in a towel, and place in an insulated cooler to rest for 1-2 hours.

Remove from the ice chest and separate the flat from the cap.  Slice the flat against the grain.  The cap can be shredded and served. Alternatively, the cap can be diced, covered in barbeque sauce, and baked at 250 degrees in the oven until the sauce is caramelized, resulting in delicious burnt ends.

Alternatively, smoke at 170 degrees overnight.  Approximately 5-6 hours before serving, double wrap the brisket in aluminum foil and increase the temperature to 225 degrees.  When the internal temperature reaches 203 degrees, place in the cooler and follow the remaining steps as above.