Smoked Brisket is one of the many delicious food that you can make in a smoker. It is amazing to note how beautiful and delicious a smoked brisket can be if it is done properly. It is an art form that needs to be mastered with years of professional practice. We are here to get you started on your journey. Your first attempt might not go as you plan and it might not turn out to be perfect either but it is going to get better with practice. So let's get into it.
Recipe Highlights
It is important to note that making smoked brisket is like having a complicated relationship. Each brisket is not the same. The rules are there to act as a guideline but you are going to need to think on your feet each time you are cooking a brisket to get the best flavor out of it. Many people have tried to go by the exact instructions on the recipe book and it has often turned out to be bad. Instead of focusing on the exact recipe for the smoked brisket, it is better to know about the attention to details that you must place when you are cooking on a smoker and how the actual cut is going to affect the taste and smoking process.
What is Brisket?
Brisket comes from the cow. Each cow has two brisket which are essentially two distinct muscles with important connective tissue. There are different layers of marbling that you can get on your brisket and this part is usually well exercised because when the cow walks, this area is in use which makes the meat very tough so you need to cook it low and slow to make it tender. The long smoking process breaks down all the dense muscle and fat. So here is how you can smoke the brisket to perfection. Remember that selection of the cut is also an important part of cooking.
Selection
The marbling of the entire cut is going to affect the taste of the brisket. If you think about it then the taste comes from the quality of the meat. The meat is regarded as high quality if there is a lot of good fat in the right place. If you want a juicy tender meat morsel then you have to buy a good quality beef from the butcher. The cut should have proper lean meat along with fat. It is smarter to buy from a butcher than from a supermarket because then you can directly instruct the butcher about what you specifically want. There are different kinds of meat available. Here is a comparison
- Grass fed - They are not good for smoking. These cows have very less intramuscular fat which is going to make the meat tough.
- USDA Rated - They are pretty good and will do the job.
- American Wagyu - This is the perfect meat for a smoked brisket with the perfect amount of marbling. They can be very expensive.
Note that when you are buying the meat they should not be too stiff. The main motive of the brisket is to slowly render the fat pockets in meat and cause the melted flavor to lubricate or moisturize the surrounding cells.
Trim The Brisket
Briskets come with a good amount of fat. Some of it will be rendered while some will not. You have to prepare the brisket by trimming off the fat that won’t render. You should gave a good knife for this. Do not be afraid to trim. You can go ahead and season your brisket after you are down trimming. There is no hard and fast rule for trimming as each brisket is going to be different.
Season The Brisket
You need to coat the brisket with some kind of oil, we prefer to use olive oil so that there can be a base for the dry rub to stick to. Coarse black pepper, kosher salt, and granulated garlic are mixed in equal portions to create the dry rub. This seasoning is simple and it allows the true flavor of the brisket to come through.
Smoke The Brisket
Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. This is important to note that you have to use both lump charcoal and wood for this process. We like to use fruit wood so that the brisket can get a sweeter flavor. Place the thermometer probe into the flat of the brisket. It is important to monitor the cooking and the temperature during the smoking process. The temperature needs to be stable so that it can render the fat in the brisket. Some people prefer to cook it at 225 degrees Fahrenheit but that takes too long and does not cause any significant changes in flavor or texture. Then you are going to need to leave it for at least five hours.
Wrap The Brisket
When the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit then you need to take it off from the smoker and then wrap it in pink butcher paper. You can get pink butcher paper easily from the market. It is not that hard to find. You can even get it from the butcher that you bought the brisket from. Peach or pink butcher paper is used because they are more breathable than foil. This wrap allows the internal temperature of the brisket to rise more quickly. The intramuscular fat will fully render out during this period. It is a very important part of the cooking process. The timing needs to be implemented properly. A little bit of time difference can make a change in the taste of the brisket.
The Stall
There is going to be a period in the cooking process that will be known as “the stall”. You might have never heard of this but it is actually a fact. The stall can happen in between 160 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit. The fat liquefied due to the heat from the smoker. That is what you would expect to happen when you are applying heat to the meat. The melted fat interacts with the meat and there is kind of a cooling effect that takes place. Don't be alarm at this. This is why it is important to wrap at 165 degrees Fahrenheit, regardless of anything. Do not make the mistake of cooking according to time and not the temperature.
Remove and Rest
When the wrapped brisket reaches close to 195 degrees Fahrenheit, you have to probe the meat to check if it is done. If you face some resistance then that means that the intramuscular fat hasn’t fully rendered out yet. You need to let it smoke some more. Do not worry because some baskets might take a little longer to cook. For it to be done you must feel like entering the probe into room temperature butter. After you remove it from the smoker, let it rest for 30 minutes. If you cut out the briskey immediately after taking it out from the smoker then the juices will all run out instead of staying in the meat and all your hard work will go to waste. Just let it rest. You have waited for 5 hours, another 30 minutes is nothing.
Slicing
This is the last step of the recipe. You have to slice against the grains of the brisket for the best results. You have to go with the grain because going against the grain can make it difficult for you. After you have done it all, you can serve it to your guests. That's all that we have to say about it.
Conclusion
That's the end of the article. Thank you so much for giving it a read. We are sure that you can make the perfect smoked brisket with a little bit of practice and patience. Most people do not paying attention to the little things and they end up with bad or medium tasting brisket. However, we have made the entire process much easier for you so you do not have to worry about it. Just make sure you follow the process properly. Thank you once again for sticking to the very end. Have a good day. Take care of yourself and make sure to share the food with your friends and family!
