Texas-Style Smoked Brisket
Tags: #meat #barbecue #texas
Serving: 12 servings
Total time: 12–16 hours
Central Texas classic with a simple salt-and-pepper rub, post oak smoke, and a proper long rest for tender, juicy slices.
Ingredients
- 5000 g whole packer beef brisket, untrimmed
- 100 g kosher salt
- 70 g coarse black pepper
- 300 ml water (for spritzing)
- 1000 g post oak wood chunks or splits
Steps
- Refrigerate the brisket for 30 minutes to firm for trimming.
- Trim the external fat cap to 6–8 mm thickness.
- Remove the hard deckle fat from the underside.
- Square thin or ragged edges of the brisket.
- Pat the brisket dry with paper towels.
- Mix the salt and black pepper in a bowl.
- Season the fat-cap side evenly with the rub.
- Flip the brisket.
- Season the meat side evenly with the rub.
- Rest the seasoned brisket at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the smoker to 120°C with indirect heat.
- Add the post oak wood to the smoker.
- Place the brisket on the smoker grate with the fat cap facing the heat source.
- Insert a temperature probe into the thickest part of the flat.
- Smoke the brisket until the internal temperature reaches 70–75°C.
- Spritz the surface lightly with water every 45 minutes after the first 3 hours.
- Wrap the brisket tightly in unwaxed pink butcher paper when the bark is set.
- Return the wrapped brisket to the smoker.
- Cook the brisket until the internal temperature reaches 93–98°C.
- Probe the flat and point for tenderness with a thermometer or skewer.
- Remove the brisket from the smoker when the probe slides in with little resistance.
- Loosen the wrap to vent steam for 5 minutes.
- Rewrap the brisket tightly.
- Wrap the brisket in a clean towel.
- Rest the brisket in an insulated cooler for 1–2 hours.
- Unwrap the brisket and place it on a cutting board.
- Separate the point from the flat along the natural seam.
- Slice the flat across the grain into 6–8 mm slices.
- Slice the point across the grain into 10–12 mm slices.
- Serve the slices with any collected juices.
Notes