Texas Style Smoked Brisket

1. Choose the perfect brisket. You definitely don’t want to skimp on quality! The grade of your meat matters with brisket, and you should plan on buying a prime cut (choice will be far dryer and have much less flavor). I really like @1855blackangusbeef for their amazing quality!
2. Prep your smoker to use indirect heat and bring your smoker temperature to 225 degrees using your choice of wood (I prefer applewood).
3. Season whole brisket the way you like (with dry seasoning only) and let rest at room temperature for an hour.
4. Put the brisket into the smoker over indirect heat with the thicker portion closest to your heating source and smoke the brisket until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
5. Once the brisket has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees, remove from the smoker and wrap the brisket folding edge-over-edge with butcher paper until the whole brisket is fully wrapped up like a present.
6. Put wrapped brisket back into the smoker until the internal temperature reaches between 200 and 205 degrees.
7. Remove brisket from smoker and allow to rest for at least 1 hour prior to serving.

A few pro tips

1. I can’t stress it enough, quality of meat definitely matters with brisket! It’s usually only a few dollars more per pound to go with higher quality brisket and it’s 100% worth it! You can choose between the flat of the brisket or a tip, but because of the time involved, I highly recommend buying a whole brisket. In addition to the time involved, the whole brisket will leave you with a variety of different textures in the end product.
2. Plan on purchasing 1/2 pound (or more) for every person you’re going to be serving. Time labor not included, brisket can be a very good way to feed a crowd on a budget.
3. Trim the fat cap off of the brisket. It won’t render down and with the right quality of meat, the internal marbling of the brisket will be sufficient fat for amazing flavor.
4. I highly recommend using a digital thermometer.
5. You can use foil to wrap your brisket, but wrapping your brisket in butcher paper is so important for amazing bark and a nice, deep, smokey flavor. You’ll simply wrap it like you’re wrapping a present, folding edge-over-edge until the brisket is fully covered.
6. Soaking your brisket in a (dry) salt brine for 12 hours prior to smoking will yield AMAZING results, but if you don’t have the time, try (dry) brining for at least 4 hours minimum.
7. There’s always stall time in smoking brisket; between 150 to 170 degrees internal temperature, the internal temperature will stall for sometimes as long as 5 hours before starting to climb towards the ultimate 200 degree goal. That’s completely normal! Keep smoking until an internal temperature of 200 is reached. Then it’s done.
8. Rest your brisket for at least 1 hour! DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. It will allow all of those incredible favors and juices to settle back into the final product!
9. When slicing your brisket, always wait until right before serving, brisket can dry out fairly easily.
10. Always cut against the grain when slicing brisket.
11. Slather it with your favorite BBQ sauce!
12. Finish your brisket with smoked maldon salt for a great burst of flavor in every bite!
13. Enjoy and tag me in a picture of your finished product! I would love to see how it turns out for you.

Pro pairing tip:

This brisket pairs beautifully with a nice Syrah! The smokeyness of the syrah and the deep flavors of the brisket will have your tastebuds singing!