How to Smoke Beef Brisket!

To select a good brisket you will need to know a little bit about how they are cut. Depending on where you live it is sometimes hard to find a good one. There is a flat cut that is about 2-3 inches thick and kind of square. This can be a good choice if most of the fat is still attached. I have found that most markets trim off too much fat. Brisket is not very good if cooked with little or no fat it drys out too much.
The best choice if you can find it is a whole cut brisket around 10-12 pounds.(you could go a little larger if you have a grill or a smoker large enough to handle it) This will have a lot of fat on it and that is what you want it will help keep it from drying out too much while it is cooking. The price is not all that important cheaper is better when you are starting out often you can find a whole brisket for $1 per lb or less. You may see some that are a lot more but when cooked and prepared right they will all be really good!

I like to rinse off my meat with cold water before I do anything it always seems to help with flavor after it is cooked from my experience. Next I like to marinade my brisket. I use one or two cans of beer about a 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce a little powdered garlic and onion if you like them to taste I use quite a bit about 2 tablespoons each or so. Mix all of this and place brisket in large deep bowl or pan or you could use a large plastic bag pour marinade over brisket and add enough water to make sure that meat is covered. Give it a least 30 minutes up to 2 hours to soak up flavor. Pull out brisket and cover with a good rub or season salt be very liberal as it is hard to get too much. No you are ready to cook it.

No here is where we make it or break it. The only way to get a brisket that is tender is to cook it low and slow for a long time. Brisket has a chemical in it called tannins it takes longer cook times to get the tannins to break down and make the meat tender. I always cook mine at around 220 to 225 for at least 12 hours I like to cook mine until the internal temp is at least 180 and if you want it to fall apart cook it until it reaches 200.

This can be accomplished on a regular grill using the indirect cooking method heat on one side with a water pan over it and brisket(fat side up) on the other. Normally about 4-6 hours into cooking you will need to wrap it in foil to keep it from drying out. I did this many times before I broke down and bought a cookshack electric smoker( I know this is cheating but sometimes I just don't like to babysit the grill or old fashioned smoker. The key to cooking a brisket is keeping the temp regulated between 200-250 preferably around 220-225 is ideal. You will also want to add some wood chips to produce smoke. I prefer apple or pecan usually pecan. For a gas grill place in foil and poke holes in it and put as close to flames as possible. For charcoal just add a couple of chunks in with the charcoal after you start cooking if you really want a lot of smoke soak them in water first( I prefer dry as it can take away too much heat when wet). You will not need any smoke after the first 3-4 hours as the flavor will be there. monitor regularly for temp and after 12 hours check internal meat temp with thermometer until desired temp is achieved. When done remove from heat you it is recommended to place in foil and wrap in towels and let it rest in a cooler for 30 min up to 3-4 hours to let all of the juices equalize in the meat(most of the time I am too hungry to wait that long!)

Here is the most important part... First you will need a large very sharp knife. You will scrape some to the remaining fat off the top to reveal the grain of the meat on the thickest/fattest end you have 2 layers of meat with some fat in between pull off top layer and slice separately. Now you will need to slice across(perpendicular) to the grain this will give you the most tender slices possible.( also try not to eat too much while slicing as others may be hungry too if you get caught just share a bite or two) Serve with good BBQ sauce on the side. I us only a>