How To Barbeque Brisket

Brisket is a tough cut of beef made tender by a slow cooking process.

Brisket is a beef cut taken from the breast section beneath the first five ribs, behind the fore shank.

Brisket is one of the toughest, most difficult cuts to cook because brisket is a muscle used for walking. However, cooked the proper way produces one of the tenderest pieces of meat.

The brisket is divided into 2 cuts known as the point and the flat. The flat has almost no fat while the point has a nice "fat cap". The point cut is typically used for chopped meat while the flat is used for both chopped and sliced. The difficulty with brisket is when it is a full piece because the grain of each cut runs perpendicular to each other making it difficult to slice.

If you have to buy the entire brisket, cook the whole brisket then separate the two cuts to eliminate the perpendicular grain.

First, select a cut with a lot of marbling and weighs between 7 to 10 lbs.

The night before you plan to cook your brisket you need to first trim any excess fat from the brisket. You should have no more than 1/4 of fat. Thicker fat will not allow the smoke to penetrate the meat directly under the fat.

After the fat of the brisket is trimmed, you are ready to add your rub. Before I add the rub, I rub the brisket with mustard. The mustard allows the rub to stick to the brisket and adds extra flavor.

Some folks like to use a marinade instead of a rub. I suggest you try both to determine which one you like best.

After adding your marinade or rub, wrap the brisket in cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.

You should take the brisket out of the refrigerator 1 hour before you plan to put it in the smoker.

You should plan to cook your brisket at 215 to 225 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes per pound. Keep the lid closed to minimize heat loss. The only time you should open the lid of your smoker is to add either charcoal or wood or to baste your brisket. I like to baste with warm apple juice.

I baste the brisket about every hour after the first 4 hours. In addition, after approximately 7 hours the brisket will not typically absorb much smoke.

After cooking is complete you and you are ready to slice your brisket, you need to remember to always slice the brisket against the grain. If you have the whole brisket, remember to separate the point from the flat.

To determine the grain of the brisket, remove some of the fat on the fatty (point) side to see which way the grain runs. You will then know that the grain runs for the flat runs in the opposite direction.

Finally, remember most of all to have fun, especially when learning how to barbeque. You will make mistakes but so what, you will learn from them and continue to improve your barbequing skills on you way to becoming a real barbeque pit master.