Low and Slow Beef Brisket
Whole Packer Brisket • Salt and Pepper Bark • Post Oak Smoke
Brisket rewards patience more than any other cut on the pit. Keep the heat steady and give it time, and it pays you back with a dark peppery bark and slices so tender they barely hold together. It works on a smoker or a charcoal grill set up for indirect heat, and the method is simple enough that your first brisket can be a good one.
- Makes
- 10 to 12 servings
- Prep
- 30 minutes
- Cook
- 10 to 12 hours
- Rest
- 1 to 2 hours
Ingredients
Makes 10 to 12 servings
Brisket
Rub
Equal parts salt and pepper is the Texas standard. The garlic is a small step off tradition, and it earns its place.
For the pit
Directions
Trim and season
Start with a cold brisket straight from the refrigerator. Cold fat trims cleanly. Soft fat smears.
Trim the fat cap down to about a quarter inch. Remove the hard lump of fat between the point and the flat, and square off any thin edges that would burn during the long cook.
Flip the brisket and remove the silverskin and any loose fat from the meat side.
Rub a thin layer of mustard or oil over every surface. You won't taste it. It just helps the rub stay put.
Mix the salt, pepper, and garlic, then season generously on all sides, edges included. Let the brisket sit at room temperature while your fire comes up.
Smoke and wrap
Bring your smoker or grill to a steady 250°F with clean, thin smoke. On a charcoal grill, bank the coals to one side and set the brisket on the cool side, fat cap toward the heat.
Leave it alone for the first 3 hours. After that, spritz with water about once an hour if the edges look dry.
Wrap the brisket tightly in butcher paper once the bark is set and deep mahogany, usually at an internal temperature of 165 to 170°F.
Return it to the pit and cook until a probe slides into the thickest part of the flat with almost no resistance, typically 200 to 205°F.
Rest and slice
Rest the wrapped brisket in a dry cooler or a turned off oven for at least 1 hour. Don't skip this. The juices need time to settle back into the meat.
Slice the flat against the grain into pencil width slices.
Turn the point 90 degrees when you reach it and keep slicing, since the grain changes direction. Serve bark side up and let the smoke ring do the talking.
A wrapped brisket holds hot in a dry cooler for up to 4 hours. That gives you a real buffer if the cook finishes early, which it often does.
Kitchen Tips
The probe should glide in like it's going through warm butter. Some briskets are ready at 198°F and others need 205°F.
Expect the temperature to sit still for hours somewhere in the 150s and 160s. It's normal, and it's the reason wrapping helps.
If the flat finishes before the point, separate them and give the point more time. Or cube it for burnt ends.
Only slice what you plan to serve. Leftovers stored whole stay far more moist than slices.
