Smoked Brisket
Low and slow until the probe slides in like butter.
The long one. Twelve hours of oak smoke, a butcher-paper wrap, and a rest you cannot rush.
- Total
- 12–20 hrincluding the rest
- Cut
- Whole packer brisket, 10–14 lb
- Pellets
- Oak, or oak and hickory
- Grill
- Weber Searwood pellet grill
Done whenThe probe slides into the flat with almost no resistance.
Smoke 225°FFinish 250°FRest 2–4 hr
The cook
Trim and season
- Trim the fat cap to about ¼ inch.
- Cut away the hard chunks of fat.
- Coat lightly with yellow mustard if you want the rub to stick.
- Season every side generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
How you know: Keep some fat on. It is flavour and moisture.
Smoke
- Run oak, or an oak and hickory mix.
- Lay the brisket fat-side down.
- Leave the lid alone and let a dark bark build.
- Start checking the internal temperature after four hours.
How you know: Wrap when the bark is set and the internal temperature reads 165–175°F.
Wrap
- Lay out two large sheets of butcher paper.
- Set the brisket in the middle.
- Add 2–3 tbsp beef tallow and a little beef broth — not too much.
- Wrap it tight.
- Bring the grill up to 250°F.
Finish
- Keep it wrapped and keep the probe in the flat.
- Start testing for tenderness around 195–205°F.
How you know: Probe tenderness beats any number. It should slide in almost like butter.
Rest
- Leave it wrapped.
- Hold it in a towel-lined cooler, or an oven set to 150–170°F.
How you know: Resting keeps it juicy and makes it sliceable. This step is not optional.
Slice
- Separate the flat from the point if you need to.
- Find the grain on each piece.
- Slice the flat across the grain, about ¼ inch thick.
- Slice the point across the grain, or cube it for burnt ends.
Worth knowing
- Buy good pellets. Cheap ones smoke dirty.
- Every time you open the lid you add time.
- Never cook a brisket strictly by the clock or by a single number.
- When the probe slides in easy, it is done — whatever the thermometer says.
Printable sheet
The whole recipe on one page, sized to print and take out to the grill.