smoke brisket in your backyard

Smoked brisket in your backyard is, without a doubt, one of the hardest things to cook perfectly.

Despite all the articles, books and videos out there telling you how to do it, there is no magic to the process.

You need tremendous patience and you need to know the specific characteristics of your pit. That takes practice and experience. The more you cook, the better you'll be.

The approach may sound simple and straightforward, but getting there is not.

10 Tips - Smoke brisket in your backyard

Here are my 10 essential steps to smoking a backyard brisket on an offset, log-burning pit. Some of the techniques may work for other types of smokers, such as a Weber Smokey Mountains, but not all. (I cook on stick burners (offset pits) & cannot address techniques specific to Smoky Mountains, Green Eggs, pellet cookers, gravity pits or charcoal pits.)

1. Start with a good piece of meat. Find a source that sells 12-15 pound packer trim briskets: Choice or Prime Wagyu, but not Select. Even though you can successfully produce good Select grade briskets, for a few extra bucks get the Choice to insure better results.

2. Trim the fat to 1/4 inch, plus/minus on the top and sides, so it will render down along with the rub and get into the meat. If you do not feel comfortable trimming briskets, skip this step and do not panic about it.

3. Pick any of your favorite commercial beef rubs and spices. There's a million of them out there. Some people apply the rub several hours before cook time. Some grind their spices in a coffee grinder for better consistency. Some even add a finishing rub -- midway through or near the end of cooking -- to enhance flavor. Try a simple Texas favorite by combining: (8 tbsp.) fresh course ground black pepper, (3 tbsp.) Kosher salt, (1 tsp.) granulated garlic, (1 tsp. cayenne), (1 tsp.) granulated onion. This makes about 3/4 cup which will season a large packer trim brisket.

4. Fire your pit. It's best to build a small fire that breathes well by placing the logs crossing one another. It is best to use less wood so the fire doesn’t smolder and produce dark grey, yellowish or black smoke.  Cooking temperature will depend somewhat on your pit and personal preference. Many cook at 225-250 degrees, which is a good range for basic, low-and-slow backyard barbecue. At that temperature, a 12-pound brisket could take 8-12 hours or longer, depending on how well you manage the fire,  4-5 hours in 250-degree smoke and 4-5 hours at 250-degrees wrapped in foil is an approximate timeline for a 12# packer brisket as long, as you maintain a steady 225-250-degree fire and are not opening the cook door. Others cooking with bigger pits cook hotter and faster (255-400 degrees) if their pits are designed to not burn the meat from radiant heat. Keep the fire from smoldering by maintaining a small burning flame. A smoldering fire produces off-flavors and creosote , which ruin the natural flavors of the meat and rub. Airflow is essential as is a clean fire to avoid pitchy, sooty, ashtray like flavors.

5. Place the meat on a clean cooking grate in the sweet spot of the pit -- where the temperature is most even -- away from the firebox and radiant heat.

6. Keep the pit as steady as you can at the target cooking temp. Here we assume somewhere in the range of 225 degrees to 250 degrees. AND do not open the cook doors for the first 4-5 hours PERIOD. Buy a digital temperature probe (Weber iGrill, Thermaworks, Maverick) to monitor the internal temperature of the cook chamber, and the brisket in the thickest part. Pit gauges are usually way off. Temperatures fluctuate 25-75 degrees depending on wind, ambient temps, humidity, wood and pit designs. These temperature fluctuations can create havoc for every backyard pitmaster. If your pit is running a 200-degrees on the grate but the pit gauge is reading 250, your brisket could take 3-6 additional hours to cook and might just end up dried out from being in the smoke that long - making for very disappointed guests.

smoke brisket in your backyard

7. At the 4-5 hour mark the brisket should be 150-165-degrees internal temperature & in the stall. You should see a small puddle of water in the mid section of the brisket. . Wrap the brisket in foil when you think it's color and bark are where you want it. Dark mahogany-reddish brown with some black works for me. Return wrapped brisket to the sweet spot on the pit and maintain the pit temperature at 225-250-degrees.

8. Knowing when the brisket is done is a very crucial step. BE PATIENT! Do not try to cook a brisket based only on time. You can roughly estimate when a brisket will be done by allowing 45 minutes to 75 minutes per pound  when cooking at 250 degrees and wrapping in foil after 4-5 hours. But ambient temperature, wind, humidity and composition of the meat tissue all are factors in how fast, or slow, a brisket cooks.

To really nail the finish, use some or all of the following tests:

--Use a good handheld temp probe like a Thermapen. Briskets "usually" become butter tender at 198-205 degrees, plus/minus. But not always. They might get tender at a lower temp, say 185, or a higher temp, 210, depending on the composition of the meat.

-- Don't rely on temp alone. Use the probe to test resistance in the meat, too. If the probe slips in and out of the flat,  or lean, end of the brisket and the thick, fatty end, or point, without any resistance, that's what you're looking for: Butter tender.

--Using heat resistant gloves, develop your sense of touch for when a brisket feels like it's done. When it's still in foil, press it with a finger. There should be some give. Lift the wrapped brisket off the grate. If it's still stiff, it's not done. It should be very floppy.

--Once you think it's done, use your eyes to make sure. Partially unwrap the brisket. It should have a floppy consistency like Jello when it's still hot. After the brisket cools it will lose this consistency.

smoke brisket in your backyard picture

9. When the brisket is butter tender, you're still not done. Unwrap it and place it back on the pit at a lower temp, say 175-200, and let it rest for an hour or two. Some people skip this step and rest the brisket in an ice chest for a couple of hours wrapped in towels. Just don't let the meat continue cooking and steaming itself or it will dry out and lose flavor. Letting the brisket rest in the pit unwrapped at a lower temp will help firm up the bark and prevent the meat from drying out.

10. After resting in the pit, pull the brisket off and let it rest tented in foil for another hour or so until it reaches 140-degrees. This allows the meat to cool and the juices to stabilize. You could pour a cup or so of the au jus on the meat at this point which will soak back into the meat. Now you're ready to carve and eat.

Follow the steps above and you should, with some practice, wind up with damn good brisket. Enjoy.

backyard smoked brisket pic4

Smoke brisket in your backyard photos and story by Marshall Cooper

Editors note: Check out a great website for grilling and smoking equipment from our friends at Seriously Smoked, including this recent post on The Best Charcoal Grills for the Money.


Swanny Q!

12 years ago

Great article, Marshall. You have given me a couple of things to try as I am one who is trying to perfect BBQ on a selection of Weber Smoky Mountains. The big thing about the WSM is, while I can maintain temperatures anywhere from 225 – 275 degrees (or higher), the fire is directly under the meat. I have cooked with water in the water pan and with the water pan empty with good results.

I use Kingsford Charcoal because that is what I have always used. I know how it burns and when to start thinking about the need to add more coals. Others use lump charcoal. I have nothing against lump, it just that I have no experience with it. I also use chunks of Hickory, Oak, or Pecan and sometimes combined with a chunk of Apple or Cherry wood. The last brisket I cooked I used a nice piece of Pecan wood that I friend had cleared off his property and the brisket was fantastic.

I put the brisket on the top grate fat side up for the first four hours. At the four hour mark I turn the brisket fat side down mainly to help prevent the bottom from burning due to the fire being directly under the meat. At this point I insert a probe thermometer and look for a temperature of 165 prior to wrapping. I keep monitoring the thermometer until I get a temperature somewhere (generally) between 195 and 200 degrees. At that point I open the foil and cook the brisket a little longer in order for the bark to firm up. After the bark has had a chance to firm up I wrap the whole thing up in a moving blanket and put it in a cooler. After one hour I separate the point from the flat. The flat gets wrapped back up and put back in the cooler. The point gets made in to burnt ends if I can keep peoples fingers out of it long enough.

As you mentioned, cooking a brisket takes patience and allowing enough time for the meat to be done. I don’t like to leave the cooked brisket wrapped up more than a couple of hours although it can be held longer.

For some time now I have been taking detailed notes of each cook and I transcribe those notes to an Excel spreadsheet. These notes include, but are not limited to, the size of the brisket, which WSM I am using, the temperature of the cooker at various times, the temperature of the meat at various times, the outside temperature, and the weather condition. I have a pretty comprehensive history of the briskets I have cooked and the techniques that seem to work that those that didn’t work. From this history I have a pretty good idea of how long certain sizes of brisket will take to cook during various time of the year using various cooking strategies. It has proved to be quite helpful.

What all this has done is turn me into a brisket snob. I haven't found a BBQ restaurant in the fair city of Gainesville, FL that can produce moist, tender brisket. Most often it is dry and, on occasion, it is mush. It’s not cost effective for them to man a cooker for 15 – 20 hours to produce a good piece of meat. They would rather “set it and forget it.”

My friends seem to like my brisket; however, by the time they get around to complementing me about my “Q” they have generally had a drink or twelve and use phrases like “man, this is really good sh*t!” This leads me to wonder if the 15 – 20 hours I spent cooking the brisket was worth it 😉

Anonymous

10 years ago

Dude...try the lump!!!

Johnny

5 years ago

Dude! Learn the lump!

Gary Jacobson

12 years ago

Swanny Q! Nice report on using the WSM. . .I've got the small Smokey Mountain that I use for ribs. Great machine. Using a rack that stacks the rib racks on their sides, what really amazes me is that I don't have to touch them during the entire 5-6 hour cook (at 225 degrees, ribs brined beforehand). The racks on the outside get done a little earlier, but just pull em off, foil 'em and keep 'em warm...

Swanny Q!

12 years ago

Gary, I too have had great result with ribs using a couple of techniques Mr. Cooper was kind enough to share. I use the rib racks and recently began stacking an additional two 18.5 top grill grates upside down (the handles are pointing down)on each other for a total of three cooking grates allowing me to lay three to six St. Louis racks bone side down for the six hour cook.

Love the site here. On my bucket list is a tour of Texas BBQ joints. My original plan had me out near Lockhart. Now it seem I may have to work Austin in to the mix.

Gary Jacobson

12 years ago

Yes, don't miss Austin...And, nice stacking trick with the grill grates to increase capacity.

sam howard

10 years ago

I've tried this blog several times and if you go by each step you'll have damn good brisket. The key is (Very floppy) you don't need no damn meat thermometer. Patience!

Bonnie DeSpain

10 years ago

So im a newbie here. Doing my first ever brisket to surprise my hubby 😉 Do I not flip it at all in the smoking phase? Bc it said dont open the doors for any reason. Thanks guys!! Wish me luck!

sam howard

10 years ago

Flip once You get the color you want on both sides. Remember to wrap in foil, and add some beef broth Inside the foil.

Brandon Riice

4 years ago

If you've cooked the brisket right, what's the purpose of needing to add beef broth? Is it just your personal preference on taste? I'm only asking because I've never had to do that and it's always come out of the foil super juicy.

Bonnie DeSpain

10 years ago

Im a newbie here. I am making my first brisket ever as a surprise for my hubby. This post is sooooo helpful! I just was wondering, I dont flip it at all in the smoking phase? I read not to open the doors for any reason during this time, so im guessing no? Thanks guys!

Chris Wilkins

10 years ago

That's correct Bonnie, always leave the brisket fat side up & cook low & slow. Good luck!

Bonnie DeSpain

10 years ago

Oh great! Thank you so much!! Im excited about this! Lol! Its a half of a huge brisket. So its only like 5 lb. Still 4 hrs or so before wrapping? I have my temp at a pretty steady 240.

Chris Wilkins

10 years ago

The rule of thumb is usually 1 hour per pound, but you might want to go 3 hours unwrapped, then wrap for three hours. It's a lot easier to undercook a brisket than to overcook one.....

Bonnie DeSpain

10 years ago

Will do! Thanks again! 🙂

Anonymous

10 years ago

** The techniques above work on an offset stick burner and I have not tried them on other pit types. Yes you can flip the brisket after 2-6 hours and obtain a complete smoke ring. Spritz with water every 45-60 minutes and the smoke ring will grow and get fat. Learn to cook by feel and looks, not time. Cook hot & fast (300-375f) using Prime or Wagyu briskets if it works for your pit ...Marshall Cooper

Anonymous

10 years ago

Low and slow. You CAN speed up a brisket after it's been properly smoked(roughly 4-5 hours), but starting at 300-375 means that you're not from Texas 😉 We know a thing or two about brisket here. I'd say get your smoke and you can keep it fat side up in an aluminum drip pan(thus removing the need for injections or beef broth or any of that nonsense) and cover it. At this point, you can then add a little heat and you will still retain the proper moisture. Take off at 195-205 roughly and you're good to go. I finished a 10lb brisket in about 8 hours using this method and the knife fell through the meat like it was hot butter.

Lisa

4 years ago

What temp did you bump it to?

Mojo Bricks

8 years ago

Great Blog Post!!

I like your informative info and their technique for smoke meat. I aspect all crazy family try to cook food or enjoy with delicious food.

Thanks for sharing..

Smoking Meat Made Easy

Mark Winters

7 years ago

Hmmm..First thing to add, would be suggesting butcher paper wrap, instead of foil. I know, foil is the easiest thing to find, but if you are going to spend 30-60 bucks + on a brisket, then be prepared to do it better..butcher paper helps the brisket through the Texas Crutch/Stall etc, without steaming the brisket and killing that bark. Most decent dealers for smokers with sauces and rubs, should have butcher paper avail, or order some online. 24" or wider works best.

If you use a stick burner, use Oak for the heat, get some chunks for smoke. Pecan, Coffee wood, Apple all work well, Mesquite is popular but can be bitter for some .set them off to the side of the box, drag a hot coal over to it and lay it nearby or just touching the smoke chunk, so it smokes..once it catches on fire, it no longer smokes much... if you use a ceramic grill (i.e. Primo, Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe) or Weber type grill...switch to lump. Now.

Briquettes are compressed wood with fillers and binders that are not natural, and then you are typically starting it with starter fluid..really? Ughh..that flavor gets onto to meat..Lump is a clean burn, start it with paper or a Looftlighter or Torch, and if properly temp controlled can last for hours. ( I have gone up to 21 hours on lump in my Primo Smoker)

Cook by Temperature . PERIOD. If you are reading this, you are relatively new (likely) to the process..you probably don't have the knowledge to just know when to pull it off the smoker...so get a decent thermometer..yes.,Thermapen is the go to, but they are 65-100 bucks..newbies, spend the money on the 25$ pocket version, same probe as the Thermapen, just has a 5 second reading, instead of 2-3..so you have a Super Comp Dragster not a Top Fuel..no biggie..just don't get a dial/analog..they suck for this type of reading..

Fat Side up or down...it has always been and will continue to be a point of disagreement in BBQ..Always..just know this...when your fire gets hot, it burns from the bottom up, and if the fat is on top, it's not protecting the meat, so just sayin'...

Overall good article, but be like all of us...keep readin' and gettin' as much info as possible, as what ultimately counts is getting the results you are working for, and learn when it was right and when it wasn't and eventually, like it says, "one of the hardest things to cook perfectly." , you will get it right and then it all makes sense...Many Happy Smokes!

Viktor

7 years ago

Awesome, my little guys just looove this.

lafulltilt

7 years ago

You also want to trim off corners and raggedy bits; that prevents burning, and smoke will flow more smoothly around what David calls an aerodynamic brisket.

ROBERT GORRELL

6 years ago

WHAT TIME DOES A 10# BRISKET GO IN THE SMOKER IF GAME TIME IS 1400 (2P.M)

Chris Wilkins

6 years ago

Robert: If you're cooking in the 230-degree range, ie: low & slow, figure about an hour per pound. You'll also want to let the brisket rest for an hour or so before you eat it.

robert gorrell

6 years ago

went close to 16 hours finished in the oven wrapped in foil, ( needed some sleep), It was amazing, brought it to a potluck looked like seagulls hitting a bait wagon 🙂

D Watkins

6 years ago

Great message, covered all of my questions and a few more. Thanks!

Michael Levin

6 years ago

I cook on a large life time smoker. I cook for 18-24 hours at 150 degrees. Ribs I have done 8-12 slabs at a time by stacking and rotating every hour. It is all about patients. Not time or temp.

Chris Wilkins

6 years ago

Totally agree Michael, great point. It's all about patience over anything else, I hate to think how many times that a cook has come up short due to impatience on the part of the pitmaster. I know I've been guilty a few times! Have a great 4th/Chris.

Lisa Donald

6 years ago

Hi! Great article and comments. There are so many different opinions on how to cook the perfect brisket. I have been reading and watching videos for hours. We are using a Kamado Joe to cook a 16lb brisket. This will be my second one. The waiting is the hardest part!

David Fang

5 years ago

I'll be smoking a 16 lb prime brisket next week and was wondering how you did with yours....time, temps, woods? Happy with the results? I've been using a Bubba Keg that I bought at Home Depot at least 10 years ago on closeout...best deal ever! Thanks.

Larry Tiner

5 years ago

I’m wanting to smoke a 12-pound brisket. It’s too big for my smoker, so I’ll cut it in half. My question is how will two 6-pound briskets smoke compared to the 12-pound? Will cooktime be halved?

Chris Wilkins

5 years ago

Hi Larry: Here's some advice from pitmaster Marshall Cooper: "A good approach would be to separate the point from the flat, and cook them separately. The length of them should be much less than the whole. If not, trim the thin end of the flat down, which typically burns and dries out. The cook times will really depend on the thickness of each piece. I would expect the cooking time to be reduced by 1/3 all things considered." Thanks/Chris

Chris Wilkins

5 years ago

Larry: Marshall adds this link to a helpful video: "The best video I have seen on how to split the point and brisket is on You Tube, Butcher BBQ. David is a world grand champion and a great person."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-fI7n7eqJM

Pete Shelton

5 years ago

Best description for cooking a brisket that I have seen online. I have cooked a few briskets in my time. Some on wood some on charcoal. This is very informative to me. Very detailed. Thank you.

Jon Wellington

5 years ago

Great board here! Different opinions but a free-flow of ideas. I’ve been doing my briskets at 225F (avg sometimes 250 when I go to bed, 200 when I wake up) for about an hour a pound for years. Key for me is always fat up to self-baste, keep your water pan full for moisture (in a charcoal kettle) and as specified in this article, go for internal temp over time. Time is a guideline. I take mine off at 185F and wrap it for an hour. It rises to that “sweet spot” of 195F and doesn’t lose juice when you carve that bad boy up. What I learned here after 10 years of smoking meat is to wrap it mid-way. I’m gonna try that tomorrow when I lay my two 15 pounders on the smoker for my wife’s b-day BBQ. One thing that I feel should be said, as I’ve learned the hard way, is that a 13-15lb brisket is another ballgame than a 7-9lb cut. The “guidelines”, be they an hour per pound or different are TOTALLY different with a smaller cut as the center that needs to get to the desired temp is not nearly as “deep”. Keep that in mind if you’re a newbie. GREAT forum. Thanks!

Ernest Clanton

5 years ago

Hello I have a kitchenaid charcoal grill that I brought from home depot, I plan on smoking a 12lb. brisket on July 13th, I need to know what type of charcoal should I use lump coals or briquettes and how much charcoal should I use first starting off. When it comes to the wood should I use logs or wood chucks and which one would last the longest,

I have watched a lot of YouTube videos on smoking brisket and some of them guys, use a spray bottle of apple cider vinegar and water and spray on the brisket do you really have to do that. Also some guys didn't use a spray bottle or anything they just let the smoke do it thing and watched the temperature article is good any help will do want my brisket to be juicy.

Chris Wilkins

5 years ago

Hi Ernest: Here is some advice from Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper:

You raise several good questions about cooking a packer brisket on your KitchenAid grill. Is it like the one in the this link?

If I were cooking a brisket on a grill like yours, I would probably use the grill to bathe the brisket in smoke for 3-4 hours, then wrap it in foil and finish it in the kitchen oven at 225F-250F until it is tender.

On the grill, you will want to use a water pan to set it up for indirect cooking, bring moisture into the grill as well as helping to deflect the radiant heat. I would consider using briquettes if you have trouble keeping the grill temp around 225F since they put off lower temps that lump.

However, lump will burn longer and cleaner. So if you stick to building small fires using lump, that would be a good path. Forget logs, they will probably fuel the grill. Use chunks of wood that are seasoned, not green. You could actually make your own chunks by splitting and cutting small logs into chunks yourself. The charcoal is your base fire for heat, the wood is for flavor, not the heat source in this case.

I suggest you learn build your charcoal fire using the Minion Method, which you can easily research on the web. You can buy rings of fire or something similar from Weber or perhaps KitchenAid. Spritzing with water will keep the brisket moist, which will attract more smoke but will slow your cook way down. So if you use a water pan, there’s little reason to spritz. But if you do spritz, wait at least a couple of hours so you don’t wash the rub off the meat before it sets.

The best tip to end up with a juicy brisket is to buy the best grade of brisket you can justify. Select grade is the lowest and least expensive, Choice grade is more marbled and a little more money, and then the Prime grade almost acts like an insurance policy to end up with a juicier and more tender brisket. American Wagyu is even more marbled but the price is much higher. Prices range from around $3-per-pound for Select to $10-$12 for Wagyu, a ridiculous price for most people.

Choice grade should be fine, but you need to keep the grill temp steady around 225F, which can be a challenge on any grill or smoker. Should you want to cook the brisket on your KitchenAid until its done, you certainly can, assuming you have plenty of patience and perhaps a decent supply of beverages to steady the nerves!

Regards/Marshall

jerad

4 years ago

Great article, Marshall. You have given me a couple of things to try as I am one who is trying to perfect BBQ on a selection of Weber Smoky Mountains. The big thing about the WSM is, while I can maintain temperatures anywhere from 225 – 275 degrees (or higher), the fire is directly under the meat. I have cooked with water in the water pan and with the water pan empty with good results.

I use Kingsford Charcoal because that is what I have always used. I know how it burns and when to start thinking about the need to add more coals. Others use lump charcoal. I have nothing against lump, it just that I have no experience with it. I also use chunks of Hickory, Oak, or Pecan and sometimes combined with a chunk of Apple or Cherry wood. The last brisket I cooked I used a nice piece of Pecan wood that I friend had cleared o

jerad

4 years ago

Great article, Marshall. You have given me a couple of things to try as I am one who is trying to perfect BBQ on a selection of Weber Smoky Mountains. The big thing about the WSM is, while I can maintain temperatures anywhere from 225 – 275 degrees (or higher), the fire is directly under the meat. I have cooked with water in the water pan and with the water pan empty with good results.

I use Kingsford Charcoal because that is what I have always used. I know how it burns and when to start thinking about the need to add more coals. Others use lump charcoal. I have nothing against lump, it just that I have no experience with it. I also use chunks of Hickory, Oak, or Pecan and sometimes combined with a chunk of Apple or Cherry wood. The last brisket I cooked I used a nice piece of Pecan wood that I friend had cleared off his property and the brisket was fantastic.

I put the brisket on the top grate fat side up for the first four hours. At the four hour mark I turn the brisket fat side down mainly to help prevent the bottom from burning due to the fire being directly under the meat. At this point I insert a probe thermometer and look for a temperature of 165 prior to wrapping. I keep monitoring the thermometer until I get a temperature somewhere (generally) between 195 and 200 degrees. At that point I open the foil and cook the brisket a little longer in order for the bark to firm up. After the bark has had a chance to firm up I wrap the whole thing up in a moving blanket and put it in a cooler. After one hour I separate the point from the flat. The flat gets wrapped back up and put back in the cooler. The point gets made in to burnt ends if I can keep peoples fingers out of it long enough.

As you mentioned, cooking a brisket takes patience and allowing enough time for the meat to be done. I don’t like to leave the cooked brisket wrapped up more than a couple of hours although it can be held longer.

For some time now I have been taking detailed notes of each cook and I transcribe those notes to an Excel spreadsheet. These notes include, but are not limited to, the size of the brisket, which WSM I am using, the temperature of the cooker at various times, the temperature of the meat at various times, the outside temperature, and the weather condition. I have a pretty comprehensive history of the briskets I have cooked and the techniques that seem to work that those that didn’t work. From this history I have a pretty good idea of how long certain sizes of brisket will take to cook during various time of the year using various cooking strategies. It has proved to be quite helpful.

What all this has done is turn me into a brisket snob. I haven't found a BBQ restaurant in the fair city of Gainesville, FL that can produce moist, tender brisket. Most often it is dry and, on occasion, it is mush. It’s not cost effective for them to man a cooker for 15 – 20 hours to produce a good piece of meat. They would rather “set it and forget it.”

My friends seem to like my brisket; however, by the time they get around to complementing me about my “Q” they have generally had a drink or twelve and use phrases like “man, this is really good sh*t!” This leads me to wonder if the 15 – 20 hours I spent cooking the brisket was worth it ?

Reply

Anonymous6 years ago
Dude…try the lump!!!

Reply

Johnny1 year ago
Dude! Learn the lump!

Reply

Gary Jacobson8 years ago
Swanny Q! Nice report on using the WSM. . .I've got the small Smokey Mountain that I use for ribs. Great machine. Using a rack that stacks the rib racks on their sides, what really amazes me is that I don't have to touch them during the entire 5-6 hour cook (at 225 degrees, ribs brined beforehand). The racks on the outside get done a little earlier, but just pull em off, foil 'em and keep 'em warm…

Reply

Swanny Q!8 years ago
Gary, I too have had great result with ribs using a couple of techniques Mr. Cooper was kind enough to share. I use the rib racks and recently began stacking an additional two 18.5 top grill grates upside down (the handles are pointing down)on each other for a total of three cooking grates allowing me to lay three to six St. Louis racks bone side down for the six hour cook.

Love the site here. On my bucket list is a tour of Texas BBQ joints. My original plan had me out near Lockhart. Now it seem I may have to work Austin in to the mix.

Reply

Gary Jacobson8 years ago
Yes, don't miss Austin…And, nice stacking trick with the grill grates to increase capacity.

Reply

sam howard6 years ago
I've tried this blog several times and if you go by each step you'll have damn good brisket. The key is (Very floppy) you don't need no damn meat thermometer. Patience!

Reply

Bonnie DeSpain6 years ago
So im a newbie here. Doing my first ever brisket to surprise my hubby ? Do I not flip it at all in the smoking phase? Bc it said dont open the doors for any reason. Thanks guys!! Wish me luck!

Reply

sam howard6 years ago
Flip once You get the color you want on both sides. Remember to wrap in foil, and add some beef broth Inside the foil.

Reply

Brandon Riice3 months ago
If you’ve cooked the brisket right, what’s the purpose of needing to add beef broth? Is it just your personal preference on taste? I’m only asking because I’ve never had to do that and it’s always come out of the foil super juicy.

Reply

Bonnie DeSpain6 years ago
Im a newbie here. I am making my first brisket ever as a surprise for my hubby. This post is sooooo helpful! I just was wondering, I dont flip it at all in the smoking phase? I read not to open the doors for any reason during this time, so im guessing no? Thanks guys!

Reply

Chris Wilkins6 years ago
That's correct Bonnie, always leave the brisket fat side up & cook low & slow. Good luck!

Reply

Bonnie DeSpain6 years ago
Oh great! Thank you so much!! Im excited about this! Lol! Its a half of a huge brisket. So its only like 5 lb. Still 4 hrs or so before wrapping? I have my temp at a pretty steady 240.

Reply

Chris Wilkins6 years ago
The rule of thumb is usually 1 hour per pound, but you might want to go 3 hours unwrapped, then wrap for three hours. It's a lot easier to undercook a brisket than to overcook one…..

Reply

Bonnie DeSpain6 years ago
Will do! Thanks again! ?

Reply

Anonymous6 years ago
** The techniques above work on an offset stick burner and I have not tried them on other pit types. Yes you can flip the brisket after 2-6 hours and obtain a complete smoke ring. Spritz with water every 45-60 minutes and the smoke ring will grow and get fat. Learn to cook by feel and looks, not time. Cook hot & fast (300-375f) using Prime or Wagyu briskets if it works for your pit …Marshall Cooper

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Anonymous6 years ago
Low and slow. You CAN speed up a brisket after it's been properly smoked(roughly 4-5 hours), but starting at 300-375 means that you're not from Texas ? We know a thing or two about brisket here. I'd say get your smoke and you can keep it fat side up in an aluminum drip pan(thus removing the need for injections or beef broth or any of that nonsense) and cover it. At this point, you can then add a little heat and you will still retain the proper moisture. Take off at 195-205 roughly and you're good to go. I finished a 10lb brisket in about 8 hours using this method and the knife fell through the meat like it was hot butter.

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Lisa3 months ago
What temp did you bump it to?

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Mojo Bricks5 years ago
Great Blog Post!!

I like your informative info and their technique for smoke meat. I aspect all crazy family try to cook food or enjoy with delicious food.

Thanks for sharing..

Smoking Meat Made Easy

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Mark Winters3 years ago
Hmmm..First thing to add, would be suggesting butcher paper wrap, instead of foil. I know, foil is the easiest thing to find, but if you are going to spend 30-60 bucks + on a brisket, then be prepared to do it better..butcher paper helps the brisket through the Texas Crutch/Stall etc, without steaming the brisket and killing that bark. Most decent dealers for smokers with sauces and rubs, should have butcher paper avail, or order some online. 24″ or wider works best.

If you use a stick burner, use Oak for the heat, get some chunks for smoke. Pecan, Coffee wood, Apple all work well, Mesquite is popular but can be bitter for some .set them off to the side of the box, drag a hot coal over to it and lay it nearby or just touching the smoke chunk, so it smokes..once it catches on fire, it no longer smokes much… if you use a ceramic grill (i.e. Primo, Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe) or Weber type grill…switch to lump. Now.

Briquettes are compressed wood with fillers and binders that are not natural, and then you are typically starting it with starter fluid..really? Ughh..that flavor gets onto to meat..Lump is a clean burn, start it with paper or a Looftlighter or Torch, and if properly temp controlled can last for hours. ( I have gone up to 21 hours on lump in my Primo Smoker)

Cook by Temperature . PERIOD. If you are reading this, you are relatively new (likely) to the process..you probably don’t have the knowledge to just know when to pull it off the smoker…so get a decent thermometer..yes.,Thermapen is the go to, but they are 65-100 bucks..newbies, spend the money on the 25$ pocket version, same probe as the Thermapen, just has a 5 second reading, instead of 2-3..so you have a Super Comp Dragster not a Top Fuel..no biggie..just don’t get a dial/analog..they suck for this type of reading..

Fat Side up or down…it has always been and will continue to be a point of disagreement in BBQ..Always..just know this…when your fire gets hot, it burns from the bottom up, and if the fat is on top, it’s not protecting the meat, so just sayin’…

Overall good article, but be like all of us…keep readin’ and gettin’ as much info as possible, as what ultimately counts is getting the results you are working for, and learn when it was right and when it wasn’t and eventually, like it says, “one of the hardest things to cook perfectly.” , you will get it right and then it all makes sense…Many Happy Smokes!

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Viktor3 years ago
Awesome, my little guys just looove this.

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lafulltilt3 years ago
You also want to trim off corners and raggedy bits; that prevents burning, and smoke will flow more smoothly around what David calls an aerodynamic brisket.

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ROBERT GORRELL2 years ago
WHAT TIME DOES A 10# BRISKET GO IN THE SMOKER IF GAME TIME IS 1400 (2P.M)

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Chris Wilkins2 years ago
Robert: If you’re cooking in the 230-degree range, ie: low & slow, figure about an hour per pound. You’ll also want to let the brisket rest for an hour or so before you eat it.

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robert gorrell2 years ago
went close to 16 hours finished in the oven wrapped in foil, ( needed some sleep), It was amazing, brought it to a potluck looked like seagulls hitting a bait wagon ?

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D Watkins2 years ago
Great message, covered all of my questions and a few more. Thanks!

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Michael Levin2 years ago
I cook on a large life time smoker. I cook for 18-24 hours at 150 degrees. Ribs I have done 8-12 slabs at a time by stacking and rotating every hour. It is all about patients. Not time or temp.

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Chris Wilkins2 years ago
Totally agree Michael, great point. It’s all about patience over anything else, I hate to think how many times that a cook has come up short due to impatience on the part of the pitmaster. I know I’ve been guilty a few times! Have a great 4th/Chris.

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Lisa Donald2 years ago
Hi! Great article and comments. There are so many different opinions on how to cook the perfect brisket. I have been reading and watching videos for hours. We are using a Kamado Joe to cook a 16lb brisket. This will be my second one. The waiting is the hardest part!

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David Fang1 year ago
I’ll be smoking a 16 lb prime brisket next week and was wondering how you did with yours….time, temps, woods? Happy with the results? I’ve been using a Bubba Keg that I bought at Home Depot at least 10 years ago on closeout…best deal ever! Thanks.

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Larry Tiner2 years ago
I’m wanting to smoke a 12-pound brisket. It’s too big for my smoker, so I’ll cut it in half. My question is how will two 6-pound briskets smoke compared to the 12-pound? Will cooktime be halved?

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Chris Wilkins2 years ago
Hi Larry: Here’s some advice from pitmaster Marshall Cooper: “A good approach would be to separate the point from the flat, and cook them separately. The length of them should be much less than the whole. If not, trim the thin end of the flat down, which typically burns and dries out. The cook times will really depend on the thickness of each piece. I would expect the cooking time to be reduced by 1/3 all things considered.” Thanks/Chris

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Chris Wilkins2 years ago
Larry: Marshall adds this link to a helpful video: “The best video I have seen on how to split the point and brisket is on You Tube, Butcher BBQ. David is a world grand champion and a great person.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-fI7n7eqJM

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Pete Shelton2 years ago
Best description for cooking a brisket that I have seen online. I have cooked a few briskets in my time. Some on wood some on charcoal. This is very informative to me. Very detailed. Thank you.

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Jon Wellington1 year ago
Great board here! Different opinions but a free-flow of ideas. I’ve been doing my briskets at 225F (avg sometimes 250 when I go to bed, 200 when I wake up) for about an hour a pound for years. Key for me is always fat up to self-baste, keep your water pan full for moisture (in a charcoal kettle) and as specified in this article, go for internal temp over time. Time is a guideline. I take mine off at 185F and wrap it for an hour. It rises to that “sweet spot” of 195F and doesn’t lose juice when you carve that bad boy up. What I learned here after 10 years of smoking meat is to wrap it mid-way. I’m gonna try that tomorrow when I lay my two 15 pounders on the smoker for my wife’s b-day BBQ. One thing that I feel should be said, as I’ve learned the hard way, is that a 13-15lb brisket is another ballgame than a 7-9lb cut. The “guidelines”, be they an hour per pound or different are TOTALLY different with a smaller cut as the center that needs to get to the desired temp is not nearly as “deep”. Keep that in mind if you’re a newbie. GREAT forum. Thanks!

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Ernest Clanton

Rolando Saenz Leal

4 years ago

Smoking is a gas grill




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