Starting out, you need to buy a whole packer brisket which consists of the flat, the best sandwich meat, and the point which is much fattier and better served in side dishes like smoked beans. The other option is to chop the whole brisket together after getting out as much fat as you can while chopping. Here, I am using a whole premium Angus brisket which costs a little more but is well worth the money. This is what it looks like right out of the packaging.
This is the lean side. The other side has a layer of fat about 1/4" thick which you want to leave on for moisture. Trim off any hard fat found usually between the flat and point on the thicker end of the meat. You can also trim the layer of fat if it is thicker than 1/4". Also, a very important step is to mark the brisket against the grain of the meat so you know which way the grain runs when finished. I usually cut off a small piece on the end to make it square against the grain to show me which way to slice it when finished.
I like to inject the brisket with a mix of beef broth and Au Jus mix that has been heated up and then cooled back down to around 38 degrees before injecting. Inject every couple of inches while brisket is in a roasting pan to catch the juices that flow out. Be careful not to push the injector all the way through the meat.
Next, I like to add a mustard slather usually consisting of yellow mustard, brown sugar and a little hot sauce. Brush this on all over the brisket. This will not add a mustard flavor when it is finished cooking but helps keep the brisket moist and create a beautiful dark bark on the brisket when finished.
I usually let this sit in the fridge while firing up the smoker at this point. The mustard will get tacky and help the rub stick to the meat better. Get the smoker heated up to around 275-300 degrees before putting the brisket in which will then cool it back down to under 250 degrees in my smoker.
I take the meat back out about 1/2 hour before it is going in the get back to room temperature. It is now time to add the rub. Here, I used a rub I purchased from a great place in Texas but there are so many great brisket rub recipes on the internet that help you make a great one. A mix of cane sugar, salt and course black pepper makes a great brisket.
Time to get this in the smoker. For this brisket, I am using a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker which is my favorite smoker for long smoking. After adding the brisket and other meats to the Weber, I added some fist size chunks of hickory to the charcoal to create a great smoked flavor. I always start out fat side up when adding to the smoker and then flip it over about 4 hours in to the smoking. I also try to maintain a temperature between 225 & 240 degrees for smoking brisket. I usually have to add another layer of rub if I am using a water pan because some of the steam will steam off some of the rub if it is close to the water pan. No harm as another layer of rub at this point will blend right in when finished. Here is a look after around 6 hours.
Somewhere between 6 and 8 hours, I chose to wrap the brisket in several layers of foil with some of the injection leftovers in the foil. This may not be the traditional Texas way but it makes a great end product and that is what I am looking for. By now, I have some money and time invested so why not try to get the best piece of meat I can when finished. Now it goes in a roasting pan and back in the smoker or the oven set at 230 degrees. I put a couple of meat thermometers in the thicker portion of the brisket and monitor it until it gets up to around 185 degrees internal temperature. It seems to get to just above 170 degrees and gets stuck there for a while but this is normal for brisket. Just be patient. The big mistake I have seen is people thinking that brisket is done at 165 degrees. This muscular piece of meat needs to cook longer to break down and come out tender. From here, it is more feel than temperature. Sure, you can probably just pull it out at 190-195 degrees and be very happy with it but I like to take the thermometer and push it in to another couple of areas to see just how easily it goes in. It should just slide in and out like butter. This one was perfect at 185 degrees.
From the point you take it out of the oven, open the top of the foil to let out some of the steam and then cover it back up to stop it from cooking too much more while resting. You can let it rest like this for 30 to 45 minutes in the roasting pan or place it in an empty ice chest to keep it warm for up to 4 hours before slicing depending on when you plan to serve it. Once you are ready, separate the flat from the point with a knife. It will slide right through between the two sections because of a thin layer of fat that separates the two sections. Then slice the flat portion across the grain with a very sharp knife or an electric knife into 1/4" slices for sanwiches or go through and take out the larger pieces of fat in the point and chop the whole brisket for sandwiches. I prefer to just slice the flat and add some of my home make spicy bbq sauce to a kaiser roll and add a few layers of sliced brisket for a great meal. The point usually gets sliced, wrapped in foil in 1/2 cup portions to add to my smokey bbq beans later. It freezes very well wrapped tightly in foil.
Here is what the slices look like down on the end. Notice the nice pink smoke ring left from the slow smoking.
I hope this helps anyone wanting to give this big tough cut of meat a try in the smoker. It is well worth the time and effort.
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