Let’s Talk Brisket…Smoker BBQ’d Prime Beef Brisket

I did a post not long ago about talking religion, politics, and BBQ in mixed company. I am going to break my own pledge and go ahead and talk BBQ! I just did my first smoked brisket and wanted to pass along MY experience doing it. Now, it may not be the best way to cook brisket, it may not be the most flavorful…but, I can’t imagine it isn’t the most tender brisket I have had anywhere. Butter-tender!

Let’s start at the beginning…the trip to Costco the other day. I got there early on a Tuesday on a mission to find a nice beef brisket. There were none out on the floor. Crap! Well, I managed to talk to one of the meat guys already helping someone else, you know, leaning out the sliding window. I’ve stood in that area for long periods of time in the past because most of those guys really don’t want to interact with customers…heavens! But, he was nice and helpful and said the brisket hasn’t been put out yet and I could take my pick from the bunch on this cart he wheeled out from the back. I chose a nice looking, medium-sized (11.35 pounds) brisket and left feeling very anxious to get this thing on my smoker. What I didn’t realize until I got home was that it was Prime Brisket, and, it was only $3.49 a pound! Nice! The game was afoot.

After reading much and watching many videos about brisket cooking over the course of a couple of weeks, I settled on a method that seemed too simple to be true. And this is it…

Ingredients:

• A nicely marbled, beef brisket, about 10-12 pounds, Choice or Prime

• Kosher salt and Black Pepper

That’s it! Really. You are certainly welcome to use your favorite rub, one without salt (if you salt and peppered it separately) or brown sugar (on a long cook, it can burn too easily). But I like this style because it really maintains the taste of the beef…and that is what BBQ is all about.

• Start by making sure your brisket has about 1/4 inch layer of fat on it. Some people strip almost all of the fat off. IMHO…bad move. Moving on…

• The Costco brisket I got was not only Prime, it was trimmed to these specs and ready to roll.

• Mix together a 50/50 mix of Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. If you have a shaker, that’s a good thing. If not, use you fingers.

• Give your brisket a good coating, not too much like some rubs, on both sides. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or overnight.

• I found there was no need to bring the brisket to room temperature before cooking, just not necessary as this is a long cook.

• Preheat your smoker to 250F. I use a Pit Boss pellet smoker with their Competition Blend pellets (maple, hickory, and cherry). I also got up at 5 am to start this process as I was a expecting about a 12 hour smoke/cook. If your brisket is larger, it will take longer, of course.

• Remove the plastic from the brisket, insert your food temperature probe, stick it on the grill, close the lid, and go back to bed for a couple hours.

• Try to refrain from checking the meat too often. The old saying goes, “If I’m lookin’, I’m not cookin’”. Opening and closing the lid causes the temperature to fluctuate, and you want to maintain a steady temperature for best results. If you choose to spritz with some sort of liquid, ie, apple cider vinegar, try not to do it too often.

• The idea here is too cook the brisket to an internal temperature of about 160F, it took mine about 4 hours. I use the Texas Crutch method…at this point, remove the brisket to a surface where you can fully wrap it in foil, tightly, and completely. Take advantage of this part to spritz the brisket again before wrapping. Reinsert the probe and place it back on the grill, close the cover.

• When it reaches an internal temperature of 199F, mine took another 2 hours, turn off the smoker, leave the lid closed and let it sit about 30 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise to about 205F.

• Remove the brisket from the smoker. At this point, you can add some more spritzing liquid of choice to the package. Seal it back up and place in a good portable beer/soda cooler and wrap it in a couple of large (old) towels. Close the lid and take a nap or something. You can leave the probe in, but it is not necessary. I did so I could record the progress over the next 4 hours. After that time, the temperature was still 170F.

• Note: Safe food handling practices dictate that the temperature of food must be below 40F or above 140F to remain safe. After 20 plus years in the food service industry, I had those numbers hammered into me many times. If the food goes into that danger zone (40F to 140F) for more than 2 hours (some say 4 hours) it will be susceptible to growing bacteria, and that can make people sick. This cooler method has been known to hold brisket (or other hot food for that matter) for up to 12 hours, but I’ve never left it that long.

• This extra-long “rest” period really completes the cooking process to make the brisket butter-tender. So, my 11.35 pound brisket took 10 hours to get to where I wanted. And, yes, it was indeed very, tender…fork tender, butter-tender. Try the poke test: Use a toothpick or heat probe, stick it in the widest spot. It should go in easily like pushing it into butter. If it is over cooked, it will be dry and crumble too much.

• Remove from the cooler. Remove the foil wrap and just tent loosely for about 30 minutes or so.

• Slice against the grains, about 3/8 inch slices, just enough for serving. The grains do run in different directions depending on which part of the brisket you are slicing. It should slice easily and not crumble (too much). The pull test: Hold a 3/8 inch slice between your thumb and index finger and pull down on the lower end of it. It should pull apart in two pieces easily.

• Serve with your favorite sauces on the side, BBQ or otherwise. Typically, most traditional BBQ places serve it on butcher paper with a few slices of white bread…and any number of sides like cole slaw, beans, or potato salad.

• You will undoubtedly have a lot of leftover brisket. My suggestion is to cut it into several large pieces (do not slice), cool, then wrap tightly is plastic or, like I do, seal it in a Food Saver bag. Then freeze it.

• To reheat brisket, bring to room temperature (thaw it), place it in a flat bowl or baking dish. Add some beef stock and cover tightly with foil. Place in a 325F oven for 30 minutes or so. You may want to slice it before reheating, it’s up to you.