A Good Traditional Smoked Brisket Step By Step
To start a good traditional Smoked Brisket of course you must choose a good brisket.
Most grocery stores will have many to choose from. You want one that has a good fresh look to it. Most will be packaged in a vacuum sealed plastic . These are the ones that have been sealed and the fat untrimmed.
You will want a smoker that uses charcoal and lump charcoal and you will want use
Several pieces of wood to produce a good smoked brisket. Gas just really won’t get the flavor that a charcoal style will . You will want your grill or smoker to be able to maintain a steady temperature of 250 for up to 15 hours or a temperature that will stay constant for 1 ½ hours per pound. You will want to start with a brisket of ten to twelve pounds. It will shrink down during the smoking process. Cook fat side up to keep it moist. The fat will render down so it will be less weight than what you started with prior to cooking.
With an untrimmed brisket you will have two pieces of meat , the bottom called the flat and the top part called the point. Each piece has the grain going different directions . So the best way to carve them after everything is done , is against the grain. But we are not concerned with that with this article. Lets get a great smoked brisket.
You will of course need plenty of charcoal or lump coal to use thru the cook depending on the size you start with. More weight will require more charcoal and chunks of wood.
Many cooks will also use an injection needle to put flavor into the meat before cooking.
This is entirely up you or you may marinate over night as well. Again its however you prefer We will put on out rub before smoking for the added flavor it will bring. A store bought or one of your own mixing of spices. Cut off any extra fat on the brisket, not down to the meat but anything that looks unneeded. Check the meat side too. If there are part hanging loose cut those off and if you see a membrane like ribs have go ahead and peel it off. Flavor will get into the meat easier this way. You may not need to do this , but look and decide. If you apply your rub and inject your brisket , do this the night before wrapping it an a good aluminum foil .Don’t apply rub to the fat it won’t help in flavoring, put it on the meat and hold off injecting the meat as well. And put in the fridge overnight. It’s best to inject just before you put your smoked brisket on the smoker.
Remember it will be on for a long time.
To get the most smoke its best to have your chunks of wood ready to go when you start. The meat will get the most flavor in the first 3 hours or so. As it cooks longer it will take on less smoke flavor. Once you get it going depending on your smoker you may want to rotate the smoked brisket a time or two to get a nice even doneness. Be sure you have a good airflow around the whole brisket so as to get an even smoke around it.
As you get close to done you are looking for a temperature of 180 degrees. If it is a little lower you may want to wrap it in foil to finish up and get to about 190 degrees. You will pull it fro the smoker at that temperature and let it sit for about half an hour to soak the juices back into the meat and stay moist. To serve you will unwrap and cut across the grain and you should have a great smoked brisket !
