Texas Style Smoked Beef Brisket
if you have ever visited Texas, especially Austin Texas, and had smoked beef brisket you know how wonderful it is. You can make it at home and it will taste just like the real thing. I suggest an electric smoker as you just set the temperature and it does all the work for you. Other types of smokers will work, but they require a lot of babysitting to keep the temperature consistent. I have a Masterbuilt Sportsman Smoker. Before this smoker, I used a longhorn offset barrel-style. The barrel style took a lot more work but still made a wonderful brisket.
There are 4 keys to a great brisket, the meat, the rub, the wood, and the process.
The Meat - A full brisket has two basic parts. The point and the flat. The pointcut is the fatty part of the brisket, which is called the deckle. The flat cut, also known as "the first cut", has the deckle removed, which causes it to lay flat. Ultimately what you want is an untrimmed flat cut brisket. If you can’t find that you have two choices. You can buy the full untrimmed packer cut or a trimmed flat cut. The untrimmed brisket allows the fat to render when smoking and produces a more flavorful brisket. The trimmed flat brisket will make a more lean brisket, but will not be as moist or flavorful. If you go the route of a packer brisket, you will have to trim it into its two parts, the Tip and the Flat. Use the flat for your sliced brisket and save the tip to make burnt ends.
The Rub - There are several rub styles from just salt and pepper to more elaborate combinations of spices. I have the recipe for my dry rub below.
The Wood - In Texas oak logs/chips are used for brisket. Outside of Texas hickory is used. Be sure not to use softwoods as they will leave a bitter flavor when smoking for extended time frames. You can put a little bit of apple or cherry in with the oak or hickory if you like. My smoker uses chips and I refresh them every 45 minutes when smoking. Remember when smoking meat, it is better to be on the low side than on the high side of smoke. If the smoke is too intense it can result in a flavor that overpowers the meat.
The Process - The process comes down to 8 steps; the meat, the seasoning, the smoke, the temperature, the wrap, the test, the rest, and the carving. I explain the process below.
Rub
Ingredients:
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. If not used immediately store in an airtight container.
The Meat
Prime brisket, favored by the professionals, is more generously marbled than Choice, but Choice delivers ample flavor, too. For the ultimate brisket experience, order a Wagyu brisket online from Mister Brisket or Snake River Farms. Trim off the excess fat, but leave at least a quarter-inch layer to keep the meat moist during cooking and to provide the extra flavor.
The Seasoning
Most brisket pros use a simple seasoning of salt and pepper (often referred to as a Dalmatian rub, on account of its speckled appearance). I prefer to use my rub recipe from above. Wash the meat and dry it with paper towels. Then cover the brisket generously with the seasoning and rub it into the meat, including the sides, not covered in fat. Once the seasoning is “rubbed in” wrap the brisket in foil and place in the refrigerator or cooler for at least 6 hours or overnight.
The Smoke
Cooking a brisket is a two-phase process. In the first, you set the bark and flavor the meat with wood smoke. This produces the smoke ring, a much-admired reddish band just below the surface — the result of a chemical reaction between the nitrogen dioxide in the smoke and the myoglobin in the meat. The second phase of cooking finishes rendering the fat and converting the tough collagen into tender gelatin.
Wood smoke is the soul of barbecued brisket. Pitmasters speak reverentially of “blue smoke,” a thin, wispy smoke-filled with flavor-rich phenols. When using a kettle grill, water smoker or kamado-style cooker, fuel it with natural lump charcoal, adding hardwood chunks or chips to generate wood smoke. Texans favor oak while Kansas Citians like to burn apple or hickory. Any seasoned hardwood will do. Buy it in chunks or chips; if using chips, soak them in water for 30 minutes, then drain, to slow combustion. Add the wood gradually, a couple of chunks or spoonful of chips every 45 minutes to 60 minutes. You want to kiss the meat with smoke, not smother it.
My electric smoker allows me to add chips through the side without having to open the main smoking chamber at all. My old offset barrel smoker allowed me to add additional charcoal and chips in the small offset barrel without having to open the main barrel that contained the meat.
Many pitmasters place a bowl of hot water in the smoke chamber. “This creates a humid cooking environment, which helps the smoke adhere to the meat,” My smoker has a tray for water in the main chamber and I fill it before starting the process.
You needn’t hover as the meat smokes, but you should check on it about every 45 to 60 minutes. To add wood chips and/or regulate the temperature if not using an electric smoker.
The Temperature
The pros use complicated formulas for heat management. I recommend staying around 250 degrees. If you do not have an electric smoker that maintains the desired temperature on its own, maintain this temperature by adjusting the vents on your smoker. Start with the bottom or intake vent, more airflow gives you a hotter fire; less air reduces the heat.
A digital temperature lets you dial in precise cooking temperature and hold it there for the duration, electric smokers have this built in. I also use an instant-read meat thermometer, my smoker has this built in.
While smoking the meat, you will more than likely experience the “stall,” in which the internal meat temperature plateaus around 160 degrees, or even drops, as the liquid evaporates from the surface of the brisket. Be patient: Eventually, the temperature will rise again.
The Wrap
The second phase of cooking begins when the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees. This is the point at which most brisket masters wrap the meat in butcher paper or aluminum foil. I use “pink” paper, unlined butcher paper that seals in the meat juices while allowing the excess steam to escape. Other pitmasters wrap in aluminum foil, a process known as the Texas Crutch. This guarantees a tender brisket but sometimes results in a steamed texture.
You can order unlined butcher paper online. It is very inexpensive. Just search for butcher paper used to smoke meat.
The Test
I use a target temperature of 205 degrees on my meat thermometer. Then I just give it the jiggle test. A properly cooked brisket will quiver like Jell-O.
The Rest
You’ll probably want to eat your brisket right away. But resting it in an insulated cooler or oven for an hour improves its texture and tenderness immeasurably. I keep it wrapped in the butcher paper with an instant-read thermometer inserted. I rest the brisket until the internal temperature falls to about 145 degrees.
The Carve
Carving a brisket flat is easy: Simply slice it across the grain to the thickness of a No. 2 pencil. The grain will be at an angle so you will start in one of the corners.
