By Christie Vanover | Published October 9, 2016 | Last Updated June 27, 2022
When I first wrote this post in 2016, I had smoked a few beef briskets in my life, and they’d always been good, but not great. So I studied the techniques used by a few BBQ grand champions and BBQ instagram pals, and I’m passing them on to you.
For a summary of this post, scroll to the bottom for a handy infographic.
What is Brisket?
First of all, the brisket is one tough piece of meat, but when you smoke it just right, it becomes a heavenly slab of beef that yields tender meat slices and melt-in-your-mouth burnt ends.
The brisket is part of the chest muscle of the cow. Unlike other primal cuts, the cow uses this muscle a lot, which is why it requires a certain cooking technique to break down the connective tissue.
A full packer brisket is made up of two muscles: the point and the flat.
The point is the thickest part and its the fattier, more flavorful end of the brisket. It’s where burnt ends come from – which by the way are not burnt – they’re just covered with smoked on rub that gives them a burnt appearance.
Comparatively, the flat is the less fatty portion of the brisket that lays underneath the point. It’s where your traditional brisket slices come from.
When shopping for brisket at the market, you may notice a a variety of sizes to choose from. They often come packaged whole or trimmed as just the flat. It’s pretty rare to find just the point. If you do, grab a few.
How to Trim Brisket
In the past, I have taken my brisket out of the plastic, rubbed it and thrown it straight on the smoker, but that’s not the best approach.
Fat is flavor, but in the case of whole brisket, there is plenty of fat marbled into the meat. The added cap of fat is not needed. Instead, you want to remove the excess so the rub you apply will bark up next to the tender meat.
This above video will walk you through how to trim a brisket. All you need is a really large cutting board and a sharp knife. I love using my Cutco butcher knife, but a boning knife works nice, as well.
BBQ Competition Secret: Now that I’ve been smoking briskets for a while, I’ve learned that disposable plastic cutting boards work really well. I use them to trim all of my competition meats both before and after the cook.
Smoked Brisket Rub & Injections
The prep is probably one of the most debated topics when it comes to BBQ brisket. Some swear by injecting their meat for tenderness; others prefer to keep the meat “au naturel.”
You’re welcome to go either way, but I recommend trying an injection at least once. I think you’ll taste the difference. If you want to start simple, just inject the brisket with beef broth.
If you want do what the competitors do, combine 2 tablespoons of phosphates with 1 cup of beef broth. Phosphates help retain moisture. You can also add some rub to your broth, if the grains are small enough to fit through your injector.
What’s an injector?
It’s an oversized needle that you can pick up online. You fill a narrow cup with your injection liquid, stick the needle in the cup and pull up on the plunger to fill the vial with fluid.
Then, just like giving a shot, pierce the brisket meat, and slowly push down on the plunger to inject broth into the meat. Continue doing this every inch or so across and down the meat, using up most, if not all, of the liquid.
Next, rub your meat all over with your favorite BBQ rub. Rubs are as controversial as injections. In Texas, kosher salt and 16-mesh ground pepper are the staples. A few go on and add granulated garlic to that mix.
If you’re nervous about making your own rub, try my Brisket Rub. It’s available from Spiceology, and includes a balance of salt, pepper, garlic with a light touch of chiles, cumin and sweetness.
After you’ve (maybe) injected your brisket and rubbed it all over, rest your meat 6-12 hours in the fridge covered with plastic wrap. This allows all of that flavor you just added inside and out to really marry up with the meat.
Best Way to Smoke a Brisket
I’ve smoked brisket on a Big Green Egg, an offset barrel smoker, a vertical barrel smoker, an ugly drum and a pellet smoker. One of the easiest methods is on a pellet smoker, purely because it allows me to get on with my day without having to nurse the firebox for 8-12 hours.
Some may consider this a lazy approach, but I don’t care. I have ruined too many briskets because I got distracted. You want to keep your heat at 225-250F. If you’re heat rises to 300F+ without you realizing it, you’re not going to be happy with the final result.
I load my pellet smoker with cherry and hickory pellets and set it to 225F degrees. Once it’s ready, I add the prepped brisket to the smoker fat side up with the point (the thickest end) toward the hopper, and close the lid.
If you’re short on time, you may want to try the hot and fast method. This is when you cook brisket at a higher temp. I usually only recommend this method if you’re using a high-quality grade of beef.
How Long to Smoke a Brisket
One of the most googled brisket questions is, “How long does it take to smoke a brisket?”
The answer for cook time will vary, depending on how much your brisket weighs, what temperature you’re cooking at and even your altitude and outside temperature.
I’ve had some briskets take 12 hours and some take 20. When you decide you want to smoke a brisket, I recommend adding it to the smoker early in the morning or even the night before.
For a general rule of thumb, a 11-pound brisket smoked at 225F degrees takes around 12 hours. That includes 6 hours before the wrap, 3 hours wrapped and a 3-hour rest.
Temperature is more important than time
When smoking a brisket, it’s more important to focus on the color and temperature. You’ll want to use a meat thermometer to monitor the temp of your meat throughout the cook.
Smoked Brisket Internal Temp
First off, where you put the temperature probe matters.
The point part of the brisket will show a higher temp than the flat, because it’s fattier. If you remove the meat from the smoker when the point is ready, the flat will not be juicy and tender enough. Insert the probe in the flat about an inch from where the point and flat meet.
Once you put the rubbed brisket on your 225F-degree smoker, spritz it with apple cider vinegar every couple hours. When it reaches about 165F degrees and has a beautiful mahogany bark, spritz it some more and wrap the brisket tightly in two layers of foil or peach paper. For a 11-pound brisket, this can take about 5-6 hours.
Foil vs. Peach Paper: Foil is easier to come by and does a great job at locking in moisture, but people enjoy using peach paper because it allows some moisture to escape, preserving the beautiful bark you created.
You want to keep that thermometer in the meat, because this next temp is the most important part.
Continue cooking the brisket, until your meat temperature reaches 200-205F degrees. Some competition diehards swear by 203F degrees, to be exact. For an 11-pound brisket, this can take another 3 hours.
Another way to test the doneness is to pierce the probe into the brisket in multiple spots. If it glides in like butter with little resistance, it’s ready.
When You Pull It off the Smoker, You’re Not Quite Done – Let It Rest
After all of that hard work, I can’t stress how important this step is. You have to rest your brisket. Just think of this as part of the cooking process.
There’s a whole lot of science behind why this step is important, but to keep things simple –> this helps lock in the juicy flavor. Any step that locks in flavor is a good one. Right?
Remove your brisket from the smoker. Wrap it in one more piece of foil. Then, wrap it in a towel, and place it in a large cooler (without ice) for at least 3 hours.
How to Make Burnt Ends
Okay. At this point, you’ve been so disciplined and patient, but there is one more magical step for the best bites of brisket. Adjust the smoker to 275F degrees.
Remove the brisket from the cooler and foil, and cut the flat end off. Wrap him back in foil, and return him to the cooler.
Cut the point end into one-inch chunks. Throw them in an aluminum pan, and gently toss them with more rub and your favorite BBQ sauce. Place the pan back on the smoker. Smoke for 1 hour to set the sauce.
During the last 15 minutes of smoking, pull the flat out of the cooler, and slice against the grain. Sprinkle with more rub and brush with remaining juices. A sign of a well-cooked brisket flat is it’s flexibility.
If you can drape it over your finger, congratulations!
Finally, remove the burnt ends from the smoker and serve the crowd. If you follow these smoked brisket recipe tips and techniques, you should end up with the juiciest most flavorful brisket you’ve ever smoked.
Here’s a handy Girls Can Grill infographic to make things easier for you.
Click the image below to download a pdf of the infographic.
Smoked Brisket
Ingredients
- 11 lb brisket
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/3 cup Brisket Rub
- apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from the brisket.
- Inject the brisket with beef broth. Rub it liberally with brisket rub. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Set the smoker to 225F degrees with your favorite wood chunks, chips or pellets.
- Smoke fat-side-up, spritzing with apple cider vinegar every two hours, until a thermometer placed in the flat end of the meat measures 165F degrees. Make sure the smoker maintains a steady temp.
- Spritz the brisket one more time, and tightly wrap it in two layers of foil.
- Continue smoking until the brisket is 203F degrees.
- Wrap in another piece of foil and a towel, and place it in a cooler (without ice) for at least 3 hours.
- Slice and serve.
Hi Christie..Thanks for the nice detailed instructions. I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker so it’ll be interesting to see how this turns out? I’ve smoked several Pork Shoulders that produced some yummy pulled pork sandwiches for friends & family. I have to give kudos to Masterbuilt for their well insulated smokers and maintaining cooking temps. I’ll let you know how it turns out.. Best regards, Sid
Sid,
My father-in-law uses a Masterbuilt and he loves the results. Best of luck!
Christie
Can someone help me better understand how to measure cooking temperature? When the instructions say smoke at 225 degrees. Is that measured at the grate where the meat resides, or at the thermometer that protrudes through the lid. For my pellet smoker, the grate temperature at the side next to the hopper is higher than at the other end and the temperature at the grate is lower than at the lid thermometer, since heat rises in the smoker.
Yes. The 225 should be about where the meat sits. You can get a thermometer that connects to the grill grate to measure the ambient temp. For pellet grills, the heat will always be more intense near the fire pot, which is usually located near the hopper. If you place the brisket in the middle, you should get more even hit. With this recipe, it’s okay to smoke it between 225-250F degrees. It doesn’t have to be exact. 250F will just take a little less time for the final cook.
Get a Thermpro digital thermometer. I have the TP20. Don’t trust a smoker attached probe. Been electric smoking for over 10 years and I have always used an aftermarket thermometer. Don’t ever go by time always temp.
This is precisely what I have been looking for. I too love Code3 they are a local company to me here in St. Louis. This will be a cook next week as I have two 10lbs pork butts in my smoker currently
Definitely sounds like your grill is loaded up today. I’m glad this post is what you were looking for. Enjoy.
This was an amazingly detailed post! I can’t wait to try!
Thank you Lauren. I’d love to hear how it goes.
Why are you scared of higher temperatures for cooking? Myron mixon does all of his briskets hot and fast at 350°
I just haven’t had great results with high temps yet. I’ve tried it a couple of times, but the fat in my point didn’t get fully rendered.
If I recall from his book Mixon always uses Waygu beef which is fine if you want to spend $200 + for a packer… It probably starts out tender enough to eat blood rare. I’ve always gone with low and slow.
Best brisket I have ever made. Loved the detailed instructions
Way to go!
Thanks, your recipe has been very helpful and I’ve been successful several times
Enjoyed reading your method of smoking Brisket! I’ve always done a flat and want to do a whole Brisket. What are your thought about wrapping in the Franklin butcher paper method?
Thanks. The point tastes so much better than the flat. That’s where all the fat and flavor is. Sometimes, I split the flat from the point when smoking it, but not always. I go back and forth between using foil and using butcher paper. I like how foil locks in the liquid, but it can steam off your bark, if it’s not wrapped too tightly. I find the butcher paper isn’t always as moist, but the bark is solid.
Thank you so much for your detailed information on how to do a brisket!!! I purchased a Green Mountain Jim Bowie smoker end of the last year. Done ribs, but I’m still learning how to do them. I’m going to try to do a brisket next.My question is where can I find the rub Code 3, Rescue rub or Grunt rub?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on smoking a brisket!!! Any help with ribs, would be great to!!!
You are so welcome. You can find the rubs at code3spices.com. Check out my rib post at https://girlscangrill.com/featured/three-ways-to-cook-competition-ribs/
I followed most of your instructions, I had to make a few adjustments. I had smoked 1 other brisket before. It didn’tturn out very well. This was the by far the best brisket I’ve ever eaten, let alone smoked. It was so tender and moist it was falling apart. Thank you so much for
Can apple juice be substituted for the vinegar ? Not many people in my family like vinegar in general and worried about the taste it might leave, sour? I’ve substituted for marinade mixes before but was with pork. Hoping to do my first brisket this weekend. Got my hands on a prime grade brisket and don’t want to waste the opportunity.
Yes. You can definitely use apple juice. You can also use some vinegar and some juice or some water. Stick to what you know your family loves. Best of luck. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this post it made my 1st brisket amazing !! I am now on my second brisket and I am back to this post to ensure it’s done right. Thanks again
Awesome! So glad to hear it was a success.
What if I go to pull it and one end is registering 185 and the other 203? Do I split it then?
No. Just let it ride. The point end can keep going. It’s much more forgiving. The flat is the end you’ll need to focus on.
Tried it and all I can say is incredible. It was by far the best brisket that I have ever made or tasted. I wrapped it at 155 and pulled it out to rest at 190.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.
I purchased my first pellet smoker and being the brave (and sometimes stupid) guy that I am…I tried a brisket as my first experiment on the new smoker. I followed these directions and it was FANTASTIC! Okay…maybe I made a mistake? So, I did a 2nd brisket and it was as good as the first. Hmmm…maybe I’m not so smart (well, I did find this website so maybe not?) but the pellet smoker is definitely the way to go. As I am writing this, my 3rd brisket is on it’s way to be devoured!
Cooking a brisket and my flat says 197 and my point says 180 for temp what should i go by
I like to put the probe in the center and aim for 205. The main thing though is to make sure the probe goes into the meat like butter. If you feel resistance, keep smoking.
I very much like your article, thank you for sharing. Is the reasoning for having the thickest part pointed toward the pellet hopper because it is expected to be the warmest spot or because it is closest to the pellet grills controlling thermometer and therefore expected to maintain the most consistent temp?
On my grill, that’s the warmest spot. Find the hot spot on your grill, and place your point toward that side. The point has more fat, so it can handle more heat.
Absolutely amazing recipe! I did a 12 pound prime brisket on a camp chef pellet grill and actual cook time was 9 hours. I let it sit in the cooler for 4 hours and then refrigerated overnight as it wasn’t being eaten until the next day. If you plan on re heating it, set an oven for 325 and warm up until internal temp reaches 140. ABSOLUTE PERFECTION! Thank you for these detailed instructions. Very juicy and tender with lots of flavor!
So i have been smoking for about 10 yrs and I have always been hit or miss on brisket…which is terrible based on how much brisket costs I don’t mind spending the cash, as long as it comes out great. Followed the recipe one of the BEST BRISKETS ever …Thanks for the tips!!!
Wow. I’m so touched that my instructions helped put your brisket game over the top.
Best brisket I’ve ever tasted! Fed everyone around me- work and extended family – and all in agreement. Great instructions-l, thank you for sharing!
Theses instructions are so good, wow thank you! Helped me a lot understand more and get better! Thanks for sharing!
worked great
Hi Christie:
Thanks for the great instructions. I’m using a Pit Boss vertical smoker. First brisket came out damn near perfect. Second and third not so good. I’m in Denver at altitude, and wondering how much that might impact cooking. Using a two-probe thermometer setup on brisket #4 to also see if that helps. My question is on a water pan, and how much you use? Or do you just use the spritzer to keep things moist? Can too much water in the pan prolong the stall at altitude?
Thanks in advance!
If you’re in a drier climate, a water pan is better than a spritz. I usually try to keep at least an inch of water in there. When I add water, I make sure it’s hot. If you add cold or room temp water, it will cool your grill down and make your cook take longer. Also, at high altitude, figure out what your boiling temp is. Then, aim for your brisket to be done a few degrees below boiling temp for your area.
I followed your recipe for my first ever full packer and we could not be happier with the results. The only deviation I made was to cook it at 180° before wrapping it. I did a 16 pounder, put it on at 11 pm, as I wanted to be able to sleep without worrying that it would hit temp or run out of pellets as it was a cold night. After 9 hours at 180° I wrapped it and went up to 225° for another 5 hours. I will definitely do it again.
First I give your rating at 5 stars, but it will only let me do three stars. I have looked at several websites on cooking brisket an yours looks like the one. I just purchased a Pit Boss upright smoker and an Oklahoma Joe’s grill/smoker. I have a 23# brisket and twelve racks of ribs. I am using the Oklahoma as my smoker for the brisket as I have more racks in the Pit Boss for the ribs. I have been using an old Brinkman that I have been using for 20+ years but I am tired of charcoal/wood, and then trying to control the heat. For the most part I like the charcoal grill as I built a rotisserie in it.
I just tried a couple of real small briskets ( 2# and 5#) in both units and they came out fair, but did not have time to prep them. Soi this Thursday I will prep for Saturday cooking for a large group of family and friends. I will let you know how it turns out.
I tried to leave a 5 star rating and it only allowed me 3. This is the BEST recipe rule of thumb there is. My brisket was voted the BEST amongst 12 entries. I now do it once a month for my family and they love it too. Greatly appreciate the advice and assistance. Pete Niagara Falls Ontario Canada
Awesome! Congrats on being a brisket champ.
Today is my second smoked brisket ever, I have followed your instructions to the letter wit my masterbuilt gravity series 560 and it comes out AMAZING my bark never gets a deep mahogany color by the time to wrap but in the end the bark is amazing, and the smoke ring is out of this world pretty. I use Hickory to flavor and my rub is just salt paper and a teeny tiny bit of garlic powder. The men I feed are in heaven, than you!
What if you can only find the flat? How does this change the process?
You can follow the same process, but the time will shift a little. Once you see it form the mahogany bark, wrap it up. Then, cook it until the probe goes into the meat like butter.
My husband has a Camp Chef pellet smoker and we have cooked everything and everything has come out great thus far, except for brisket. I found this article/recipe and you weren’t joking, it’s truly no fail. The brisket came out so incredibly delicious and the burnt ends knocked it out of the park. This recipe was easy to follow and we will definitely be saving it for future briskets!
The hard part sometimes too is cutting it correctly. I’ve cooked a few and didn’t cut it right, very disappointing. I’ll be trying this next time! Thanks!
First time smoking a brisket on a pellet grill and it came out amazing!! Followed your steps but made a few tweaks. Thanks for sharing and posted up on Instagram.
So, you advise fat up, not down? I’ve always heard you want the fat closest to the heat source so if my pellet grill heats from below I should go fat side down. Love the recipe, just checking if that makes a difference, heat above or below. Thanks!
Great question. When you’re smoking slow and low, I honestly don’t find that it matters. However, when I cook hot and fast, I do cook fat closest to the heat to protect the meat.
I followed this recipe and this turned out to be the best brisket I ever cooked! I’m 63 and have been grilling and smoking for years so that says a lot! I’m waiting right now to take my Thanksgiving brisket out of the ice chest for the burnt ends step. Thanks for such a great recipe. Also, using these digital thermometers takes all the guess work out of smoking.
That’s so awesome to hear. Thanks for sharing.
I just used an offset smoker for the first time. This recipe was absolutely amazingly delicious and I’ve made many slow and low cooked brisket before. I saved this on my pinterest board because I definately will make this again. I used sour orange juice because we live in Florida and it was a nice tenderizing addition!!
I have an offset smoker & the temp gauge seems to run at 200 -to- 210° [unless I really load up the firebox with Wood & it starts to flame up- then it will get up to the 250 -to- 280° Range- the last flat brisket I did took 14 hours & I still needed to finish it in the oven?? What’s going on here….
Your grill is running at a really low temp. My guess is that the walls are thin. My first offset was like that. I recommend trying lump charcoal in your firebox. Let the coals start to ash over, before you start cooking. Add a generous amount and use your intake and exhaust to control the heat. More oxygen = more heat.
I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker, and this will be the 1st time doing an 18lb brisket I always use 225 to smoke, what is your best estimate for a time including the rest in an ice chest which I do with all of the meats I smoke
Thank You
Probably around 18-20 hours.
Have you ever separated point from flat prior to cooking for increased bark area? If so, did you notice and difference in tenderness or moisture?
Absolutely, I separate them all the time in competition. Both muscles cook a little differently, and the point is more forgiving. I don’t find it makes a difference in the tenderness or moisture at all.
I’m doing a roughly 6lb flat, put it on at 6:30 am at 225. I’ve heard the PB meat probes aren’t too dependable. Any tips on when I should wrap?
Once it forms a mahogany bark, you can wrap it.
What is the difference on smoking the brisket with fat side down instead of fat side up?
The fat works more as a protective layer than it does a flavor enhancer. I place the fat down toward the heat source to protect the meat, so it doesn’t dry out.
Is there any way to tell if you over cooked a brisker before you slice it?
Also if probing the brisket for tenderness can you tell if it is over cooked?
At what temp is a brisket over cooked?
3 words A MA ZING!!! Never smoked a brisket before and this was sheer perfection! Used a Master Built electric smoker. I will most definitely be following you and trying more of your smoking recipes! Thank you!
I purchased a 21 lb brisket, has anyone tried following this recipe on that large of a brisket? If so how long did it take?
I have purchased 5 briskets and all failed. I used a masterbuilt electric smoker. My husband got me a traeger pellet grill and frankly I am still afraid to try again. I have spent a lot of money and ended up throwing it all in the trash being so tough as shoe leather. My son told me to try a better cut of beef, as I bought selects and one choice grade at Walmart. Now I am thinking of purchasing some wagyu packer brisket but the price is way higher. Do you recommend this type of grade I should try, or where should I purchase the meat online as my smoker anxiety level is high as I have put hours into doing this. I am afraid to try but I want to at least try one more as per your instructions. I hope and pray this will work. I was introduced to brisket by my son and he told me to try a better grade of beef. There is so much info out there for brisket that hasn’t worked for me. I have cooked at 225 degrees did the foil the timing, wrapping and other things. If you have any info that comes to mind please let me know. I don’t want to fail again because if I do I will never do it again and probably get rid of the smoker. I am going to try to inject and prep the meat a day ahead in the fridge and then bring to room temp and cook at 225 with point end closer to the fire pot. I want the meat to be moist and very tender that will pull apart easy. Any info or encouragement you have would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Sherry
The quality of beef can definitely play a factor in the results. I recommend trying a prime-grade brisket before advancing to a wagyu. You can usually find them at Costco. When you do the wrap stage, I recommend adding some beef broth in with the brisket. This will help braise it, so it’s moist. You can either double wrap it with foil, or place it in aluminum pan with the broth and cover it with foil. It’s also very important to pull it at the right time. When you stick a probe into the meat, it should feel like butter. That’s when you know it’s done. And then, let it rest in a cooler without ice for 1-3 hours. This helps the juices recirculate back into the meat. Best of luck!
Also a big thing people do not mention is let the brisket cool down to like 180-170 internal temp before putting it in a cooler or warmer. If you throw it in right away it will over cook and dry out since it will still cook inside the cooler if put in too hot.
Do you replenish the wood pellets during the entire several hours of cooking to keep smoke flowing? That seems like an awful lot of smoke. Anytime I’ve smoked ribs or chicken and provided more than a couple of hours of smoke, the food has been basically inedible.
Thanks for the detailed instructions. How does the timing change when the brisket is smaller? Is there a smoke-time per pound calculation I should do?
How do you cook this and get sleep in?
I put it on the smoker at 4 a.m., so I try to go to bed early. You may be interested in my hot and fast brisket. It doesn’t take as much time: https://girlscangrill.com/recipe/hot-and-fast-brisket/.
I have followed your instructions twice for full brisket and amazing results both times. Next I am going to smoke just a flat. Why should I do differently when just smoking the flat?
I’m so glad the other briskets turned out great. For the flat, Follow the same steps, but stop before the burnt ends stage.
What are your thoughts on separating the point from the flat after the resting period, refrigerating the point to make the burnt ends another day?
I’ve never attempted that, but it’s worth a shot. It may take just a bit longer though, since the point will be cold.
I have an upright electric smoker. Do I need to continue to add more wood chips at the beginning?
Thank you, brisket turned out moist and tender
Way to go, Roy!
We stayed up all night (we’re night owls anyway) to put it in at 4AM, but it started to rain during our cooking time, smoker temp dropped, and it took an extra hour and a half to get to 203° For me to take out and rest. At this rate, we won’t be eating dinner till 8 PM. I’m wondering if cutting an hour off the rest time would ruin the recipe?
Hi Marissa,
You’ll be fine to cut off some of the resting time. Even just an hour in the cooler would be fine.
Excellent post! I find myself revisiting this one every time I make a brisket and looking for other recipes on GCG as well! Excellent resource by girls who can out-grill me any day! Please keep the great instructions coming!
No matter how many of these recipes I try, they all seem to be over cooked. 203 degrees is absurd. I just did one and ran it to 170 degrees and it was tough. I may be doing something wrong but if this were a steak I wouldn’t eat it. I placed a 6.5 pound brisket on the pellet grill at 225 and 4 hours later it was at 170 so I killed the heat and let rest for 45 minutes. I also read that you should let rest for 2 hours. Sorry but that makes dinner cold. What is the secret that is not being discussed here?
170 degrees would be very undercooked for a brisket. Technically, the meat is safe to eat, once it hits 135; however, brisket is a very tough muscle. You can’t cook it like a steak. It needs to be cooked to 195-210 (depending on your altitude) in order for the cartilage to fully break down, so it’s tender. I’m not sure what you mean by it being overcooked at 203. In brisket terms, overcooked means that it’s mushy and the meat doesn’t have good texture. That happens when you cook it too long in too much moisture. If you mean that the brisket was well done, and not medium rare, you’re never going to want to cook brisket to medium rare. At that temp, it will be very tough. As for the rest, I recommend wrapping it in foil and then in a towel and placing it in a cooler without ice. It will stay warm for hours.
I was totally stressing about how to cook my first brisket, so I went to where I knew I could trust the instructions – HERE. And dang, the brisket came out perfect. Tender, juicy, and crazy good. I trust Christie for her expertise in barbecue as my go to source!
I’ve made several brisket’s and they didn’t turn out well, after reading your way, my 1st one came out perfect!! Cooking my 2nd today using your method and I know it will be amazing!! Thanks!!!
Best I ever made, by far. Just started the 2nd one, have been afraid the one I did months ago would never be equaled. Fingers crossed, always been good at all but brisket. Thanks so much for detailed guidance