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4.50 from 4 votes

Texas Style Smoked Brisket Recipe

Low and slow Smoked Brisket that tastes like a million dollars! It's moist, tender, and buttery from the inside with a beautiful pink smoke ring, and crusty beautiful bark from the outside.
Author Diana
Servings 24 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 14 hours
Rest time 1 hour
Total Time 15 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 16 pound beef brisket excess fat trimmed

For The Dry Rub:

  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin

Instructions

  • Start by trimming excess fat from both sides leaving about fourth an inch of fat since it will render and crisp as you smoke the brisket.
  • Trim any thin meat that is usually hanging from the end of the flat, this meat can't handle long BBQ hours and will burn so get rid of it.
  • Make the Dry Rub. In a small bowl, combine your seasonings.
  • Preheat your smoker to 225-275°F, and place the brisket on the smoker fat side up with the point side facing the heat source. Leave the brisket untouched in the smoker for 3 hours, then start spray it with a 50/50 mix of water and apple cider vinegar every 45 miutes, this will help the bark from getting too crusty and keep it moist.
  • When the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 180°F at the point, and 170°F at the flat, spray the brisket and wrap it with butcher paper or foil to protect it. Turn the meat so that the flat side is facing the heat source, this will help tenderize it evenly.
  • Let the brisket cook until it reaches 200°F, always check using a kitchen thermometer. Do not unwrap the brisket at this stage. When the brisket reaches 200-205°F, pull it off the smoker.
  • Leave the brisket wrapped, and stick it in a dry cooler to rest for 45-60 minutes or up to two hours.
  • Now start by cutting of the tip of the flat side that you can come back to later and cut it into cubes. Then start slicing against the grain at the flat side (about fourth an inch - not too thin and not too thick) and when you're halfway you should get the point where the point side starts and you can see the two muscles. Now rotate the brisket 90 degrees so you cut against point side grains. cut off the tip (this part is called burnt ends and cut them into cubes) and then start slicing the two muscles together. This part is typically jucier and moister than the flat side for all the fat it contains. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Use butcher paper or foil to tightly cover the brisket. The reason why it needs to be TIGHTLY covered is because air bubbles will cause steam, and we don’t want that.
To check the temperature of the brisket, insert a kitchen thermometer right through the foil or butcher paper right in the center of the point (or in the thickest part of the flat if there’s no point in your brisket).
 

Nutrition

Calories: 493kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 63g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 187mg | Sodium: 831mg | Potassium: 1034mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 238IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 6mg