Comments:
Timeline
7 a.m.: Season brisket. Let it sit at room temperature for an hour.
7:30 a.m.: Light a fire. Heat the smoker to 250 degrees (225-275 is acceptable).
8 a.m. Put brisket in 250-degree smoker; insert probe into thickest part of meat.
Noon: Start checking internal temp of meat to gauge your progress. At 160-170 degrees, pull it out, double wrap tightly in foil, put back in smoker and insert probe into thickest part of meat. Increase temp of smoker to 300 degrees. When internal temp of meat reaches slightly over 200 degrees, remove brisket, unwrap and let it rest for an hour. Slice and serve.
| brisket (whole) | 10-12 | lbs | | salt, kosher | 1/3 | cup | | pepper, course ground | 1/3 | cup | |
Directions:
1 For the rub, mix salt and pepper together in a small container.
2 One hour before beginning, place the brisket on butcher paper or parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet. Trim off the excess fat, leaving 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the fat cap. You'll be trimming off thick layers of hard fat until it feels soft over the whole surface. You can ask your butcher to do this.
3 Sprinkle rub over entire surface of meat, patting it down. No need to rub it in. Let the seasoned brisket sit at room temperature, uncovered, about 1 hour.
4 Thirty minutes before beginning, light a wood fire or a chimney of charcoal for your smoker. Heat the smoker to 250 degrees. If using charcoal to start the fire, add wood chunks. If using wood, add some more wood.
5 Once the smoke is thin and white, instead of thick and gray, place the brisket in the smoker. If using a probe thermometer, insert it in the meat now. Close the lid. Maintain a smoker temperature of about 250 degrees. Most wood smokers aren't perfect and the temp fluctuates, so a range between 225 and 275 degrees is fine.
6 After about 4 hours, begin to monitor the internal temperature of the meat. When it reaches 160-170 degrees and has a deep reddish brown or nearly black crust on the exterior, it's time to wrap the brisket.
7 The crutch: To wrap the brisket, fold a 6-foot long piece of foil in half lengthwise; tightly wrap the meat in the foil (or use fresh butcher paper). Increase the smoker temperature to 300 degrees. Place the wrapped brisket back into the smoker, insert the probe into the thickest part and cook until the internal temperature of the meat goes slightly over 200 degrees.
8 Oven option: If using an inexpensive smoker that is challenging to heat evenly, it is acceptable to crutch meat by placing the wrapped brisket in a preheated 300 degree oven for about 2 hours. When it's wrapped — smoker or oven — it's not getting additional smoke anyway.
9 Remove the brisket from the smoker (or oven); unwrap it and let it rest at room temperature, 1 hour. If you're eating later, you can let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours before the internal temperature decreases too much. There's plenty of heat in there. If it gets done (an internal temp of 200 degrees) even earlier, place the wrapped brisket into a covered beer cooler (without ice). Let it sit there until 1 hour before serving time.
