Classic Smoked Beef Brisket
Traditional dish · American BBQ
A quintessential Texas-style smoked beef brisket, slow-cooked to tender perfection with a rich, smoky bark. This recipe focuses on the traditional rub and low-and-slow smoking method for maximum flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
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Ingredients
- Beef Brisket (packer cut)12-15 lbs
- Kosher salt1/4 cup
- Coarse black pepper1/4 cup
- Water1 cup (for spritzing)
- Oak wood chunksfor smoking
Steps
- 1
Trim excess fat from the brisket, leaving about 1/4 inch.
- 2
Generously season the entire brisket with kosher salt and coarse black pepper.
- 3
Prepare your smoker for indirect heat, aiming for a temperature of 225-250°F (107-121°C). Add oak wood chunks for smoke.
- 4
Place the brisket directly on the smoker grate, fat side up.
- 5
Smoke for approximately 6-8 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 160-165°F (71-74°C).
- 6
Spritz the brisket with water every hour after the first 3 hours of smoking.
- 7
Once the bark has formed and the temperature is reached, wrap the brisket tightly in butcher paper.
- 8
Return the wrapped brisket to the smoker and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 200-205°F (93-96°C) and it probes tender (around 2-4 more hours).
- 9
Remove the brisket from the smoker and let it rest, still wrapped, for at least 1 hour (or up to 4 hours in a cooler).
- 10
Unwrap the brisket, slice against the grain, and serve immediately.
