How To Smoke A Brisket {Step By Step Guide!}

Get in touch with your inner pitmaster and whip yourself up a smoked brisket. This recipe will walk you through how to smoke a brisket the low and slow way!

4.80 from 5 votes

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Additional Time 1

Total Time 21 30

Ingredients

16 lb packer brisket

Rub ingredients

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

Spritz

1 can root beer

Instructions

Pop your 16 lb packer brisket in the freezer for an hour or so. This will harden the fat and make it easier to trim.
Once the brisket is well chilled and the fat is nice and firm, remove it from the freezer, and start your smoker according to the manufacturer's directions - set to 180f.
Trim the brisket with a sharp boning knife, removing most of the fat from the fat cap - leaving behind 1/8 - 1/4" of soft fat. Trim any and all hard fat - this is the waxy, firm fat. It will not render, and it will only take away from the finished product.
Mix ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 2 tablespoons onion powder, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 2 tablespoons ground black pepper, and 1 tablespoon paprika in a medium-sized bowl, generously sprinkle rub onto the brisket, patting it down to ensure it "sticks".
Place your brisket on the smoker, fat cap down, and insert your wireless temperature probe. Smoke overnight (8-12 hours) or until internal temperature reaches ~150f.
Once the brisket has reached ~150f internal temperature, increase the temperature of the smoker to 225f.
While the brisket is finishing off at 225f, spritz it every 45 -60 minutes with root beer. This improves the flavor and texture of the bark.
Continue smoking your brisket at 225f and spritzing until it reaches an internal temperature of 195 - 203f. You'll know it's ready when you insert the temperature probe or toothpick into the meat and it slides in and out without resistance.
Once the brisket is done smoking, remove it from the grill and wrap it in 2 layers of uncoated peach butcher's paper. Then wrap in a towel. At this point, you can place it right into a small cooler, but we like to pop it into a cooler bag and then place it in the cooler.
Leave your brisket in the cooler for at least 1 hour to rest but as many as 4 hours.
After the 1 hour rest period, take the brisket out of all the wrapping and begin to slice with a large Granton blade knife. While slicing, be mindful of the grain of the meat. Slice it across the flat and then perpendicularly for the point.

Notes

Batch

This recipe makes enough for 1 large packer brisket. If you're cooking more than 1 packer at a time, simply double the rub recipe and use more root beer. If you're cooking a half-packer, or separated point and flat, you'll need to halve the rub and shorten the cooking time.

Storage:

Keep your leftover brisket in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you need to store it longer than that, it can be frozen for up to 3 months.