Texas Smoked Brisket
How to smoke the perfect brisket -- Texas style! All you need is brisket, salt, pepper, beef broth and Worcestershire sauce to smoke a juicy, tender brisket perfect for feeding any crowd!
Servings: 18
Calories: 553kcal
Equipment
- Smoker or pellet grill
- Wood or wood chips (preferably oak or a fruit wood)
- Brown Butcher's paper
- Heat-safe water pan
- Spray bottle (or a basting brush) for mop sauce
Ingredients
- 12 - 15 pound whole, untrimmed brisket (a.k.a. Packer's Cut), preferably High Choice or Prime quality grade
- ½ cup Kosher salt
- ½ cup coarse black pepper
- 4 cups low-sodium or unsalted beef broth
- ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
Trim the Brisket:
- With a large sharp knife, carefully shave away the fat cap until only an ⅛" of an inch remains, and trim away any large, loose hunks of fat.
- Trim the long sides of the brisket to create straight lines along the sides. Then, make a third straight cut across the face of the flat end of the brisket.
- Make additional cuts to round off the corners and remove the deckle, if desired.
Prep Mop Sauce and Season the Brisket:
- In a food-safe spray bottle or small mixing bowl prepare the mop sauce by combining the beef broth and Worcestershire. Set aside.
- Combine the salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix to combine. Rub all over your trimmed brisket. Discard of any extra. Leave the brisket out at room temperature while you prepare the smoker.
Smoke the Brisket:
- Heat your smoker to 250°F and place an heat-safe pan full of water (like a cast iron loaf pan) on the cooking rack in between the heat source and the meat.
- Place the brisket fat-side up in the smoker, with the thick side of the point-end facing the heat source and close the cooker.
- Once every hour, open the smoker to generously spray or brush down the brisket with the mop sauce. Take care to keep your smoker in a heat range between 225°F to 275°F throughout the entire duration of the cook. Do not increase the temperature of the smoker if you hit a stall.
- Between the 4-6 hour mark, begin checking the bark. Once it has taken on near-black coloring, wrap it in brown Butcher's paper and return it to the smoker.
- Cook for approximately one hour per pound, or until the point end of the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 200°F.
- Remove the brisket from the smoker and allow it to rest, wrapped, 30 minutes before slicing.
Slice:
- Starting on the flat end, cut the brisket against the grain into ¼" slices, crosswise. Cut in this direction until you reach the middle of the brisket (to the point muscle), then switch directions and begin slicing long-ways.
Nutrition
Calories: 553kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 72g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 211mg | Sodium: 3586mg | Potassium: 1378mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 42IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 8mg