Smoked Brisket

This smoked brisket recipe is delicious, easy, and beginner-friendly. If you're smoking your first brisket, be sure to give this amazing smoker recipe a try!

How To Make Smoked Brisket

Smoking brisket may seem intimidating, but it's actually quite easy. All you need is a brisket, some seasoning, a smoker, and about 12 hours to get it all together.

We're starting with a full-packer brisket, and giving it a good trim. Then, we're seasoning it with our homemade brisket rub, and letting it adhere overnight in the refrigerator.

Then it's just a matter of smoking it at various temperatures, and wrapping it, and letting the smoker do it's thing until it's done. (Shoot for a brisket internal temperature of 203°F).

Serve with a side of smoked corn on the cob and a smoked baked beans, and you've got yourself an amazing weekend meal!

Smoked Brisket Ingredients

Serving Size: 30 people

• Full-Packer Brisket (12-15 pounds). We picked up our full-packer brisket at Costco, which includes both the point and the flat. It was a large one, weighing 15 pounds!
• Dry rub (1/2 cup). We used our homemade brisket dry rub, which includes salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. But you can use your preferred rub.

The Directions

1. Start by trimming your brisket. Remove the silver skin and any excess fat from the flat. Then, trim the large crescent of fat to blend smoothly between the point and the flat. Remove any unnecessary fat from the point. Even out the edges and tips of the flat to make it look even. Lastly, flip your brisket and trim the top fat. Try to maintain an even thickness of about a quarter inch across the whole brisket.

2. Season the brisket liberally on all sides with the dry rub. 

3. Allow the rub to adhere to the brisket for at least an hour. If you have the time, do it overnight (like in the picture above).

4. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees, using your favorite flavored pellets. Place the brisket fat-side down and smoke for 3 hours.

5. After 3 hours, spritz the brisket with apple juice or apple cider vinegar. Increase the temperature of the smoker to 265 degrees and smoke for an additional 3 hours.

6. After 3 hours, spritz the brisket again with apple juice or apple cider vinegar. Increase the temperature of the smoker to 285 degrees and smoke for 1 hour. You can also add beef tallow at this point for even more flavor.

7. After 1 hour, it's time to wrap. Unroll a large sheet of butcher paper on a flat surface and place your brisket in the center. Fold the paper tightly around the brisket, sealing all edges to prevent leaks. Finally, put the wrapped brisket back in the smoker, seam side down, so the brisket's weight seals the wrap tightly. Smoke at 285 degrees for 4 more hours, or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the brisket reaches 200F-205F. 

8. Remove the brisket and place on a large cutting board, allowing it to rest for 1 hour. Then slice both the point and flat against the grain before serving. 

Cooking Temperature & Time

Brisket Smoking Tips

• Choose the right cut. Choose a full “packer” brisket, which includes both the point (the thicker, fattier section) and the flat (the thinner, leaner section). It should have a layer of fat on one side and be well-marbled throughout.
• Trim properly. Trim the fat cap down to about 1/4-inch thickness. This allows enough fat to keeps the brisket moist during the long cooking process.
• Let it rest. Once your brisket is done, let it rest for at least an hour, or even longer. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout, resulting in a more tender brisket.
• Slather. Some folks like to slather their brisket in yellow mustard or Worcestershire sauce before applying the rub. This can help create an even better bark, so it's worth experimenting with!
• Smoking temperature. A lot of folks like to smoke their brisket at 225F, but not everyone has 16+ hours to work with. I prefer smoking at a slightly higher temperature to shorten the cook time.
• Reheating on the smoker. If you're looking to reheat your brisket leftovers, the best way to do it on is on the smoker.

See more in our guide of 7 things every beginner needs to know before smoking their first brisket. 

Recommended Tools & Equipment

• Traeger Grill. I love my Traeger 780 for all things smoking!
• Pellets. I've really been digging the pellets from BBQ'ers Delight.
• Meat Thermometer. I use this MEATER to keep an eye on the internal temp during the cook, and then I also check it with this Thermapen One at the end of the cook.
• Large Cutting Board. You'll need a really large area to slice your brisket on. I love and use this John Boos cutting board.
• Butcher Paper. To wrap your brisket in. This is the one I use.
• Slicing Knife. To slice your brisket. I like this one by Mercer.