Smoking Brisket – the Secret Tips & Tricks You need to know

Brisket Basics – A thorough take a look at smoking a brisket. How to source, trim, season and smoke an entire brisket.

#brisket #smokedbrisket #howtobbqright

BBQ Brisket Essential

WHAT MALCOM USED IN THIS DISH:
– Swine Life Prime Beef Rub
– Killer Hogs Hot Rub
– Killer Hogs TX Brisket Rub
– 5" Flexible Curved Boning Knife
– BOS Orange Sprayer
– Thermoworks DOT
– BBQ Gloves –

So you want to prepare a Brisket? I'll be the very first to confess, preparing a brisket can be a challenge, however the payoff is absolutely worth it. There's nothing quite like a rich, juicy, tasty, perfectly smoked brisket!

Discover a good Brisket
It can be difficult to find an excellent brisket – depending on your area. If you have a local butcher – that is a terrific place to start. You can likewise discover them in grocery stores, Sam's Club and Costco. Make sure you consider that cryovac package a good look. Make certain it's undamaged and there are no leaks. You desire a brisket with uniform density across the flat, avoiding any thin or uneven areas. A little versatility in the product packaging is great – genuine good! That indicates the brisket has some age and has currently started breaking down. You don't want it paper-thin on the flat end– that's where dryness can creep in.

Cutting and Prepping
Time to get hands-on with your brisket! When I cut, I'm just focused on making it aerodynamic. I'm wanting to settle the edges for better air flow over the brisket. I like to use a 5" semi-curved fillet knife to accomplish those smooth, rounded edges. When it pertains to fat, there's excellent and bad. Trim down the fat to about a quarter inch, leaving the difficult, dry fat that will render and taste your brisket. No need for extreme injections or tallow here– we're concentrating on the natural beefy goodness.

Seasoning and Rubs
For flavoring, we're keeping it basic yet tasty. Start with a base layer of your favorite beef rub. I like the mouthwatering punch of Swine Life Prime Beef. Next, layer on some barbecue rub for that classic color and sweetness that will caramelize throughout cooking. I'm opting for my Killer Hogs Hot Rub. Then, for that authentic Texas-style bark, complete it off with a coarse mix of salt and black pepper. I'm opting for my Killer Hogs TX Brisket rub as my top layer.

Fire and Heat Management
Time to fire up that pit! Whether you're cooking on a stick burner, pellet grill, or kettle, the key is clean, consistent fire management. Establish a solid coal bed and maintain a clean fire. We're using hickory wood in our stick burner for that traditional taste. Keep a consistent temperature level around 275 ° F– no requirement to rush, it's everything about patience.

Cooking and Spritzing
Put your trimmed and experienced brisket on the pit, fat side up. This assists secure the meat and adds amazing flavor as the fat renders. As the cook progresses, spritz the brisket with a basic liquid mixture every couple of hours. This helps prevent drying on the leading and edges.

The Waiting Video game
Cooking a brisket is everything about keeping a consistent temperature and withstanding the desire to peek too often. Let it do its thing, and remember, it's a journey that requires time. When you have to do with 2 hours in, consider spritzing to keep that bark in leading shape.

Last Temps
There are a lot of final temperatures for the best brisket doneness. Some swear by 200 ° F, others say 205 ° F. however it truly comes down to feel. Brisket has to totally break down. While the internal temperature is a valuable guideline, the genuine secret lies in the texture. You're aiming for that magical feel when a probe or thermometer glides through the meat with very little resistance. For many folks, this typically takes place around the 200-205 ° F mark. Bear in mind, every brisket is unique, so don't be afraid to trust your instincts. When it feels ideal, pull that appeal off the pit and let it rest, permitting those juices to redistribute and the tastes to harmonize.

Final Thoughts
And you can use these "brisket basics" for preparing a brisket on any pit … a stick burner, pellet grill, or something else, these strategies use throughout the board.

Keep in mind, patience is essential, and the benefits are oh-so-delicious. Up until next time, keep those fires burning and those briskets smoking!

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Smoking Brisket – the Secret Tips & Tricks You need to know

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37 Comments

  1. I thank you gentlemen for dropping so much useful knowledge to help me try to cook a brisket again! I’m 0 for 2 and paying high prices at restaurants to get my brisket fix. Hopefully the third try will get me through to success!

    1. Not taking away from the wealth of knowledge of these two men, but I would suggest watching Aaron Franklin’s original 3 part brisket YouTube videos. He made them several years ago but those are what really took me to another level of smoking..

    2. Watch mad scientist, then Chudsbbq, then Jirby (aka Goldees). Mad scientist is great for beginners, not that good when you have the basics (he is insanely boring). Chuds is great and gives you a lot of detail. Jirby is the final boss. He gives you good details but conveys a lot by what he shows you. He takes everything you have learned and simplifies it and at least helps me consolidate the info into a solid approach. Also nobody has a better trimming video than Jirby. It is restaurant style trim, but I prefer restaurant style.

    3. In my experience it took me a long time of learning other bbq methods to dial in my brisket game.

    4. Franklin said once that if you can season your meat and let it sit overnight in the fridge it would help the taste and the moisture a lot. I tried it and he was right, tastes wayyyy better than if you season and then immediately put it on.

  2. I already liked this guy because he’s with my man Malcolm, then i noticed the Freedom Factory hat and said DALE YEAH BROTHER hes one of us! 🤣🇺🇲💪🏼

  3. My two favorite masters of BBQ. That chat was loaded with Gems!! I will watch it repeatedly. Thanks Malcom and Mark!!

  4. Brisket is the one meat I haven’t smoked yet. I feel more confident after watching these 2 gurus of the pit. Thanks guys.

  5. Love your channel, my father who passed away recently, used to say. Never trust a skinny cook. Both him, me and you cheff sir love our meat and neither one of us are skinny cooks;-) Just the way we like it.

  6. @23:45 was the part I was waiting for from Malcom! “It’s a clapper!”

  7. I don’t ever inject my meats before putting them on the smoker as a personal preference, but the point made about the added water in an injection making the cook take longer really makes sense. Thank you for all of the great information.

  8. Thank you Malcom and Mark! I’ve always cooked to 200 internal temp and wondered why my briskets were still lacking on tenderness. The “last stall” tip blew my mind. I will try it next time.

  9. I really appreciate how
    experts in the field can say that there’s no set time and you know when you know.

  10. Wow, this video explains brisket smoking from beginning to end, like no other in existence. To me, this is the bible of brisket. I took Aaron’s class, and it was good, but this explains the process so thoroughly! Must watch!

    “The fat in the flat, is where it’s at”!

  11. Malcom be killing me 😂😂😂
    “Make them ends clap” I know he was a wild boy coming up

  12. “…You can make them ends clap…That’s a clapper all day long.” LMAO!!!!

  13. LOVE the collab of HowToBBQRight and Swine Life. My FAV rubs and FAV cooks.

  14. Doin it for Dale this weekend making a smoked flat for my family for a late thanksgiving. Hell ya brother.

  15. This might be the best instructional video on brisket I’ve seen. Myron’s is very good also, but his is for people who want to cook exactly the way he does it.

    This video gives a lot of in depth explanations that I’ve never heard before, i.e – Once the brisket hits 200 and the temp is increasing 1 degree every 10-15 minutes, then it’s probably done rendering.

    Great stuff fellas! Thank you

  16. I’m new to the smoking grill. I wanted to do a smoked corned beef on the pellet grill. I followed your instructions and paid close attention to get to know my grill. I was so happy with the results. Good bark, tender and passed the finger test. Flavor was amazing. Thanks for all your help ❤

  17. The first thing is there are a lot of variables cooking brisket and the hardest thing to bbq. I’ve cooked over seventy so far and screwed up a lot in the beginning. Since then I’ve bought some high quality pits like Yoder, but regardless of that…two of the best things I’ve learned if you’re learning is cook it to around 160(and that varies)and then wrap it fat side up in a foil boat(which helps preserve the bark)to around 200. After that rest it around 145 for fifteen hours in a cambro or an oven like a Breville that can go down to lower temps. That makes a HUGE difference.

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