This smoked brisket recipe is for beef coated in a homemade spice rub, then slow smoked to tender perfection and thinly sliced. The ultimate beef that tastes like it came from a restaurant!
This slow cooked beef brisket is one of the very best things you can possibly make with a smoker. Serve your smoked brisket with a side of stove top mac and cheese, baked beans with bacon and one of these corn on the cob recipes, and watch the rave reviews pour in.
In my opinion, smoked brisket is the king of all the smoked meats. It’s melt in your mouth tender, full of rich flavor, and happens to be quite easy to make. The hardest part is waiting hours for the meat to slowly cook to perfection.
If you don’t have a smoker, you can still enjoy tender, juicy brisket with my recipes for slow cooker brisket, Instant Pot brisket and beef brisket cooked in the oven!
Table of Contents
Smoked Brisket Ingredients
In order to cook tender, juicy smoked beef brisket you will need a brisket, BBQ rub and BBQ sauce. While you can use store bought spice rub and sauce, I highly recommend making my flavorful BBQ rub and my tangy homemade BBQ sauce.
How Do You Make Smoked Brisket?
To make smoked brisket, first trim off the excess fat. Then cover the brisket in BBQ rub. Place the brisket in a refrigerator for 10 to 12 hours. When you are ready to smoke the meat, bring your smoker to 250 degrees F. Place the brisket fat side down on an aluminum foil tray. Insert a meat thermometer into the brisket. Smoke the meat for a few hours until it reaches an internal temp of 170 degrees F. Remove the brisket from the smoker and wrap it in peach butcher paper or aluminum foil to retain moisture. Place it back in the smoker for several more hours until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F. Remove the brisket from the smoker, let it rest, then slice it against the grain and serve it with BBQ sauce.
Tips For The Perfect Smoked Brisket
- Smoke a whole packer brisket with both the flat and point cuts. You can slice up the point cut and smoke it again for saucy burnt ends.
- Use an electric smoker for easier temperature control.
- Use a sharp knife to cut even slices of brisket. Cut it against the grain for the most tender slices.
- Start smoking early, the smoking process may take a long time depending on the size of your brisket.
Quick TIp
Use peach butcher paper to wrap the brisket instead of aluminum foil. The peach paper allows the meat to absorb the smoke while it retains its juices resulting in a more flavorful bark.
Recipe FAQs
The best cut of brisket for smoking is the packer cut, or Texas cut. It has both the point and the flat of the brisket. The point is a rounder, more tender end piece of the brisket. The flat is a leaner cut that is more uniform in shape. Often times in restaurants when you see nice even slices of brisket, that is the flat cut. I prefer the packer cut so I can get even slices from the flat cut and I can use some of that point meat to make burnt ends.
Trim excess fat off your brisket until you can see the meat underneath the fat. The fat layer should be translucent. You want the fat to be somewhere between 1/3 of an inch to 1/4 of an inch. Make sure to trim the fat cap. Do your best, it doesn’t have to be exact.
To smoke a brisket, I like to use hickory wood chips which gives the meat savory, bacon like notes of flavor. I also like fruit wood, such as apple or cherry for a mild and slightly sweet flavor that doesn’t overpower the meat.
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Smoked Brisket Flavor Variations
While this meat is amazing as-is, you can customize this recipe for your own taste.
- Meat: If you want a less expensive meat with a brisket-like result, you can smoke a chuck roast. Chuck roast is known as “poor man’s brisket.” However, it is still delicious.
- Teriyaki: You can mix a little teriyaki sauce with your barbecue sauce for an amazing flavor.
- Spicy: For a spicier brisket, try mixing some hot sauce with your barbecue sauce.
This is a great recipe for a crowd because it serves a lot of people! You’ll be sure to get rave reviews from family and friends when they try your brisket.
More Smoker Recipes
Smoked Chicken Recipe
4 hrs 10 mins
Smoked Turkey Recipe
6 hrs 10 mins
Smoked Chicken Wings
2 hrs 10 mins
Smoked Pork Chops
1 hr 10 mins
Smoked Chicken Thighs
3 hrs 10 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Smoked Brisket Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Trim the excess fat off the brisket. You want to remove most of the fat cap if you have a point or packer cut. Other excess fat should be removed to 1/3 or 1/4 inch until you can see the beef through the fat.
- Completely cover the brisket in BBQ rub.
- Cover the meat and refrigerate it for 10-12 hours.
- Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees F.
- Insert a meat thermometer (into the meat, not fat) and place the meat in the smoker fat side down until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F. This may take 4-5 hours.
- Once the meat reaches 170 degrees F, remove the meat and wrap it in foil or peach butcher paper. Place the meat back in the smoker until it reaches 200 degrees F. This may take 9-10 hours. If you want to increase the speed of cooking, you can increase the temperature to 275 degrees for the last couple of hours of smoking.
- Once the meat reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F, remove it from the smoker and let it rest covered 10 minutes. Let it rest uncovered another 5 minutes.
- Slice the brisket. If you notice excessive juice pooling when you cut the brisket, you can let it rest for a few more minutes. Serve with BBQ sauce.
Notes
- Use peach butcher paper to wrap the brisket instead of aluminum foil. The peach paper allows the meat to absorb the smoke while it retains its juices.
- Use a sharp knife to cut even slices of brisket.
- Start smoking early, the smoking process may take a long time depending on the size of your brisket.
do you fill the water pan up with water?
I do not for this recipe!
You do not separate the Flat from the Point? First time doing this, very nervous!! Ha! I have a 15 lb brisket, I don’t think it is going to fit in my smoker!!
If your smoker is too small I’d cut the meat in half and cook it in two pans!
Not clear on putting the brisket after wrapping back into smoker in clean pan or back in same pan with juice of first cooking. Thanks
Back in the same pan!
Thank you Sarah for this excellent recipe!!
The brisket was the hit of the party!!
Thank you very much for sharing the recipe! My family greatly appreciates it! I put it on the smoker this morning!
Could I smoke ahead of time (several days) and then reheat on grill or in oven?
Yes, I would reheat in a covered pan in the oven over low heat so it doesn’t dry out!
If I have a 6lb brisket but cut it in half, my smoker isn’t long enough for whole, should I still cook like your directions say? They are on delegate shelves.
Thank you!
Yes cook as directed, just watch the thermometer because it may take less time to cook! I did a half brisket the other day and it cooked at least an hour faster.
Bottom, middle or top of smoker. Looks great, thanks.
I always use the middle of the smoker!
After the first round of smoking and the meat is wrapped in the paper, do I continue to add smoke or just cook it to temperature? First time doing brisket and want to get it right. Thanks…
I continue to add wood chips throughout the entire cooking time!
Can this be made in a regular oven?
You could try cooking it in a regular oven, you won’t get any of the smoky flavor that way though!
Oh my goodness! This sounds amazing!
You know its a good brisket when you get those nice smoke lines! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
This is one of my husband’s favorites! Can’t wait to surprise him with it.
This was delicious! Thank you so much!
This is incredibly juicy! WOW~!
Looks delicious and so easy to make!
Fantastic brisket! So great for the holidays!!
Definitely a must try recipe! This looks fabulous!
Sounds extremely delicious! Such a fabulous dinner, absolutely a must try!
Perfect for summer get togethers!