First Brisket Guide
I recently sent a family member comprehensive set of instructions to help them cook their first brisket and I figured it would be useful for people on here too. We both use pellet grills and live in the United States of America so everything is written with that in mind.
Brisket nomenclature used in the rest of this guide: *Point- taller part of the brisket often triangular in shape *Flat- lower part of the brisket that is often wider than the point and relatively flat on the top *Fat Side- side of the brisket that is usually completely covered in a layer of fat *Top side- side of the brisket on the opposite side of the fat side with minimal bits of fat on it *Bark- Exterior of a cooked brisket where most of the flavor is * The Stall- point at which the meat creates a vapor layer where its hard for low temperature air to heat the meat *Peach Paper- peach colored butcher paper needed for the wrap. It is peach colored because it is untreated with bleach so that it won't leach into the meat. You can order it on amazon though there are BBQ stores that have it as well.
<Brisket Purchase Help: Costco is a reliable place to buy brisket though you'll have more consistent choices if you go to a Business Costco location. Butcher shops can often order it for you as well though I've found that they tend to be far more expensive for the same quality as Costco. Prime is worth the extra cost over choice though wagyu is not in my opinion. You'll want what's normally known as a "packers cut" of brisket. Weight will usually be between 12 and 19 pounds with price per pound under $5 for Prime.
There will be some brown coloration on some of the fat which is normal, that'll come off during the trim. You'll want to try to find a brisket where the flat is uniform in thickness from side to side and not too flared out when compared to the point. The best flats in my opinion are the ones that are the same width as the point and have a uniform thickness. That can be hard to find so the most important aspect would be overall uniform thickness with thicker ones being better.
Traditional bread served with it is white wonder bread. It's ok but I've found hawaiian bread to be much better. It holds the BBQ sauce without getting soggy and is just better bread. You want a soft bread without much flavor otherwise you'll lose the benefit of the soft texture you spent so much time cooking into the brisket. Texas style BBQ sauce goes best with the brisket and I really like the Whole Foods brand of Twxas BBQ sauce. For leftovers you can heat the meat in the oven wrapped in foil or do a quick pan sear on both sides using a skillet.
<Brisket Trim (fillet knife, cut glove, latex glove) A sharp fillet knife knife is best to use for trimming. You can trim and season the brisket a day before but I've found it better to trim and season the brisket between 2 and 5 hours before I plan to start the cook. You'll want to keep the brisket in its package and in the refrigerator until it's time to trim. Trying to trim the fat off when it's a bit warm is a pain in the ass. Using a cut glove covered with a latex glove for at least your off hand is highly recommended for safety and to make cleaning your hands much easier after. You'll want a large surface to trim on and I find placing the brisket in a cookie sheet pan helps makes the clean up easier while making it easier to move around.
Cut open the package over the sink and let the juices in there drain out. You'll want a little bit of moisture on the meat to help the seasoning adhere so don't pat it dry with paper towels. Start with the top side of the brisket up. Cut the little bits of fat off the top side but don't dig into the meat. Most of these bits will be on the flat though you'll need to shave the extraneous fat on the point as well. The outside perimeter of the flat will need the fat shaved off and I like to round the corners of the flat too. No need to take a lot of meat off but you want to expose the meat under the fat on the sides of the flat.
The point on the top side will have a layer of fat between it and the flat. Don't dig into this. Just trim around it and the backside exposing as much meat as possible. There should be a ramp-like surface from the top side of the flat to the top side of the point with little to no divots. One side of the point will have a little "fat cave" thing with a flap of meat coming from the bottom fat side of the brisket. Carve the fat out of this fat cave. How deep is a case by case basis but you can go deep without much harm. When it starts to get hard to get a good angle to cut the fat from the cave you're in a good place to stop. Just make sure you smooth it out.
General things to look out for: cut any brown fat or meat off. If you want to make tallow the harder white fat you find in the fat cave and on parts of the point are the best for that. The yellowish colored fat that is not firm is not good for making tallow. Any extra fat on the outside will not add flavor or moisture and will just waste the bark you developed. A lot of videos online are more geared towards competition briskets and they cut a lot of meat off as well. That's not required but it is useful to see how the pros trim the fat off a brisket. Just like learning any other skill, get a lot of instruction and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Your first brisket will never be perfect but your 12th one can be pretty close.
On the fat side the thickest part of the fat will be on the point side. Rule of thumb is leave between and half and quarter inch of fat on the fat side. I found most of the trimming needs to be done on the point side. There will be folds of fat on the point side that are connected to that flap of meat beneath the fat cave. Trim the tops off those folds. Everything else you'll have to do by feel though I rarely touch the fat on the flat side. When in doubt don't trim.
<Brisket Seasoning (sea salt, paprika, fine ground pepper) I prefer to do the seasonings one at a time instead of mixing them all together. Makes for better overall flavor in my opinion. I always start the seasoning on the fat side. Get a decent sea salt with small grains. Regular table salt is never a good idea for smoked meats. Cover the fat side and all the sides of the brisket you can access with the salt. It's hard to over salt it but it's possible. Make a nice layer but no need to bury it. Then take the paprika and give the same parts you covered in salt a layer of it. Doesn't have to be completely covered in paprika but most of the meat should be covered in a layer of red. Final layer on top of the previous two is pepper. Fine or medium grind pepper is what you want, I prefer fine ground. Give a healthy layer of pepper on the meat, the pepper should mostly obscure the meat and fat underneath. Flip the brisket over to the top side and repeat the process on any parts you didn't already cover.
With the seasoning done you want the meat to rest in a room temperature environment for at least another hour but up to 5 hours from the time of you taking it out of the fridge. It takes a long time for the internal temperature to get close to room temp. Reason you want to do this is to make a more even cook of the meat. When the internal and external meat temp is similar you'll have a more tender and moist piece of meat at the end. If there are animals of any kind in the house make sure the meat is covered and out of reaxh. Use some toothpicks to keep the foil or whatever you're using to cover the meat to prevent the rub smearing off.
<Cooking (meat probes, two sturdy spatulas, and peach paper needed for this step) Set your smoker temperature to between 225° and 240° degrees and let it sit at that temperature for at least 20 minutes before you put the meat in. Your aim if for 225° at the surface of the meat and depending on where your smoker probe is you may need to set your smoker to a higher temperature. This helps the metal get up to temperature too and it will act a bit like a heat sink to help keep the grill temp in a small range. If the meat thermometer you're using doesn't have an external temperature reading as well you can use one of the probes that came with the grill to do that. Just make sure you're using some kind of stand off device for the probe, you don't want the probe laying on the grill. The temperature the smoker is showing you is not always the true temperature where the meat is. Depending on outside weather and other factors I often find that the temp the grill is showing is lower than what my probes read at the meat surface.
When inserting your meat probes only worry about the internal temperature of the flat side. That is the leanest and thinnest part of the meat so it will dry out first. I like to put one probe in the side and one probe in the end with decent space between the two. Being able to reference two probes gives me more confidence in knowing what the true internal temp is. When in doubt go with the lower temperature.
When putting the meat on the grill, place the fat side down with the point above the fire box and the flat towards the smokestack. That way the hottest part of the grill is underneath the fattiest part of the meat and the smoke from your smoke tube will go over your entire brisket. One important aspect of smoking is if you're looking you're not cooking. Once that lid is closed you don't open it again until it's time for the next step. You can use your hands to place the meat on the grill though I recommend having latex gloves on.
At this point you're waiting for the meat to hit what's called the stall. Usually this is between 155 and 170 degrees. This usually takes between 4 and 5 hours. Hopefully the app you're using for your meat probes has a temperature over time chart you can reference. You should be able to see the stall on a temp over time chart with it looking like the temperature curve flattening or barely rising compared to the previous part. If you don't have access to one of those graphs once the meat hits the previously mentioned temperature range you know you're in a stall when the temp changes less than a degree in about 20 minutes. This first part of the cook is where you get most of your smoke flavor and bark development so it's important not to wrap too early.
After the brisket is in the smoker you can prep your peach paper for the wrap. You can use the cookie sheet you prepped the brisket on (make sure it's clean) or use a very large cutting board for this step. Unless you manage to find very wide peach paper (very wide would be 36" or wider) you'll need to get two strips of peach paper and have them overlap about a quarter of the width. For the length you want to go very long, at least 4 feet. It's far better to have more than you need than not enough with this. When the stall hits you can take this paper on whatever tray you are using out to the smoker and wrap it there but I find it hard to do that with limited counter space outside and wind blowing the paper around. It's better to either put the brisket on the paper then bring it inside to wrap or transport the brisket in a separate tray and then transfer the brisket onto the paper.
For moving the brisket in and out of the grill once it's hot I recommend using 2 sturdy spatulas or have both your hands covered in cut gloves with a latex glove over top. A hybrid of the two will work too. I'd recommend having a 2nd person help hold the transport tray or a nearby table to put the tray on. Once you have the meat on the peach paper and are ready to wrap you want the brisket on one end with just enough paper hanging off the side to pull it over the brisket. You want the point and the flat to lay across the width of the paper. Now wrap the sides of the paper over the top of the brisket then start rolling the brisket over the paper making sure the sides don't fall out. Make sure to keep track of where the fat side is when you are done wrapping.
Put at least one probe back into the flat to monitor your temps. It can be a bit hard to find the best spot to put the probe in through the paper so take your time. Put the wrapped meat back into the smoker the same way as before but with the fat side up this time. If you leave the fat side down at this point the fat has a tendency to soak and burn into the paper making you lose a lot of your bark. You'll often see the temperature be different (above or below) from when you pulled it and it often takes up to half an hour for the temperature to start rising again. At this point you're waiting for the internal temp to hit 195. Final temp of the flat will be between 195 and 202. At this point you want to probe the meat with a separate thermometer or other thin and sharp object. You'll know it is done when the probe goes into the meat and it gives almost no resistance. When probing at this point check every 20 minutes.
Once it's done let the brisket rest on a counter with a towel underneath it for at least 30 minutes. Then get a second towel and wrap the brisket completely with the two towels. It will stay hot like this for at least 4 hours but usually longer. When planning out your time to eat, start to have your brisket in the smoker 14 hours before you plan to eat. That gives you extra time to cook if needed and if you are done early it'll still be hot thanks to the towels.
<Cutting instructions Make sure to use the largest cutting board you have. There will be a large amount of rendered fat coming out of it. You'll also need to a very long knife, you can get a decent cheap brisket knife off amazon and it'll be worth the price if you plan on cooking briskets a few times a year. Start your cuts on the flat with the fat side down. Make 1/8-1/4" thick cuts against the grain of the meat. Once you slice up to the point turn the meat 90 degrees and make 1/2-1" cubes with the point. You're good to serve at this point.