Don and Jim’s Smoked Brisket

Don and Jim McCaslin

Servings: Loads

Ingredients:
whole beef brisket
1 recipe Don's barbecue rib rub or beef rub of your choice

Also needed:
heavy-duty aluminum foil
large aluminum foil pan
smoker

Directions:

Trim the brisket by cutting off all but about 1/4″ of the fat cap. Remove the large piece of fat that is visible between the flat and the point on the side of the brisket as well as any untrimmed areas on the side of the meat.

Cover the brisket liberally with the rub on all sides and make sure to get in the crevices. Smoke brisket with your favorite wood(s) at 275ºF for 5 hours. After 5 hours, wrap the brisket in heavy duty aluminum foil, place in a large aluminum pan and move to a preheated 250ºF oven until the brisket has reached an internal temperature of 205ºF at it’s thickest point. Depending on the cut this can be anywhere from 8-10 hours. When the brisket has reached temperature, remove from cooker or oven and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes but up to 1 hour.

Tips:

  • For the flat, find the grain direction on the bottom of the brisket and cut off a small — ~1inch — corner perpendicular to the grain. This will give you the perfect starting point for your slices.
  • Keep the pan juices and add them to the slices and any pulled meat for extra flavor. Or cook them down for a very flavorful au jus.
  • Before you complain that we’re putting the brisket in the oven, first consider that it will make your house smell amazing, but also, after about 5 hours, the bricket will have gotten all the smoke it needs and the oven provides a stable, dry environment that is much less effort and easier to control.

    And if you’re using a pellet smoker, you’ve got no room to talk.