Trim brisket
11 to 12lb brisket works the best for me because the cook is always about the same length. If I can’t find an 11 or 12lb piece I just deal with it.
Buy a packer cut in Cryovac (I buy from Walmart)
Select or Choice doesn’t seem to matter that much, but look for a brisket with a recognizable point and flat, and the flat should be about the same thickness throughout. If the flat tapers, the thin end will overcook.
Trim hard fat out
Trim fat to approximately ¼” thickness. Go thicker not thinner.
Rub
4oz Sea salt (Not coarse)
2oz Paprika
1.5oz Cracked pepper
1t Cayenne
Put ½ on 12hr before you start to cook
Put the other half on before you start
Smoker
Start with 1/2 chimney B&B Red Oak coals, fill the ring with charcoal, and 1 to 2, 4 x 2 pecan chunks.
Wrap water bowl in foil and fill about ½ to ¾ way.
Spray grill with Crisco oil
Get smoker to 225 – 250 before starting
You will need to restoke after about 7 hours.
With the big smoker you can restoke thru the door with a garden shovel. Add another one or two chunks of pecan.
Add water as needed to the water bowl (I only add water if the level is less than half where I started. You don’t want the pan to go dry)
Go back to bed
Cooking
Approximate total cooking time 1 hour per pound. (Very approximate)
You can flip if you want to but it doesn’t seem to matter. I usually cook fat side up.
When you get to 195 – 205F internal temperature take off the smoker
Double wrap in heavy duty foil
Put in cooler fat side up and rest for at least 1 to 2 hrs. (This can go up to 8 hours easily)
Separate the point from the flat or not. I usually separate the two and use the point for chopped beef sandwiches, tacos, etc. but if you slice through both the point and the flat (across the grain of the point) you get a piece of each and with that you will get some with more fat and some with less in the same slice. A lot of the restaurants cut it this way.
Slice across the grain.
For Meat Fight brisket we cut out of the middle of the flat for the first premium slices
Yields about 6 or 7lbs of cooked brisket(40 – 60% of starting weight). Meat Fight had less than a cup of waste fat after it was picked over.
If you cut as you serve and mix lean pieces with fattier pieces you should end up with no waste.
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