Smoked Beef Brisket
Central Texas brisket: just salt and pepper, post oak smoke, and patience. The benchmark by which all barbecue is judged.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg beef brisket (point-and-flat, fat cap on)
- 2 tbsp coarse black pepper
- 2 tbsp coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic granules (optional)
- Yellow mustard or water, for binder
- Post oak or hickory wood
Method
- 1
Trim the brisket, leaving about 6 mm of fat cap; square off thin edges so it cooks evenly.
- 2
Mix the pepper, salt and garlic. Lightly coat the brisket with mustard or water as a binder, then season heavily on all sides (the 'Dalmatian' rub).
- 3
Bring the smoker to a steady 110°C (225°F) with post oak.
- 4
Smoke the brisket fat-side up, undisturbed, until the bark is set and dark — about , when the internal temperature reads around 70°C (160°F).
- 5
Wrap tightly in butcher paper (or foil) to push through the 'stall', and return to the smoker.
- 6
Continue until the thickest part of the flat reads 96°C (205°F) and a probe slides in like butter — a further 4–.
- 7
Rest, wrapped, in a cool oven or cool box for at least (2 is better).
- 8
Slice against the grain, pencil-width. Separate the point to slice or cube for burnt ends.
Notes
- Total cook is 10–14 hours — start early or smoke overnight.
- Don't cook to time, cook to feel: the probe-tender test beats any thermometer.
- Leftovers freeze well; reheat in a little beef stock.
- Save the point to make Kansas City burnt ends.