Beginners Brisket Recipe

A simple, beginners brisket recipe for bbq cooks interested in learning how to smoke a brisket with the Slow ’N Sear Kettle or Weber Kettle while using the Slow 'N Sear. This recipe is made by Michael from Everyday BBQ using our Slow 'N Sear® Kettle Grill.

Shopping

Make sure you pay attention to the “Grade” of Beef while shopping. In most stores your choices will be “Select”, “Choice” and “Prime” (Prime being the best). Inspect the package and make sure the brisket you choose has good marbling as this is the most critical part of shopping to assure a juicy brisket! You can also sometimes take note of how much trimming may need to be done by looking at the package.

Prep

Two days before you plan to cook, remove your brisket from the packaging and begin the trimming process. The fat side should be trimmed to ¼ inch which will leave plenty of fat to render while not too much. Also be sure to remove as much of the hard fats as possible. The top side of the Brisket is where we will be focusing most of our attention. It is important to remove as much hard fat and silver skin as possible without too much waste. While trimming, keep in mind that as the brisket cooks it will release moisture. During that time, you want the moisture to have an escape route to keep from “pooling” on the top of the brisket. While trimming, try to keep the knife from digging too far if possible, this will keep pooling areas from forming.

Dry Salt Brine

This is an ESPECIALLY important step to getting a juicy and delicious Brisket. Once your trimming is done, cover the Brisket in Course Kosher Salt (I use Morton’s) using an equation of ½ teaspoon per pound of meat, OR you can just do what I do and salt it like you normally would any piece of meat without overdoing it. This has always worked for me. This process will pull moisture from the meat, liquify the salt and then allow it to re-absorb with the moisture into the meat bringing the salt with it. This will add lots of flavor, tenderize, and assist in forming that beautiful “bark” on the outside. Once salted, place the Brisket in a foil tray using a rack inside the tray to hold the Brisket from touching the bottom (as shown in video). Next, place it in the fridge uncovered for 1-2 days prior to cooking.

Grill Setup

Use the low and slow starting method for this cook. We will be cooking at a temperature of 250-275 degrees Fahrenheit. Start with a full Slow 'N Sear of charcoal, (you may place a couple of wood chunks underneath the coals if you wish) and light a wax cube or tumbleweed at one end of the SNS, place a couple briquettes over it but make sure it can still breathe. Allow it a few minutes to catch, and then place the lid on the grill. Open your vents wide open until the grill reaches within 75-100 degrees of the target temperature. Then begin closing your vents until you get your temperature dialed in. I used the “Smoke Hole” as my bottom vent for this cook. You can see details in the video on this. You can use the lid thermometer to track temperature, but I also recommend a remote thermometer for cooker temps as well as meat temps.

Cook

Place your Brisket on the indirect side of the cooker and allow it to cook until the bark on the outside is set. “Set” meaning it holds and does not move if you touch it. This usually happens right around the time or shortly after the meat hits the “stall”. Once the bark is set, wrap the Brisket in aluminum foil and place it back on the cooker with the temp probe re-inserted. Just make sure the bark is set BEFORE wrapping in foil as this is a huge part of the cook. Now, just allow the Brisket to cook until its tender.

When is it Done?

The norm for this (if there is one) is usually when the Brisket hits an internal temperature of 200-205 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the Brisket probes tender (as shown in video) you will know it’s ready to pull from the cooker.

Resting

It is VERY important to allow the Brisket to rest after cooking. It’s best to place the Brisket in a cooler (lid cracked to prevent it from continuing to cook) wrapped in towels as shown in video. Allow it to rest for 1-2 hours.

Slicing

Once rested, remove the Brisket from the foil and place on a cutting board. Take note of the grain pattern on the Brisket and be sure to slice against the grain. Typical slices are pencil thickness but that is all preference.

Now serve and Enjoy!