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Texas-style smoked beef brisket is a barbecue masterpiece, celebrated for its bold flavors and tender, smoky perfection. The process begins with a meticulously seasoned brisket, typically using a blend of salt, pepper, and sometimes additional spices for a robust flavor profile. It may seem like an intimidating thing to make but once broken down, it is actually quite simple.
Method of cooking brisket
In order to achieve the outcome like Texas style smoked brisket, you will need to smoke the brisket over indirect heat at about 250F-275F. There are many ways to do this, some include a pellet grill (easiest option), offset smokers (most common in large smokehouses), but I actually like using my weber kettle (most economic).
Pellet grills: Pellet grills provide the most ease of use because you can set the temperature like an oven and it will maintain that for the desired time. As long as you have wood pellets used as fuel. The only downside to this is that these grills can get pricey.
Offset smoker: Offset smokers are large smokers typically with a heating compartment, and a large rack area to place meat. You place wood in the heating compartment and let the smoke flow through the rack. These are most commonly found in smokehouses because you can cook many briskets, ribs, sausage, etc at a time. Not very practical for everyday home use.
Weber kettle/regular charcoal grills: This option is the most economic as the set up will cost you about $150 max. How I do this is by heating up charcoal on one half of the grill then place the brisket over the other side so that it is cooking “indirectly”.
What type of wood to use in smoked brisket
For red meat, I usually use hickory wood or mesquite wood. These types of wood produce a stronger smoke flavor than other types. Ideal for red meat.
Texas Style Smoked Brisket
Ingredients
- 10 lbs whole brisket
- 3 tbsp sriracha
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 tbsp black pepper
Instructions
- Trim your brisket so that ¼ inch thick layer of fat is remaining on top. You might want to look up a youtube video for this as it can get quite detailed. The main key is to keep it as smooth as possible to reduce pooling during the cooking process.10 lbs whole brisket
- Spread on a thin layer of sriracha as your binder. You can also use mustard, mayo, oil, anything else just to let the seasoning stick.3 tbsp sriracha
- Season brisket generously with salt and pepper all around.¼ cup salt, 2 tbsp black pepper
- Fire up your smoker to 250F. Place your brisket on there over indirect heat.
- Spray with water every 1.5 hours.
- After 5 hours, the brisket should have formed a nice bark on the outside and we should be able to wrap now. It should have a dark outer coating.
- Wrap with tinfoil, place back on the smoker at 275F for another 5 hours, or until a probe inserted is extremely tender like butter.
- I like re-wrap my brisket in tin foil to preserve some of the bark.
- Place the brisket in a cooler or the oven to rest for at least 2 hours before cutting into it.
