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Smoked Beef Brisket

8:20 - Prep 0:20 / Cook 8:00
Expert

Expertly smoked beef brisket is a thing of beauty. The relaxed slices of smoky, tender beef almost melt in your mouth. The burnt ends are one of the best bites in barbecue. If possible, trim, inject, and season the brisket 12 hours before smoking, keeping it refrigerated.

10-12 Servings
Tags: beef beef brisket brisket
Ingredients
Brisket
  • 14-17 pound beef brisket
  • 3 cups beef stock, divided
  • 2-3 tablespoons peanut oil or other high temp cooking oil
  • 1 cup brisket rub
  • 1/2 cup Texas-style BBQ sauce, thin-red
Equipment
  • meat syringe
  • remote probe thermometer
  • food-safe spray bottle
  • 3 - 18" x 24" pieces of heavy-duty foil
  • 1 - 18" x 24" sheet of peach butcher paper
  • wood splits about 2" in diameter and 8-12" long
  • cooler (warm and dry) or hot-box for holding
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Preparation
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Steps
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Step 1 Of 10
1. Trim the brisket - Separate the point from the flat or have your butcher do it. Trim the exterior fat from the point. Trim the exterior fat on the flat down to ¼”.
Hot TipSeparating the flat from the point by following the fat seam with a sharp boning knife.
2. Inject the brisket - Use a meat syringe to inject 1 ½ cups of the beef stock into the brisket flat and point. Inject the stock evenly across the cuts of meat in about a 1” grid pattern.
3. Season the brisket - Pat the surfaces of the brisket pieces dry. Wipe the surface with a thin coat of high temperature cooking oil.
4. Set up the smoker - Place a water pan in your Oklahoma Joe’s® Smoker filled three-fourths full. Stack 6 small wood splits in the fire box. Pour a chimney starter full of lit charcoal on top of and around the wood. Preheat to 275°F at the level of the cooking grate.
5. Smoke the brisket - Place the brisket pieces on the smoker and monitor the internal temperature with a remote probe thermometer. Put a half cup of beef stock in a spray bottle and spritz the brisket at the start and every hour until wrapped. Smoke the brisket until it is at least 160°F internally AND has a dark, almost black, exterior. This can take anywhere from 5 – 8 hours depending on the size of your brisket.
6. Wrap the brisket - Place the flat on two sheets of foil. Place the butcher paper on top of this. Roll the foil and paper edges together towards the flat, sealing it up in a delicious meat cocoon as shown below. Wrap the point in a single sheet of foil. Place both back into the smoker to finish cooking.
7. Rest the flat - When the flat has an internal temperature above 200°F AND is tender like butter when inserting a probe or toothpick, take the flat off of the smoker and let it rest for 1 hour in a warm cooler or a hot-box. You can use an empty microwave in a pinch.
8. Make the burnt ends - When the point has an internal temperature above 200°F AND is tender like butter when inserting a temp probe or toothpick, it is ready to make into burnt ends. Cut the point into 1-inch cubes. Season the cubes with more beef rub and place them in a small pan, such as a half-sized steam pan. Pour 1 cup of beef stock into the pan and put this back into the smoker for 30-45 minutes.
9. Sauce the burnt ends - Mix any stock left in the pan with an equal amount of Texas style BBQ sauce and brush it onto the burnt ends. Put them back into the smoker for 15-20 minutes when you slice the brisket flat.
10. Slice brisket flat - Use a long sharp knife to slice against the grain of the brisket flat, cutting it into pencil-width sized slices. Serve with burnt ends.
Up Your Game: How to Get Past the Stall When Smoking Brisket

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