It is said that he / she who can barbeque a perfect beef brisket has mastered the art of of slow and low; the term coined for low temperature cooking using coal and wood. Most pit masters (a pit is the term many bbq masters use for their barbeque’s) guard their recipes and techniques like matters of national security. Personally, I think we should share what we know, what we’ve learned, and use the information to create the absolute best barbeque possible.

That said, I am going to reveal every trick I’ve learned in the process of slow cooking over 30 briskets in the past 2 years, starting with Grandpa Murray’s rub, mop sauce, and bbq sauce recipes. I will then go over the anatomy of a "packer" cut brisket, and how to trim, wash, rub, smoke, mop, slice, and shred the final product for serving.

Anatomy Of a Whole Brisket

There are two parts to a whole untrimmed brisket (known as a packer’s cut), the point, and the flat.

The Flat

If you go to your local grocery store, it is highly likely that they will only sell the flat portion of the beef brisket.  In the picture below, A  is the flat portion of the brisket. The flat is relatively uniform in thickness, and is usually trapezoidal in shape, almost triangular. The flat portion of the brisket is the most common cut used for slicing, and is typically served without barbeque sauce, or with sauce on the side.

One side of the flat should have a fairly uniform layer of fat on one side, and should only display good marbeling on the other side, with occasional pockets of fat.

The Point

The area labeled B in the picture is the point portion of the brisket. The point is triangular shapes, and gets thicker as you get closer to the tip. 

Picking a Brisket

There are three things to look for in a quality brisket:

1. The flat should be relatively uniform in thickness, allowing for more even cooking
2. One side of the brisket should be almost completely covered in fat
3. The fat should be white, not yellowish.

Trimming a Brisket

You should rinse and pat the brisket down with paper towels before trimming.

In the picture just to the left of B, the flat and the point are separated by a thick "vein" of fat, which in the picture has been trimmed back before cooking. The fat in this area is very, very hard to the touch. What I like to do is cut a long "v" shaped notch across that line of fat until I can physically feel it soften and become almost as pliable as the meat itself.

I also trim the fat on the fatty side of the flat to a uniform level, about 1/4 inch thick.

There is no real formula for trimming a brisket. If you get too aggressive and expose some read meat, it’s really no big deal. They key is to leave enough fat to keep the brisket moist throughout a long, slow cook, but to remove enough so that your rub and mop sauce actually flavor the meat! The fat on brisket is very tough, and I still haven’t found anything that will penetrate it if it’s too thick. In general, if the fat pocket is extremely hard, you can feel comfortable removing more; as soon as the fat starts to give to the touch, you’ve trimmed enough.

Rubbing The Brisket

The first step is to make enough of Grandpa Murray’s dry spice rub. After you’ve cleaned, dried, and trimmed the brisket, evenly spread the dry spice rub over one side of the brisket by generously sprinkling it back and forth. Using your finger tips, pat the spice rub into the meat, and rub it in using small circular motions. Flip the brisket to the other side and repeat. Wrap the meat tightly in plastic, and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before cooking.

Preparing The Mop Sauce

If you are not familiar with "mopping" your brisket," here’s my article, and Grandpa Murray’s recipe.

I find the best and easiest way to mop is actually using a spray bottle. After you prepare the mop sauce, strain it using a fine strainer or cheese cloth, then use a funnel and pour it into the spray bottle. Put the bottle in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

Preparing The Pit (BBQ, Smoker, etc)

Here’s a topic that I think has been made WAY to complicated, and that is what do you use to cook a brisket, and at what temperature. I’ll make this very simple:

Fuel: Natural Wood Lump Charcoal.
Smoking Wood: Red Oak, Apple Wood, or both
Temperature: 250 degrees a grate level

If you happen to be an experienced pit master and disagree with me, I promptly apologize for any offense; however, any argument you might have I promise to have experience to back up that it doesn’t improve the final product. I’ve tried everything when it comes to fuel and temperature:

1. starting at 225 degree, wrapping the brisket in foil and dropping ot 190 degrees for up to 24 hours
2. 225 degrees all the way through, no foil
3. 225 degrees all the way through, foiling once the brisket passes through an internal temp of 165 degrees
4. blah blah blah

I’ve tried all manner of different woods, and temperatures you can imagine, and without question the simplest way is still the most consistent. Get your grill to 250, and leave it there. Depending on the efficiency and size of your pit, you’ll need 1 to 2 fresh bags of lump charcoal and 8 cooking logs of wood, or 8 good handfuls of smoking chips soaked in water.

So, what is lump charcoal, and what’s the best kind to use? I’m glad you asked. The folks over at Naked Whiz have a great faq about Lump Charcoal, the also have reviews of many types and brands of lump charcoal, and they even have ratings!

I will say that I use the Wicked Good Charcoal (WGC) Competition blend, and it rocks. The aroma and flavor of this wood is amazing.

Make sure you clean the grill grates completely, and oil them up with some canola or other light cooking oil.

What’s the Best Type Of Pit for Smoking Brisket?

Quite frankly, YOUR Pit; that is of course assuming you have one already!

However, if you’re new to the "low and slow" game here are my recommendations for choosing a new barbeque

 

My Ultimate Kansas City Style Barbeque Sauce Recipe

There are many different styles of barbeque sauce, but there is one that is what most Americans know as barbeque suace; that’s Kansas City Style. It is characterized by it’s dark reddish-brown color, chili powder base, thich pastey consistency, and sweeter flavor.

This recipe benefits from the addition of the smokey flavor from the drippings of a brisket. AFter eating this sauce, you’ll never buy another bottle of pre-made barbeque sauce again! Here’s the recipe for this incredible barbeque sauce.

Other Things You’ll Need

A wired or wireless barbeque thermometer. I personally recommend the Maverick Redicheck model with 2 probes. The advantage of this model is that you can insert 1 probe into the meat, and leave 1 probe on the grill grate. It will monitor the internal temperature of the meat, as well as the temperature inside the barbeque. Considering a good brisket can take 12 – 16 hours to cook, this is a nice luxury. It has a a feature where you can customize the temperatures you wish to monitor. For the meat probe, you are looking for 190 degrees, and of course for the grill temperature, 250 degrees.

For those who don’t want to spend $40 on a thermometer, wired versions with 1 probe are under $20.

For the meat, you’ll want to insert it from the middle portion of the side of the flat. In other words, the probe will be parallel with your grill grate. Make sure you insert the probe all the way into the meat.

 

Finally, Step By Step Instructions For "The Cook"

Alright, now you are armed with the recipe, ingredients, fuel, pit, and a killer cut of brisket. Here are step by step instructions…

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