Easy Authentic Texas Style Smoked Beef Brisket

Here is a step by step method for preparing the perfect brisket for beginners and pros alike. The hybrid wet/dry method leaves a fabulous bark with incredible flavor and juicy tenderness on the inside.

4.16 from 20 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brisket, Minion method, mustard, paprika, pickle juice, smoked brisket, texas crutch

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Servings:

Equipment

vertical charcoal smoker
lump charcoal
2 9x13 aluminum foil trays
1 chunk each of apple, hickory, and white oak, about 1-3 inches square
A thin metal rod for poking the coals and other thingies inside the smoker. I have an old lawn sign stake I use.

Ingredients

4-5 lbs flat cut beef brisket
2 tbsp plain yellow mustard
2 tbsp dill pickle juice

Dry Rub

1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
5 tbsp paprika keep a large container on hand
2 tsp Adobo seasoning or course salt
1 tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp instant coffee strictly optional, but it lends a deep primal flavor to your brisket--give it a whirl

During the smoke

1/2 cup hot apple juice or cider use stove or microwave to heat

Instructions

Prep the smoker and charcoal - Variation of the Minion Method

Line the bottom of your pan with lump charcoal. See if you can find some large pieces to give longer burn times. The Minion method calls for placing hot coals on a layer of unlit charcoal, but I create a large cavity in the center, lining up the charcoal to form a sort of well in the center, like a donut. This is where you will lay the hot coals.
Fill your chimney with lump charcoal. Get several pieces of newspaper, stuff them in the bottom of the chimney and light the chimney. Make sure you see flames in the bottom of your chimney. This will take around 15 min to get going. The coals are ready when they are mostly white and they have sunk into the chimney a few inches. Leave yourself a wide open space to do this and be extra careful on windy days--no joke.
Fill the water bowl to the brim with warm water. Try not to spill any. This way, you will not need to refill during the day.
While the coals are heating in the chimney, assemble the bowl and grate into the smoker and get it ready for when you add the coals. Leave off of the bottom coal pan for now. Go prep your brisket

Dry and wet rub on the brisket

Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix well with your fingers--your fingers will turn a lovely shade of red. Your hands are gonna get dirty--it is worth it. Mix the pickle juice and mustard in a separate bowl.
Pour most of the mustard/pickle juice on the brisket and slather it around with a fork or spoon, FAT SIDE UP. Flip the brisket and get the bottom, and flip back over and make sure it is evenly covered. Then just tip the bowl of the dry rub and start sprinkling evenly over the top of the brisket.
Continue spreading most of the dry rub over top of the brisket, saving some for the bottom and more to redo the top. Flip and get some on the bottom. Flip back to the fat side up and coat evenly so the entire brisket is coated. You will get best results using your fingers and working it in - a fork or spoon will smear things unevenly.

Load up the smoker

This is the final step and you are on your way. Take your 3 precious pieces of smoker wood and lay them on the VERY EDGE of the coal pan. Then, take your chimney and CAREFULLY pour the coals into the center well / cavity of the coal pan. You do not want the fruit wood directly on the hot coals. Spread the hot white coals evenly in the center with a coat hanger or thin piece of metal so they are right up against the unlit coals, and ALMOST touching the fruit/smoker wood. You only want a little smoke touching the food for extended durations, or it will come out tasting like a chimney--trust me on this one.
Place the brisket on the grate in the upper part of the smoker with the water pan already in it. SLOWLY lift and then lower the upper part of the smoker onto the coal pan, being careful not to splash the hot coals. There should be some latches that secure the top part to the base / coal pan. Make sure you latch them closed. Now carefully place the lid on top.
My smoker did not have an adjustment for air, so I drilled extra holes in the base of mine a long time ago to allow for more air and slightly higher temps. Use the instructions for your smoker for adjusting air flow settings--there many not be any. I'm not too fussy, and go for any temp above 225 degrees. I use the crappy built in thermometer on the side and make sure it is somewhere in the 'smoke' range, and usually need to hit with my metal rod to get it to read properly.
You should now be able to leave this puppy for about 4 hrs. You will of course want to check it every once in a while. Don't worry if you don't see any smoke at first--resist the temptation to put the fruit wood directly on the coals--let the coals seek out the fruit wood. If you see tons of smoke coming out, you can open the door and check things. Also, don't worry too much if you see a lot of smoke at first; it should die down.
If you still have billowing smoke after a while, it is possible that the fruit wood fell into the hot coals, and I recommend lifting the top of the smoker off and removing a chunk or two until the smoke dies down, and placing it back in the door of your smoker with tongs when the smoke has diminished. LOW AND SLOW is the motto of pro smokers. That meat will be smoking for a while, so you just want a steady stream of tiny wisps of smoke.

The Texas Crutch

I usually don't touch the brisket until about four hours, and then I go check the temp. By this time with a meat thermometer. It should be around 155-160 degrees. This is around the temp where it 'stalls' or plateaus and won't get any hotter. This is where many pitmasters will wrap the brisket in paper or foil to concentrate the heat and speed things up. I have found that the taste of the foil gets into the food, so instead of plain foil, I use the thicker 9x13 foil serving trays one on top of the other.
Do this part quickly to avoid losing much heat. Lift lid, pull the brisket out with a large fork or hook and place in the serving tray. While the lid is off, check your coals and push them around to keep them burning. By this time, the fruit wood will still probably be partially burned and may still be leaning on the sides. You can stir those around a bit also. Since I am covering the brisket, I don't mind kicking up more smoke.
Pour 1/2 cup of hot apple juice or cider (use a microwave) over the brisket, and cover with the other tray on top. This will braise the brisket as it finishes cooking and make it nice and juicy. You will need to pinch the edges and probably push in the sides to get things to fit back in the smoker. Cover the lid and go on about your business. Almost there.
At about the 5 hr and 30 minute mark, you will want to keep an eye on temps. Here is when folks argue about when to remove the brisket. You want the temps around 190 and above. I like to pull the brisket when it reaches 195 degrees. All you need to do is lightly poke the brisket in a few spots, making sure the temp probe or knife easily slides into it.
The cool thing about using the foil serving trays is you simply put some oven mitts or welding gloves on, reach in and just pull the whole thing out and let sit on a heatproof surface for at least 15 minutes. I then pull the water pan out and use a cup of the juices to start gravy while the meat is resting. I also tilt the serving tray and pour some of the heavenly juices from the bottom into the gravy.
That's it! You have reached the apex. The smell in your kitchen will be incredible, and you guests will be in awe. Place the brisket on a cutting board, and starting from one end, slice into thin strips crosswise about 1/8 inch thick at a slight angle and serve. Pair this up with all the fixings of bbq, like spicy coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, and your other favorites. You should be proud of your accomplishment. To this day, I always feel amazing having cooked up a delicious brisket for the family, and it is one of the best treats around. Enjoy!
If you like, making smoky gravy is easy. Add about 1/2 cup of the smoker pan juice to 1 cup beef or chicken broth, any spices you like, and thicken slowly over heat with a slurry of corn starch and water until you get your desired consistency.