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Char-Griller Professional Grills & Smokers
Texas Brisket
Prep Time: 30 Min | Cook Time: One Hour Per Pound Hrs
Ingredients
- 1 Brisket - Good Marbling and Thick Flat
- 2 Favorite Beef/Steak Rub
- 3 Coarse Salt & Pepper
- 4 Apple Juice
Char-Griller Ambassador James Llorens of Certified Creole BBQ gives us his secret recipe for Texas Brisket.
"When I think brisket, I think of my Dad & when they moved from Chicago, IL to Houston, Texas in the early 2000s. He's the one who introduced me to brisket when he got to Texas.
Up to that point, I had no clue what a brisket even was. When my Dad introduced me to brisket, it was because he was learning how to make brisket on his new Char-griller Grill, and he learned quite well quickly. Once he learned how to make brisket, that's all I wanted to eat when I visited him and my Mother in Texas. Then many years passed, and I started to BBQ & wanted to learn myself, but at first, I was hesitant and nervous because I didn't want to mess it up.
I reached out to my Dad & one of my BBQ mentors Tony Tone who is also from Texas, for guidance; once I did that, the nerves went away, and I started making brisket a lot. It's one of my favorite things to smoke & eat with my Family.
I think of my Dad and Tony Tone every time I make a brisket because if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't know or how to smoke a brisket or even know what brisket is. Follow these directions below, and you will be on the path to making a great Texas-style brisket. I learned from the best in Texas & put in many hours making briskets. You will have an awesome bark, tender, juicy & perfectly smoked brisket.'
Prepping Instructions:
1. Trim brisket with sharp knife on a cutting board then place on tray for seasonings.
Tip #1: trimming the brisket is key because you want the smoke to cook all sides evenly low n’ slow at 250° & want to remove the deckle and the other fat that will not render out. This will make the brisket into a aerodynamic shape and will allow even cooking.
Tip #2: Trim the brisket while it’s cold, if not the fat becomes loose and jelly like & is harder to trim and can increase the chance of injury. Leave roughly a quarter-inch of fat on the brisket, remove the rest and discard. Remove silver skin from the bottom of the brisket.
Tip #3: If you don’t trim the fat, it will be really fatty and jelly like when smoking & eating. If you remove too much fat the brisket will dry out during the smoking process & will taste bad.
Tip #4: Trim some but leave enough fat on the point of the brisket. When cooking the brisket the point will be facing the fire box the whole cook and the smoke will be hitting that portion of the brisket first so leave enough fat so it doesn’t run out of fat and dry out.
2. Apply mustard to all sides of the brisket as a binder for the seasonings.
3. Apply favorite beef/steak rub, salt & pepper to all sides of the brisket.
Tip: Add seasonings lightly on all sides, you don’t want a thick layer of seasoning because it will be become cake like, mushy & will leave the bark brown. Doing this allows the smoke to create a nice bark with a combination of the meat and seasoning. If too much rub is applied it’s harder to get the black bark we want and the the color will be brown with a mushy bark.
4. Allow brisket to get to room temperature prior to smoking it.
Smoking Instructions: One Hour Per Pound
1. Add the Char-griller drip pan underneath the grill grate of your smoker/grill. This will add moisture to the brisket during the smoke and also the meat drippings and juice from the spritz will fall in there for less of a mess.
2. Preheat your smoker/grill to 250°: added tip-going low n’ slow at this temperature is key for brisket. It’s a tough meat to cook and is always best low n’ slow. It takes patience, hard work and some loss of sleep to make a great brisket. But it’s all with it at the end.
Tip: Ignite charcoal first in your Char-griller Chimney, drop in the fire box then add favorite smoking wood to the fire and let smoker/grill heat up for 15-30 mins prior to putting the brisket on.
3. Add Brisket to smoker/grill on to the cardboard. Using the Cardboard in the shape of the brisket is a great method that keeps the bottom of the brisket from drying out & allows you to easily move the brisket around in the smoker/grill side to side. It keep the brisket juicy and moist.
Tip: Place the brisket fat side up and point the brisket point facing firebox/fire. This is important because point is the larger part of the brisket and takes longer to cook than the flat of the brisket.
4. Spritz every 1-2 hours with apple juice and rotate brisket from left to right for even smoking. Remember the brisket is on the cardboard and it’s really easy to rotate without having to touch the meat. Spritzing with Apple juice helps keep the brisket moist during the long smoke, adds flavor and helps create the black bark we are looking for.
5. Maintaining your fire is key, check on your fire roughly every hour and add charcoal/wood as needed. Try to avoid your smoker from exceeding 250° And getting to low. Brisket is meant for low n’ slow at 250° and keeping your fire steady throughout the cook will get you that black bark & juicy brisket. Remain patient during this process. Lots of up and downs and you will think it will never end but it will and when it does, it’s gonna be great and well worth it.
6. Remove brisket from the smoker, disgusts the cardboard. Double Wrap brisket in butcher/peach paper when internal temperature 170° has been reached. You can also use foil but I prefer butcher/peach paper. Add very little apple juice in the wrap for added moisture.
Tip: Take the guesswork out and use the Char-griller Grills remote thermometer & folding probe to easily see what temperature the meat is at.
7. Add brisket back to the smoker until final temperature of 200°-204° has been reached. Added tip: no need to waste your smoking wood when the brisket is wrapped. Use only the charcoal as your fuel at temperature 250° until the brisket is done.
8. Remove brisket and wrap brisket in towels and add to cooler and let rest for 1-2 hours. Added tip: this allows the meat to stop cooking, cool down and keeps all the juices in.
9. Slice the brisket against the grain from the flat side moving toward to the point. Then turn the point sideways and slice from one side to the other. Serve and see how fast it goes!
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