| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 7 hr 30 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 6 hr |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 7 hr 30 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 6 hr |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons Spanish paprika
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 (5 to 8 pound) beef brisket (flat cut)
- 4 cups oak or hickory wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes, drained
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 1/2 cups your favorite BBQ sauce, for serving
Instructions
- Combine all the spices in a bowl, mix well. Pat the spice rub onto the meat, making sure to heavily season the entire surface area of the brisket. Cover or wrap the brisket and let it sit at room temperature while getting the smoker or charcoal grill fired up. Do not leave at room temperature for longer than 1 hour.
- The grill is ready when the charcoal has burned to a white ash. If using a grill instead of a smoker, arrange the coals on 1 side of the grill, leaving an area large enough for the brisket to cook indirectly with no coals directly underneath the meat.
- When the grill has reached 200 to 225 degrees F, scatter 1/4 of the wood chips over the coals, close the grate, put the brisket on the grill and close the lid.
- Maintain a 200 to 225 degree F cooking temperature inside the grill, adding coals every 2 hours or as necessary. Add wood chips and spray the brisket with apple juice every time you add new coals. Try not to lift the lid of the grill at any other time.
- When the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 165 to 170 degrees F on an instant read meat thermometer (after about 4 to 5 hours), remove it from the grill and double wrap in aluminum foil to keep the juices from leaking out. Return the brisket to the grill (or smoker) The brisket is finished cooking when it is very tender and reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F, about another 1 to 2 hours. Let rest for 45 minutes, then unwrap and slice. Serve with BBQ sauce on the side.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1573 |
| Total Fat | 111 g |
| Saturated Fat | 44 g |
| Carbohydrates | 51 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 37 g |
| Protein | 90 g |
| Cholesterol | 462 mg |
| Sodium | 1825 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1573 |
| Total Fat | 111 g |
| Saturated Fat | 44 g |
| Carbohydrates | 51 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 37 g |
| Protein | 90 g |
| Cholesterol | 462 mg |
| Sodium | 1825 mg |
Reviews
Horrible. Wasted $40 of meat on this. Too much seasoning and chewy. Just bad. Worst smoke job I’ve ever done.
190 seems low to pull. There are varying arguments saying to pull at 200 and let the temp rise to 203. Also, note, the choice of meat is a huge factor. Choice vs. Prime will make a big difference. If choosing the cheaper, Choice meat, consider injecting it. Also, to keep moist, make sure you spray with water or apple cider leading up to the stall. When it stalls (between 150-160) spray really good and then wrap it. I’ve cooked more than one 12-16lb briskets using only Choice meat as described. All have turned out great. I use a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker, 18″.
I like your idea of the foil wrap at the end. This is a great way to bring the internal temperature if the meat past 190 degrees F. I also loved the apple juice addition
Followed this recipe exactly as written except for the temperature we took it off the smoker. Was not very good. Took it off the smoker at 203, let it rest for an hour and a half wrapped. Even with all this it was not tender. Flavor was ok but we were pretty disappointed in this.
made this for Christmas dinner and was excellent!
Best day ever!
Great recipe! I smoked a 6.5 lb brisket flat on my Weber kettle and followed this recipe pretty much to a T and it worked out great. I added a drip pan filled with water below the brisket because I read that the steam keeps the meat more moist and keeps the temperature inside the grill more steady. Not sure how much of a difference that made but it definitely didn’t seem to hurt. The measurements for paprika and chili powder seemed excessive so I halved those amounts. Overall a really good Kansas City style brisket!
Excellant results. However, the temperature”stalled at 151 degrees. I have a new pellet stove, Zgrill, and it worked wonders.
After the stall, wrapped tightly in foil and temperature went up to 195 after 2 more hours.
Sprayed with some apple juice before the foil and just at the foil wrap. Also had an aluminum pan with apple juice and some herbs to keep some moisture in the grill.
After the stall, wrapped tightly in foil and temperature went up to 195 after 2 more hours.
Sprayed with some apple juice before the foil and just at the foil wrap. Also had an aluminum pan with apple juice and some herbs to keep some moisture in the grill.
I have a propane tower smoker so hard to control the temp, but this turned out really great…Ran it hot early after each wood addition to get the smoke ring and the apple juice spray and adding water to the drip pan really helped as did the foil wrap and hour rest. I was worried the rub would be too hot for some but even the old folks scarfed it down without complaint
Turned out great! Smoked it for about 6 hrs to get an 8pounder to 190*. Wrapped it in foil at about 160*/4hrs. The rub was delicious, not to salty or spicy. I let it rest about 3 hrs wrapped in foil and in a dry cooler after cooking. Will definitely use this recipe again.