Smoked Brisket
Smoked Brisket is the holy grail of all grilled meats. This recipe includes a sweet brown sugar and garlic rub that creates a delicious crust for tender and juicy brisket.
Smoked Brisket
Smoked brisket is great for feeding crowd and a favorite for weekend cookouts. We enjoy cooking a large brisket over the weekend to make easy dinner recipes throughout the week like Brisket Chili and Brisket Pizza.
How to Make Smoked Brisket:
- Set brisket out to come to room temperature an hour before grilling.
- Mix dry rub together by combining brown sugar, granulated garlic, black pepper, kosher slat and smoked paprika.
- Using a sharp knife, pierce the brisket all over.
- Drizzle olive oil over brisket.
- Sprinkle dry rub over brisket and rub into the brisket on all sides.
- Allow brisket to rest while you prepare the grill or smoker at 300° fire.
- Place over indirect fire and close the lid. Cook for 2-3 hours or until desired level of smoke is reached.
- Remove from grill.
- Make a foil packet for brisket and seal it completely. Place on a sheet pan and bake at 250° for 6-8 hours.
- Allow brisket to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
Tips for tender and juicy brisket:
As a brisket smokes, it develops a delicious bark on the outside of the brisket. When smoking for a long period of time the entire crust can turn black and the brisket can dry out.
We avoid this by smoking for a few hours and then wrapping the brisket in foil or butcher paper and slow cooking in the oven. You can also return the brisket to your smoker if you prefer.
We do all of our smoking on a wood fired grill, so this method is easiest for us. The foil or butcher paper will hold in the moisture and keep your brisket juicy while it cooks long enough to become tender.
Best wood for smoking brisket:
Hickory, oak and pecan are great options for smoked brisket. We like to use a combination of hickory and pecan for the optimal flavor.
How to store leftover brisket:
Brisket will stay the freshest if you slice it as needed. Wrap warm (not hot from the grill) brisket in several layers of plastic wrap and an additional layer of foil. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
When brisket is tightly wrapped and refrigerated, it will stay fresh tasting up to 5 days.
Freeze leftover brisket by following the same wrapping method. Brisket will keep up to 3 months.
Recipe Ideas for Leftover Brisket:
You might also like our Smoked Brisket with Brown Sugar Dry Rub that is always a favorite.
If you love this Recipe as much as I do, please leave a comment and a five star review, and be sure to help me share on Pinterest!
Smoked Brisket
Ingredients
- 8- 10 pound brisket
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon onion flakes
Instructions
- Allow brisket to come to room temperature for one hour. Pat dry with paper towels on all sides.
- Place on a baking sheet and pierce with a knife all over.
- Drizzle with olive oil and rub on all sides.
- Sprinkle rub over brisket, rubbing into brisket and spreading over all sides.
- Prepare grill or smoker to 300°.
- Place brisket over indirect fire and close the lid.
- Smoke for 2-3 hours or until desired level of smoke.
- Remove from grill and wrap in a tight foil packet. Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 250° for 6-8 hours.
- Allow brisket to rest 20 minutes before slicing.
I don’t outdoor grill any more….any oven cooking suggestions…..thank you
Hi Karen,
For an oven method, I would recommend starting with the foil packet and just add additional cooking time. I hope that helps.
~ Milisa
Great pics! My hubby use to do all the smoking, but he recently passed away and I want to continue with the summertime appeal of smoked foods. So I am up for it. I am in WA state where the western side of the state is full of smoke in the air from all of the wild fires. No one would notice it is so thick, but dont want to be part of our breathing issues. Hopefully we will be trying this recipe sooner than later.