How to Cook Meat in a Smoker

Smokers enshroud meat with heat and smoke, cooking the meat as it imparts flavor. Smoked meat carries a deep, warm, rich flavor that you can get only from smoking it. Smoking works especially well with large pieces of meat, such as the brisket used in this recipe, because it helps the tough cut of meat become tender and keeps it juicy as the beef is cooked at a low temperature for a long time.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 5- to 7-lb. brisket, preferably with good marbling (veins of fat laced through the meat)
• Dry rub of choice
• Chimney starter
• Smoking wood, such as hickory, mesquite or oak
• Smoker
• Water
• Quick-read thermometer

1. Prepare the brisket. Trim any fat on it down to about 1/2 inch thick. The remaining fat will baste the meat as it melts down. Score the fat with a sharp knife, cutting grid lines just into the fat about 1 inch apart.

2. Apply your dry rub to the brisket, making sure you rub your seasonings into the scored fat. Wrap the brisket in plastic after applying the rub. Keep the brisket in the dry rub overnight, or up to 2 days.

3. 
   Smoker wood, ready to use

   Use your chimney starter to light your smoking wood (see Resources for link to instructions). Avoid using starter fluid, which will affect the taste of the meat. If you do not have a chimney starter, light your wood in the smoker and give it at least an hour to become ready to use. Just like with charcoal briquettes, smoking wood will develop an ashy coat when they're ready.

4. Add your wood to the smoker once the wood is ready. Use your smoker's air vents to maintain a steady temperature of 200 to 225 degrees F. This low temperature will help prevent your meat from drying out. Let any excess marinade drain from the meat before smoking it.

5. Add warm water to your smoker's water pan. The water will help keep the meat moist and help regulate the smoker's temperature.

6. Place your meat in the smoker. Smoke the meat 1 hour for every pound the brisket weighs, turning the meat every 90 minutes or so for even cooking. Add more prepared smoking wood if your smoker's temperature starts to drop too low. Cook the meat until the brisket's internal temperature on a quick-read thermometer reads 190 degrees F.

7. Remove the brisket from the smoker and allow it to rest for 25 to 30 minutes before slicing and serving it. Resting the meat will give its juices time to settle back into the meat.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't use too much salt in your dry rub because salt can dry out your meat while it is smoking. You can flavor the water in the smoker's water pan for extra flavor--just add seasonings, herbs or even some of your marinade to the pan's water. If you are using a pit smoker, wrap the brisket in foil after 4 or 5 hours so that it doesn't dry out. Line your water pan with foil before adding water to it for easier cleanup after you've smoked your meat.

Resources

• Dry rub recipes at Cooks.com
• How to use a chimney starter, from The Virtual Weber Bullet
• Types of Smoking wood, from Uncle Robby's Great and Audacious Wood

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