How to Smoke a Beef Brisket and Prepare it properly

The tough, fatty cut of beef known as the brisket can be turned into a delicious piece of meat if prepared and cooked properly. One of the best ways to cook a brisket is with a charcoal smoker over a prolonged period of time using one of the many preparatory rub recipes that are to your liking.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An untrimmed whole beef brisket
• Charcoal/wood Smoker
• Good Quality Charcoal
• Wood pieces for smoking
• Heavy duty tin foil
• Good large carving knife
• Meat injector
• Basting brush or mop
• Rub recipe, marinade recipe
• Meat thermometer with probe

1. When picking out a brisket to cook you want one that has a good marbling of fat throughout the meat and not just a thick covering of it. Being a tough cut of meat means a brisket has to be cooked long and slow to tenderize it. Long cooking times mean an increased danger of drying out and it is the fat that will safeguard against this. The outer fat, while helping to lock in moisture won't carry any moisture into the meat. It is the internal fat for the most part that will keep the cut moist. Briskets tend to shrink quite a bit when cooked so figure that for every lb. of raw brisket you will end up with 1/2 lb. of cooked meat for the meal. If your meat is frozen thaw it out overnight in a refrigerator before preparing it. The preparation will take another overnight stay in the fridge so you will need to start at least a day ahead of the meal time.

2. To prepare the brisket before cooking first you need to trim off some of the excess fat, not all of it, just some of the larger pieces to cut down on the weight and shorten the cooking time. Any sections of the cut that are not firmly attached need to be cut off as they will dry out during the cooking process. Most of the fat will be on one side of the brisket while on the other side you will find a tough membrane. This needs to be removed so that any flavorings used can seep in to flavor the meat. Weigh the brisket after you clean it up and use this weight to figure the cooking time. You should figure as much as 1 1/2 hours per lb. for the cooking time meaning that a 10 lb. brisket will need to cook for up to 15 hours.

3. Next comes the flavoring of the meat. You can find all types of rub recipes online and in cookbooks, so decide on one you want to use and mix it up. Liberally rub it all over the meaty side of the brisket not the fat side. Wrap the flavored meat up in either tin foil or plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest overnight. The other two ways to flavor and moisten the meat are through injections and brush on marinades or sauces. Both methods should be used for the best results. Injecting flavorings into the meat should be done right before cooking it as they will seep out if done before hand. Brushing on a marinade or sauce is done while cooking when the meat is turned, repositioned, or checked for temperature.

4. The day before you plan to do the cooking get your smoker ready. A charcoal/wood smoker is the best to use for cooking brisket because of the long cooking time called for and the flavors one will impart to the meat. You will need to have enough fuel to keep the smoker at 200 to 225 degrees for the total cooking time that you figured for your piece of meat. Use good quality charcoal, not any of that stuff with added chemicals for easy starting, and have a way to pre-heat it outside the smoker. This is so that after you have the smoker hot and need to add more coals you don't add it cold and bring the temperature down. Wood chunks of mesquite, apple, pecan, or hickory, it's your choice, will help flavor the meat. A pan of water to go in the smoker -some have a water holding area in them, will help keep the meat moist. Be sure you know how to control the smoker and if it is new that you have pre-seasoned it. See my article on getting your smoker ready: http://www.ehow.com/how_5073907_maintain-clean-protect-smoker.html

5. Before putting the meat in to cook check the smoker for the correct temperature using a good oven proof thermometer. Inject the meat using a meat needle with your marinade being sure to get the flavoring into the meat not the fat and to inject small amounts spaced evenly all over the cut. You can use a store bought marinade you like or make one using the left over rub ingredients mixed with oil and vinegar to get an injectable liquid. Now comes the question of fat side up or fat side down when placing the brisket on the grate, in the smoker. Since the cooking time will be so long you can get around this problem by turning the meat periodically throughout the process but no more than once every couple of hours. Whenever you turn the meat baste it good using some of the injection liquid, marinade, or sauce, and a good meat mop or brush. Good smoke circulation is important so center the meat on the grate so the smoke can get all around it.

6. Keep a check on your smoker's temperature as you want it to stay between 200 and 225 degrees. Add more hot charcoal as needed and more wood. The wood is only important during the first 4 hours or so as this is when the meat will absorb most of the flavor from it. About 30 minutes before the time that you figured for the meat to be done, you will need to start checking the meat's temperature. Use a good meat probe thermometer and stick it into the meatiest part of the brisket. You want a temp. of around 175 degrees, when this is reached you can wrap the meat in some heavy foil, being careful to not get burned. Wrap the foil tightly against the meat to lock in the cooking heat and return it to the smoker. Wrapping the meat will cause the internal temperature to increase and thoroughly cook the meat while protecting it from drying out. Close off the smoker's bottom vents to put out the fire and let the meat continue cooking for another 30 minutes or until the internal temp. reaches 190 degrees. When that temp. is reached your meat is fully cooked, ready to carve and enjoy.
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Tips & Warnings

• Don't open the smoker or move the meat around any more than you have to. Heat will be lost and juice will lost from the meat.
• Lump charcoal is one of the best types to use but it is more expensive.
• Position your smoker in a safe area away for anything that might catch fire, walkways, play areas, and where it will be steady.
• Have a working water hose nearby in case you need it.
• Keep children and pets away from the hot smoker.
• Use safe food handling rules when working with raw meats.

[survivoryea]

on 8/31/2009 Thanks for the well written directions to smoke a brisket!

[onenight]

on 8/11/2009 MMMMM Sounds real good! I gave it 5 stars & Recommended ya. =)