How to Charcoal Grill a Brisket

Cook a beef brisket too quickly with high heat and even sharp steak knives won't penetrate it. But grill or smoke the brisket for several hours over low, slow heat, and the normally tough meat becomes tender and melts in one's mouth.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Charcoal grill with an offset firebox, upright smoker or kettle grill
• Drip pan (only for kettle grill technique)
• 5-pound beef brisket
• Dry-rub seasonings (black pepper based)
• Hammer-style meat tenderizer
• Large bag of natural lump charcoal
• 5-pound mixture mesquite, hickory and oak wood chips
• Large plastic mixing bowl or bucket

Tenderizing the Meat and Preparing Wood Chips

1. The night before smoking, lay the brisket on a wood chopping block, stone slab or other durable surface and pound it vigorously about a dozen times on each side to tenderize it.

2. Sprinkle a layer of dry-rub seasonings on all parts of the brisket, and rub the seasoning into the flesh.

3. Place the brisket on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight, curing the meat.

4. At least one hour before smoking, dump the wood chips into the plastic bowl or bucket and cover with water, allowing the chips to soak.

Starting the Fire and Slow Grilling or Smoking

5. Place about five heaping handfuls of natural lump charcoal onto the coal grate or inside the offset firebox in a large mound.

6. Bury an electric charcoal starter in the center of the charcoal before plugging in the device.

7. With all grill vents wide for maximum air flow, keep the charcoal starter in the coals for at least eight minutes, until coals begin to smoke and crackle.

8. Unplug and remove starter. If using an offset firebox or upright smoker, leave coals in a mound in the center of the coal grate. If using a kettle grill, use the starter iron to push all coals to one side of the coal grate, leaving a coal-free pocket on the other side.

9. If using a kettle grill, place the drip pan containing 2 cups of water on the coal-free side of the grate and place the cooking grate onto the circle top. For all types of grills, close the lid and allow coals to sit for another 10 minutes.

10. Adjust grill vents based on outside temperatures and wind speeds so that the grilling chamber keeps a constant temperature of 200 to 225 degrees.

11. Place the brisket on the grilling grate (above the drip pan if using a kettle grill) and close the lid.

12. Place two handfuls of wet wood chips directly on the lit coals to create smoke. These should be added to the coals every 30 minutes to keep a constant smoke flow.

13. Add one or two handfuls of lump charcoal every hour to keep the fire going. Briskets should slow-grill for between eight and 10 hours.

Tips & Warnings

• Adjust vents as needed throughout the process to maintain cooking temperatures of about 200 degrees.
• Keep lids closed as much as possible.
• Slice the cooked brisket across the grain in pieces about one-quarter-inch thick and brush a little grilling sauce on each piece before serving.
• Always use fire-resistant cooking mitts when feeding charcoal into the fire.
• Handle meat with long grilling-style cooking tongs to avoid burns.

References

• Barbecue Bible: Direct Grilling vs. Indirect Grilling
• Barbecue Bible: Art of Smoking
• Char-Griller Side Firebox owner's manual and smoking guide

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