Outlaw Smoked Beef Brisket

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This introduction to briskets is a little long, but if you are new to smoking briskets, we strongly recommend you read it in its entirety. It will give you a tremendous edge when it’s time to cook your brisket.

There is no question that brisket is the “King of Meats” in Texas as well as many other areas here and around the world. Though considered to be one the most challenging pieces of meat on a cow to prepare, the brisket has non the less become one of the most popular meat choices for both amateur and pro pitmasters alike.
A brisket is basically the chest on a steer. Just like you, each steer has two, his left chest and his right chest. Each brisket is made up of two major muscles. These muscles are commonly referred to as the Flat and the Point. The flat (deep pectoral) is the upper muscle and works the hardest so it tends to be leaner. The point (superficial pectoral) is the lower muscle and contains more fat marbling. This fat marbling in the point is what makes it generally more tender and suitable for burnt ends. Since the brisket supports approximately 60% of the cow’s weight, it is a hard working muscle, making it very tough. Although some pitmasters have developed their own hot and fast method of preparing brisket, the tried and true method for preparing this cut is low and slow. Brisket are typically cooked at low temperatures over several hours.
Due to its tough reputation, many people are unnecessarily intimidated by the thought of smoking a brisket. There is no doubt this protein needs a bit of special attention, but by following a few basic rules, anyone can produce a moist and tender brisket they will proud of.
Follow these 5 rules and you will be on your way to a great brisket.
Rule 1. Don’t over trim your brisket.
There are tons of videos on YouTube and elsewhere about how to trim a brisket so I won’t go in to that here, but one of the biggest trimming mistakes is removing too much fat. Any large, thick or hard areas of fat should be trimmed down or removed, but most of the fat left on a brisket will render down, or melt, during the long cooking process. This rendered fat will help insure your brisket is moist and flavorful.
Rule 2. It’s done when it gets done.
Every brisket is different. Even two briskets from the same cow can take a different amount time to cook. You can make a reasonable estimate on how long your cook will take judging by the weight of the brisket, but the final done time will always depend on the tenderness of the meat itself, not time or temperature. Always allow “plenty of extra time” for your cook.
Rule 3. Don’t go by Temperature.
Keeping an eye on temperature will certainly help you throughout your brisket cook, but the only way to know if your brisket is done for sure, is by what’s known as “Probe Tender”. This means by inserting a probe of some sort into several areas of the brisket and feeling the amount of resistance needed to penetrate the meat. The probe of your instant read thermometer works great for this but you could also use a skewer, ice pick or similar small round object. The brisket should literally feel like Peanut Butter as you probe it. Anything less, wrap it back up and give it a little more time.
Rule 4. Time to Rest.
Like many other cuts of beef, a briskets needs time to “Rest” before slicing and serving. Leave the whole brisket wrapped and place it in a warm oven, ice chest or holding box. Ideally your brisket should rest in a sustained temperature of 140 degrees. This will ensure the safest food handling recommendations. Of course this is not always possible unless you have a special unit designed for warming food. I generally preheat my oven to about 350 degrees, turn it off and place the brisket inside to rest.
As a general rule I would recommend a bare minimum of 1 hour and preferably at least 2 hours. Many of the top bbq places let their briskets rest overnight in a warmer and serve them the next day. I do this very often when planning for a larger event. It has been proven that a long rest of 6-8 hours can greatly improve the tenderness of a brisket.
Rule 5. Time to Slice.
Always slice your brisket as soon to serving as possible. Sliced brisket dries out much quicker than a brisket left intact. This is why most bbq places wait to slice their brisket as it's ordered rather than all at once ahead of time.
This recipe is basically along the lines of a Texas style brisket. Mainly salt, pepper, a little spice and smoke. Texas style brisket is generally a predominately savory, beefy flavor with very little or no sweet element. It is generally thought of as similar to a steak. The idea behind Texas brisket is to enhance the flavor while still allowing the essence of the beef to shine through as the main event. As a general rule in Texas, brisket is not sauced prior to serving, however, sauce is almost always available on the side if desired.
Ingredients:
 Brisket: I recommend using a nice brisket such as a choice grade point or whole brisket (Packers Brisket) if you need a large amount. It should be firm with good marbling but not a lot of excess fat. When it comes to brisket, as well as most other meats, the better you start with, the better you end up with.
 Please Note:
I generally do not inject my brisket except for a competition. Injecting will add more flavor and addition moisture to your brisket, I just find it is usually not necessary and prefer to keep my brisket as true to the flavor of the beef as possible. I am including the injection ingredients and directions below in case you wish to do so.
 
 Rub:
3 TBS. Kosher Salt
3 TBS. Coarse Ground Black Pepper (Use 16 mesh or Restaurant Grind)
1 TBS. Dried Minced Garlic
Injection:
 2 Cups Beef Broth
 2 TBS. Kosher Salt
2 TBS. Course Black Pepper
1 TBS. Garlic Powder
Recommended Wood:
 Pecan
  
 Preparation:
Clean the brisket of excess fat and silver skin, don't over trim. Leave at least a 1/4" layer where possible. No hard or thick areas of fat should be left.
Combine all ingredients for the injection and mix well, stirring often throughout the injection process. When injecting the brisket, do it on a large sheet of wide heavy duty aluminum foil. This simplifies the process by allowing you to wrap the brisket with all the injection inside without having to pick it up. 
 Inject the Brisket well. Include top ends and sides to insure even injection throughout.
Inject with the grain. Always insert the needle parallel with the grain of the meat for better distribution.
 Wrap and allow the brisket to rest in the refrigerator at least 2 hours to overnight.
Do not apply the rub before wrapping because most of the rub will wash off during this rest period. 
 Unwrap and apply rub approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour prior to going in the smoker. If you allow the rub to rest on the surface too long, the salt will pull moisture out from inside the brisket.
 Sprinkle the rub ingredients liberally over the entire brisket. Don’t over spice, you just want a good even
coat. The moisture from the brisket is going to turn the rub into a paste that will help it stick to the meat and help it absorb the flavors. Leave unwrapped and let the brisket rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour to allow the rub to set and the brisket to warm up some prior to placing in the smoker.
 
 Smoking:
 Preheat the smoker to 275°.
Place the brisket on a rack in the smoker unwrapped, fat side up, with the thickest end (point) facing toward the heat source and smoke.
Smoke at 275° for about 3 to 4 hours or until the rub is well set and doesn't come off when touched with your finger.
Check every hour for drying out around the edges. Mist or mop lightly with beef broth or water if needed.
 After 3 to 4 hours, depending on the size of your brisket, your internal temperature should be around 165° to 175°. This is when you want to wrap your brisket.
Lay down double sheets of wide foil.
 Place the brisket fat side up on the foil and wrap tightly.
 Note: At this point the brisket can be finished in the smoker or the oven.
 Return the wrapped brisket to the smoker (or oven) and cook for about an additional 3 hours at 275°.
Monitor the temperature close with an external probe thermometer or an instant read thermometer.
When the internal temperature reaches 203° to 205°, it is time to check for "probe tenderness".
Open the foil and probe the brisket with your instant read thermometer's probe or other suitable object. Be sure to check all over and around the brisket.
Your probe should have almost no resistance when penetrating the meat. It could be compared to inserting the probe into peanut butter.
If you feel any more resistance than that, anywhere on the brisket, it should be wrapped back up tightly and returned to the smoker or oven.
Check for tenderness again after 30 minutes. Continue until tender.
Leave the brisket wrapped and let it rest at least 1 to 2 hours in the warm smoker, warm oven or ice chest. Allow the brisket to rest as long as possible but you should not let the temperature drop below 140° to ensure safe food handling procedure.
Leave your done brisket wrapped and uncut until as close to serving as possible to help prevent moisture loss.
Slice the brisket "across the grain" about 1/4" thick. Serve plain with sauce on the side if desired.