How to Smoke Beef Brisket on the Grill

Let me walk you through how to smoke the juiciest and most tender beef brisket on the grill step by step. A charcoal grill is your best friend here, as it gives the meat that amazing smoky flavor, cooking the meat low and slow. Though it requires a substantial amount of time to cook it, it’s really worth it in the end!

 

How to choose beef brisket for grilling?

Ideally, you want a full brisket, which consists of 2 overlapping muscles called point and flat. Point is fatty marbled part, and flat is leaner portion. And having that fatty part of brisket will get the most flavorful brisket. And this’s when you definitely want to go for a good Prime grade beef.

From the picture below you see I’m using flat brisket. But it’s our home-raised Wagyu flat brisket here. That’s why I got a way with pretty darn good brisket.

And because regular supermarkets don’t usually carry the whole brisket, I suggest checking out your local butcher shop.

Tips to Smoke Perfect Beef Brisket on the Grill:

• Charcoal grill is your best friend for this recipe, because it’ll give that amazing smoky flavor while grilling your brisket low and slow.
• Use a shallow pan, or self-made heavy-duty aluminum foil pan to grill the brisket. 2 reasons: 1. It’ll prevent the juices dripping into the hot charcoal, creating flare-ups. 2. Juices will collect in the pan and you can baste the meat every once in a while to keep the meat juicy and tender.
• Be patient. A good brisket requires significant amount of time to become juicy, tender and flavorful meat. The good news is that you can make it up to 3 days in advance. Simply wrap unsliced cooked brisket in a foil and refrigerate until the day you’re planning to serve. To serve, warm it up, wrapped, in an oven at 300°F until warmed through.

What to serve with smoked beef brisket?

• Your favorite barbecue sauce is always welcome.
• I love chimichurri sauce.
• Potato salad is a great with brisket too!
• Pickles, pickled jalapenoes, pickled onions are great choices as well.

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How to Smoke Beef Brisket on the Grill

4.75 (4 ratings)

Created by Shinee D.

Servings 6 -8 servings

Total: 8 hours hrs

Let me walk you through how to smoke the juiciest and most tender beef brisket on the grill step by step. Charcoal grill is your best friend here.

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Ingredients

  

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• ▢ 1 (4-6 lbs) beef brisket fat trimmed to 1/4 inch
• ▢ 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons bbq rub of your choice
• ▢ Barbecue sauce chimichurri sauce, optional for serving
• ▢ 5 cups hickory or mesquite wood chips soaked in cold water for 1 hour

Instructions

 

• Season the brisket with salt and rub on all sides. Place the brisket, fat side up, in a shallow aluminum pan, or you can make one yourself by doubling heavy-duty aluminum foil and crimping the edges up tightly.
• Prepare charcoal grill for indirect heating, by placing hot charcoals on 2 edges of the grill and leaving the middle empty.
• Throw in about 1 cup of prepared wood chips over charcoal. Place the grates and put the brisket with aluminum pan in the middle. Cover the grill, and turn the vents off, leaving just a little opening, to keep the grill temperature low. You want to aim for 250-275°F. Make sure the vent on the cover is away from charcoal/wood chips to draw smoke through the grill.
• Cook the brisket until the internal temperature reaches 200°F, about 6-8 hours, basting the meat with pan juices every time you add more hot charcoal. Add about 10-12 fresh coals and 1/2 cup of wood chips on each side every hour. Avoid opening the lid too often to keep the temperature even.
• Once cooked, transfer the brisket onto a cutting board and rest for at least 15 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve with bbq sauce, or chimichurri sauce.
• You can grill the brisket up to 3 days in advance. Tightly wrap unsliced brisket in foil and refrigerate it. Once ready to serve, place the wrapped brisket in the oven at 300°F and bake until warmed through.

Notes

Adapted from epicurious.com.

Nutrition

Calories: 473kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 63gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 187mgSodium: 1402mgPotassium: 1007mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 35IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 29mgIron: 6mg

* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.

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