Smoked Beef Brisket

A platter of brisket courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

    We bought a beef brisket from our local butcher and were determined to try this piece of meat that seemed ominous. It's great if you get it right, but if you go wrong you've wasted a bunch of cash.
    Keep in mind that brisket takes FOREVER - low, slow and a real long time, so planning is important. I tried to start early, but didn't get it on the smoker until about 9 a.m. It still took until after 10 that night before we finally got to close to the desired temperature. 
    Next time I'll smoke during the late afternoon and let it be low and slow in the oven, all night long. Almost every brisket recipe that I consulted said to let it smoke for around 5 hours, give or take, and then wrap tightly in a few layers of foil and continue to cook on low about 6 more hours (in the oven). It's so much easier that way.
    This is how we pulled off a great first attempt at the crown jewel of the BBQ world.
 
Smoked Beef Brisket
9 lb. beef brisket, fat trimmed to 1/4 inch
7-8 T. olive oil
4 T. garlic powder
3 T.  cracked black pepper

6 T. dry rub of choice (I used Old Man Larry's Spice Rub)
1-1/2 cup beef broth

Note: To fit our electric smoker, the brisket was cut in half.

Drizzle olive oil over beef and rub in well to coat. Sprinkle dry rub, garlic powder and pepper over meat, coating well on all sides.

Place in plastic container and refrigerate over night. (Some cover meat in plastic wrap before storing in a container.)

Rubbed brisket

About an hour before cooking, remove brisket from refrigerator and let sit, covered on counter to come to room temp while preparing grill.

Soak apple chips in water 30 minutes. Make sure there's a water pan in the smoker at least half full of water or apple juice.

Coat grill grates with cooking spray. If using charcoal, light coals in chimney until glowing and add to smoker. Bring to 220-225 degrees.

Using a well oiled plunger, inject beef broth into brisket. (As much as you can or about 1/2 cup.) Reserve remaining beef broth.

Place brisket in smoker and cook 5 hours or to 160 degrees, adding chips every hour or so and charcoal as needed, if using. 

Remove brisket to foil line pan. Preheat oven to 220 degrees.

Brisket in the smoker

Try injecting 1/2 cup more of beef broth. Wrap brisket in 2-3 layers of foil and continue to cook in 220 degree oven another 6 hours or until an internal temperature of 210.

Remove from oven, unwrap and let rest - awhile. You'll want to tear in and try a sample but don't. Wait 20-30 minutes. Save all liquid possible. 

Slice against the grain at least 1/4 inch thick.
Serve immediately or place sliced brisket in container and cover with remaining broth and juices to reheat later in the slow cooker for 1 hour.

Serves 15-20.

Brisket portion just out of the smoker