My Easy and Delicious Smoked Brisket Recipe

This smoked brisket recipe is a must make for the summer months. It’s so easy and so good! Once you try this method for cooking brisket, you’ll never want to make it another way again. I bought a giant brisket at Costco, and will be able to feed my family for several dinners. I can use the smoked brisket from this recipe for everything from nachos, to beef stew, or even tacos, making my summer meal prep a breeze.

How Long Does This Recipe Take?

The actual hands-on time for this recipe is maybe 30 mins, but from start to finish this will take several hours. I love using my Traeger smoker, but it’s not fast. Smoking alone will take about an hour per pound of meat.

Ingredients for Smoked Brisket

• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/3 cup pepper
• 2 Tbs garlic powder
• 2 Tbs onion powder
• Brisket
• Mustard

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 – Prepare the Seasoning and the Pan

Mix together the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, then set them aside.

Next, get your pan ready by placing a few layers of aluminum foil on a 1/2 cookie sheet. Place a cooling rack on the foil and set aside.

Step 2 – Trim Excess Fat

Use a knife to trim off the excess fat from your brisket. You only want to leave about a 1/2 inch thick layer, just to help keep the meat moist.

Once you have that all trimmed off, go ahead and place your brisket on top of the cooling rack on the pan you already prepared with foil.

Step 3 – Coat the Brisket With Mustard and Seasoning

Use your favorite mustard of choice (brown, yellow, dijon, etc.) to coat the brisket. I am using standard yellow mustard, squeezing it on, and using my hands to spread it all over the meat. The mustard is less about adding flavor to the brisket, and more about holding the seasoning on.

Take the seasoning mixture that you already prepared earlier, and sprinkle it generously on the mustard. Then, flip the brisket over, and coat the other side with the mustard and the seasoning. You want to make sure that all of the meat and all of the fat is completely covered.

Wrap the brisket up (and the cooling rack too) with a few layers of foil, then put the whole thing in the refrigerator. Ideally you would refrigerate it overnight, but for at least 4-6 hours.

Step 4 – Smoking the Brisket

Fill your smoker with pellets, and set it to 225°. Place your foil wrapped brisket inside of the smoker with the cooling rack side down. Use the probe to monitor the temperature of your meat. When the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 200°, it’s done. This will take about an hour per pound of meat.

The meat will only take in a smoke flavor for 4-6 hours. After 6 hours, you can finish the brisket in an oven set to 225°. Just make sure to not open the smoker until you are ready to remove the brisket.

Step 5 – Resting the Smoked Brisket

This is one of the most crucial steps to my smoked brisket recipe. We are going to let the brisket rest, but not just on the counter. Remove all the foil from your brisket and rewrap it up in a couple layers of parchment paper, then wrap a towel around it.

Take the towel and parchment paper wrapped brisket and place it inside your ice chest/cooler. It needs to rest inside the cooler for at least an hour.

Slicing and Serving Smoked Brisket

And that’s it for this smoked brisket recipe. After an hour in the cooler you can pull the smoked brisket out and slice it up to be served. The knife will cut right through with no resistance. It’s like slicing butter. So tender and yummy! After you try this smoked brisket recipe, you won’t want to ever make brisket another way again.

I’m going to portion my cooked brisket out into vacuum sealed bags and put it in my freezer. I’ll be able to use this smoked brisket for everything from nachos to tacos, even chili. I’m so excited to have this meat on hand, already cooked, and ready to go for quick summer dinners.

For all the details on how I made these super yummy brisket nachos, check out this post for the full recipe.

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