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You can see the two muscles in this whole packer brisket at the legendary Black's Barbecue in Lockhart, TX, where they've been smoking brisket since 1932: The flat (A) and the point (B). The horizontal line along the side of the piece at right is the fat layer that separates the point from the flat. You can also see the fat line in the tip that has been cut off at left. Notice that this tip is mostly flat, with only a thin layer of point. Notice, also, the dark mahogany black crust, the amber fat cap below the cracking crust on the point at right, and the pink smoke ring below the crust on the piece on the left.
Keys to success
1) Buy USDA Choice or better meat. Do not just pick up whatever your butcher has on display. Get USDA Choice grade meat or higher. If you have to special order it, then order it. If you start with USDA Select or below you will have a hard time elevating it beyond shoe leather.
2) Use a good digital thermometer to monitor your cooker and another to monitor the meat. Your smoker's dial thermometer is wrong. Don't trust it. The Maverick remote is perfect for this job. Step into the digital age.
3) Inject with low sodium beef broth if you are not doing a whole packer brisket and are doing only a hunk of flat (HOF - see below). In fact, injecting is a good idea even if you are doing a whole packer.
4) Wrap the meat in foil when it hits 150°F. This tenderizes and moisturizes, but most importantly it powers through the stall, a long delay during which the temp stops rising. It can last for up to 5 hours. The stall is caused by the meat sweating and cooling from evaporation. It can add 5 hours to your cooking time. Foiling the meat powers through the stall and delivers moister meat.
5) Finish indoors. If you're having trouble controlling the temperature of your outdoor cooker, and most charcoal cookers are hard to control for long sessions, cook outdoors until the meat hits 150°F, wrap in foil, and then move it indoors. It still may stall for an hour or 2 at about 170°F. Wait it out.
6) Rest the meat when it hits 190°F, hold it at that temp on your cooker or indoors, or wrap it with towels or a blanket and let it rest in a beer cooler for 2 to 3 hours. This helps tenderize but also gives you leeway before serving if the cooking takes longer than anticipated.
7) Start earlier than you think you should. If the meat is ready before the guests, fine. It will be just fine wrapped in foil in a beer cooler or a holding oven. Better the meat should wait than the guests.
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"I adapted your brisket rub recipe this summer to and my customers love it (8,000 pounds served in the past 6 months)! My brisket even won 'best beef' in the Sonoma County Harvest Fair this year (2010)." Larry Vito of BBQ Smokehouse in Sebastapol, CA
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The Hunk o' Flat (HOF) or Hunk of Point (HOP)
A whole packer brisket is a lot of meat! Many grocers cut up the whole brisket into smaller more manageable sizes. I often see cuts from the flat or point running anywhere from 1 to 8 pounds. I call them a HOF, for Hunk O' Flat, or HOP for Hunk 'O Point. HOF is sometimes labeled "first cut" and HOP is sometimes labeled "second cut".
HOFs seem to be more common than HOPs. If the case has both, chose the HOP. It has more fat in the muscle and will be more tender, flavorful, and juicy. If you see only flats, ask the butcher if you can order points. HOFs are usually tough and it is almost impossible to make them tender.
My grocer usually has a number of HOFs in the 2 to 4 pound range, perfect for serving a small family. If you are cooking a 2 to 4 pound HOF, there is much less waste and shrinkage, so buy 1/2 pound or so for each person. But don't ask your butcher for a HOF, that's just a term you and I use.
The HOF is practically pure muscle and has little marbling which is what makes meat tender and juicy. Most people who buy it are making pot roast by simmering it for hours in liquid. But you want the Texas taste, right? If you must do a HOF, then try really really hard to get USDA Choice, USDA Prime, or even Wagyu beef. Chose a thick HOF, look for marbling and uniform thickness so one edge won't dry out. If the meat is not on a plastic tray and you can flex it, select one that is floppy.
The technique for cooking a small hunk is pretty much the same as cooking a packer, but the timing can vary significantly depending on the thickness first of all, the total weight, the age of the steer, the grade of beef among other things.
If you are doing a HOF, I strongly recommend you inject it, wrap with foil when it hits 150°F, and let it rest as described at right.
As a rule of thumb, plan on 60 minutes per pound at 225°F, but beware this can be way off. You have to use a good digitlal thermometer, and it takes practice.
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Whole packer on a gas grill
A) The grain on the flat runs one way.
B) The grain on the point runs another way.
C) Setup the grill for 2-zone and indirect cooking. Put the water over the burner that is hottest.
D) A meat thermometer probe inserted into the point.
E) An oven thermometer probe sits above the grates at the same level as the meat over the water pan.
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Cooking more than one large hunk o' meat
I frequently get asked how to handle cooking two briskets (or more) or a shoulder and a brisket, or a shoulder, brisket, ribs, and a muskrat. The answer is here, in my article on Cooking More Than One Large Hunk 'O Meat.
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Click here for more photos of brisket and the Austin Barbecue Belt. Click here for recipes from LBJ's famous barbecue chef, Walter Jetton.
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Sides
Brisket achieves it's apogee on the blackened pulley pits of Central Texas, so I always serve it Texas style. The smokey meat slices lounge on a thick slice of Texas Toast with only a few spoons of a thin, tart, tomato-soup like sauce, none of that thick sweet Kansas City stuff. Brisket needs sugar like steers need wolves.
On the side, I like to honor the Mexican heritage of Texas cooking with frijoles, simple pinto beans cooked cowboy style, with some fatback or bacon, onion, garlic, a few chopped tomatoes, scented with bay leaves and cumin, and sprinkled with fresh minced jalapeno. Absolutely positively none of those sweet Yankee beans. The wolf law holds for beef sides too.
Then, honoring the European heritage of many of the great Texas barbecue joints surrounding Austin, I want a mound of German Potato Salad, warm and pungent with vinegar, and dotted with celery seed.
Next to it I want a scoop of fresh, crunchy sauerkraut from the fridge. None of that soggy canned stuff.
To honor the Czech heritage of the numerous Texas butcher shops turned barbecue joints, I chase the whole thing with a tallboy, a simple uncomplicated Pilsner style Texas brew, straight from the bottle.
Dessert has to be crunchy, gooey pecan pie with black coffee. Pecans are a major cash crop of the Lone Star State, and my favorite pie bar none.
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Left-handed briskets?
Tom Hoefer from Allen, Texas, posted this tall tale about a barbecue contest on the net in 2001. It is reprinted here, slightly edited, with his permission. Fact or fiction? Serious or joke? You decide...
A few year back at the Texas State Finals, several of us arrived on Thursday to get in line for the best sites. Thursday night was devoted to serious drinking.
One of the better cooks, Ole Connie Baker of the team "Li'l Pit Of Heaven", was throwing back quite a few of those Mexican beers with a chunk of lime stuck in the neck. Connie had so many of them limeade beers that he was starting to smile with a pucker.
One of us asked him how come his brisket was so tender and always placed in the top three. I thought to myself, boy oh boy, if loose lips sink ships then Ole Connie is going down tonight. All got quiet as he stuffed another lime in a longneck and he said that he "only cooks left-handed briskets".
He explained that most, but not all, steers rest on their left side, which means when they get up they have to push harder with their right legs. At this point about half the bunch mumbled something to the effect of "bull hockey" and went back to different conversations.
A few of us noticed that Ole Connie wasn't smirking. Two or three of us moved closer and I told him "You can't stop there. What does pushing up with their right legs have to do with the left brisket?"
Ole Connie stuffed another lime and told us that when they push up with the right legs it flexes the right brisket muscle more than the left. Therefore the right-handed brisket will be tougher and less marbled than the left. Not always but usually. I asked him "how the heck do you tell a left-handed brisket from the right?"
He stuffed another lime and told me that, with the fat side down, on a left-handed brisket, with the narrow part closest to you, the point will curve to the right.
Saturday awards time rolled around and Connie took First Brisket and Grand Champion over 180 of the best cooks in Texas. I think that I came in 19th with my right-handed brisket.
I just could not get this off my mind. I phoned the kin folk in LaGrange, Texas, and asked if they would check out their herd. Yep, you guessed it. Only three out of 37 consistently rested on their right side. Dangnation, Ole Connie has got it going big time!
I went to five different grocery stores and flexed briskets to see which sides were more limber and more marbled. There are some right-handed briskets that are more limber and marbled than the lefties, but for the most part, the majority of the best are left handed!
Welp, there it is folks. Take it or leave it. As Joe Friday on the 1950s TV show, Dragnet, used to say, "Only the facts ma'am."
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Barbecue Beef Brisket Texas Style
Summary. Barbecue beef brisket is the national dish of the Republic of Texas. Here's the recipe for how to cook it the way the BBQ champions and BBQ restaurants cook it. Recipe Type. Entree. Tags. Beef, brisket, BBQ, barbecue, barbeque, grilling, smoking, cookout, party, dinner, smoker, grill.
 "Anytime you got nothing to do - and lots of time to do it - come on up." Mae West
Brisket is the national food of the Republic of Texas and a whole brisket is a great excuse for a party. A whole barbecue beef brisket is a huge clod of cow that can come off the pit almost black, looking more like a meteorite than a meal. But it is not burnt, and beneath the crust is the most tender, juicy, smoky meat. If you cook it right. And that's a BIG IF.
Like a Clint Eastwood cowboy, brisket is unforgiving. Cook it right and it is tender, juicy, and flavorful. Cook it wrong and it is like a wrangler's leather chaps. To help you get it right, I have written this book-length article/recipe/technique so that you understand all the concepts. Don't let it scare you. Brisket mastery is possible, even on a gas grill.
Briskets are from the chest area of the steer between the forelegs. There are two per animal, and these boneless pectoral muscles get a lot of work, so there isn't much fat marbling within the muscle and there's a lot of connective tissue in and around the muscle fibers. That's why they are so tough. Much of the world's brisket is made into corned beef, pastrami, or pot roast, but it is also a fine cut for barbecue, and it is required in Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) cooking contests (about 500 across the nation) along with pork ribs, pulled or chopped pork, and chicken.
Beware: Corned Beef Brisket is a brisket that has been corned, which is to say it has been preserved with salt and flavorings. It is not the same! It is meant for boiling, not for barbecue. Ignore this warning and you will be sorry!
Your butcher probably offers three cuts of brisket, a whole "packer" brisket, a "flat", and a "point" (sometimes called the deckle). Each cut needs to be cooked differently.
The whole packer brisket
When you buy a whole "packer's cut" brisket, it weighs 8 to 16 pounds and comes in an airtight Cryovac plastic wrap. There is a cap of fat on one side that can be up to 1" thick, and it is trimmed pretty close to fat free on the other side. The larger briskets usually come from older steers and tend to be tougher.
Enzymes within muscles tenderize meat as it ages. Most packers come in airtight plastic Cryovac bags and the label will usually show the "Packing Date". After a steer is slaughtered it is broken down and packed, usually within 24 hours, although if it was slaughtered late on Friday, it might not be packed til Monday. Competition cooks who do several briskets a week during the season tell me the best are 30 to 45 days old. So they often wet age their meat in the fridge in the basement. Click here for more about aging beef.
There are two distinct muscles in a whole packer brisket: (A) A long flat rectangular lean muscle that sometimes comes to a point that is called the flat, and (B) a narrower, thicker, fattier, oval shaped muscle called the point. Got it? The flat is pointy and the point is oval. Go figure. In the illustration above, the jagged white line is about where butchers cut packers when the break them down into smaller hunks of flat and point.
Click on the images below
to see enlargements.
A whole 12-pound packer brisket untrimmed fat side up, as it arrived from the packer. The cutting board is 20" x 14 ". The fat cap is 1/4" to 1/2" thick. The flat is A and the point rests on top of the right side of the flat in the oval B. As you can see, the packer trimmed it quickly and left some meat bare. Not the end of the world.
The same brisket fat side down. This side is usually close to fat free, although there may be some tough silverskin that must be removed. The flat is A and the point is B. The grain runs in the direction of the white line. Notice the fat vein that runs between the flat and the point.
This side view looks right at the end of the flat with the point rising in the background. Notice that the flat ranges from 1/4" think on the right to about 1.5" on the left, and the point is more than 5" thick.
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The point lies on top of the flat and there is a layer of fat separating the two muscles. The flat makes nice uniform slices (think corned beef and pastrami), perfect for sandwiches or fanning out on a plate. Because one end is a lot thinner than the other, it often dries out as the thicker part of the clod cooks. For this reason, and also because the striation of the two muscles run in different directions, some cooks remove the point before or after cooking. It comes off easily along the fault line of fat that separates them. Some slice it separately and some cube or chop it.
Some top competitors will age the meat in its Cryovac in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 days from the packing date to allow the enzymes to start breaking down the tough fibers and develop more complex flavors. Do not try this unless the meat is packed in its original airtight Cryovac package.
Nothin' but controversy
As with anything barbecue, there is controversy surrounding brisket. Pitmasters disagree on several major scores:
Meat grade. Beef is graded based on the age of the animal and the amount of fat marbling. Click here for more about beef grades. The more marbling, the better because fat makes the meat more tender, flavorful, and juicy. The most common grades, from lowest to highest are: Select, choice, prime, and Wagyu.
I cannot stress this enough: When shopping for brisket, go for the highest grade you can find, and hand pick the slab with the most fat striation visible. If it is not labeled, chances are it is select. Avoid it. Brisket is the classic example of "garbage in garbage out". Please don't write to me and say you can't figure out why your brisket was tough if you did not buy USDA Choice or better.
A lot of restaurants and competitors prefer Certified Angus Beef (CAB) because the certification process requires meat to be choice grade or above.
Prime and Wagyu are even more marbled and will be more juicy, so if you can find it, and if you can afford it, go for it. A lot of the top competition teams are now using prime or Wagyu.
But grade alone will not make the meat tender. Brisket is just an ornery piece of meat and if you want it tender, you've got to work. Tasty is easy. Tender is not.
Wet aging. The top competitors buy only whole packers vacuum packed in Cryovac plastic. The find out the packing date, which is often on the label, and if it is not should be available if you ask. They them let it age in the fridge at temps between 35 and 38°F because there are enzymes in the meat that help tenderize it. This is especially important for the flat muscle which is usually low in intramuscular fat.
Trim. Some cooks like to leave the entire fat cap on the meat as insulation, trimming what remains before serving. This helps moderate the heat during cooking. Others trim most of it off before cooking, leaving a layer of 1/8" to 1/4", reasoning that spices and seasoning on the fat cap will never penetrate it and then it is wasted when you trim off the fat at the table. Some even remove much of the fat layer between the two muscles. I trim the cap to 1/4" or less. It helps seal in moisture.
Rub. Before it is cooked, many of the best Texas barbecue joints simply use "Dalmatian rub": Liberal amounts of kosher salt and coarsely cracked black pepper. For them, stylin' is to add some cayenne and garlic powder to the rub. Some leave it on the meat overnight, but others just season the meat and toss it on the pit. On the competition circuit many cooks use a complex secret concoction of herbs and spices that give a little spark to the bark, the flavorful crust that forms after all that cooking. I use my Big Bad Beef Rub.
Slather. Some folks think it is a must to put a thin layer of mustard on the meat before the rub to hold it down. Others use oil because many spices in rubs are oil soluble. Both sides believe that either mustard or oil will help form a crunchy bark. I use oil. Pepper and other seasonings do not dissolve in water.
Pump. Many competition cooks like to inject brisket with an internal marinade by using large hypodermics and other gimcracks. These "pumps" add moisture, break down tough fibers, and add flavor. Many of the champs have been injecting the meat with a product called Fab B Light or Butcher BBQ Brisket Marinade, both moisturizers, tenderizers, and flavor enhancers. Fab B contains hydrolyzed soy protein, vegetable oil, sodium phosphates, monosodium glutamate, autolyzed yeast extract, xanthan gum, disodium inosinate, and guanylate. Butcher contains hydrolyzed vegetable protein (hydrolyzed soy and corn protein and salt, with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil [cottonseed, soybean] added), monosodium glutamate, sodium phosphate, and xanthin gum. Some traditionalists think this is way too Barry Bonds and are repulsed by the idea. The results speak for themselves. They are winning. A lot. If you choose to inject and don't want all the chemicals, don't use anything very flavorful, just plain low sodium beef broth. Insert the needle parallel to the grain so it doesn't leave tracks in the finished meat. I use low sodium beef broth.
Fat cap up or down. Most folks cook with the fat on top. For years it was believed that the melting fat would actually penetrate the meat, but nowadays most folks understand that fat cannot penetrate meat fibers very well. The melting fat does baste the meat, keeping it moist. Some cooks like the fat cap on the bottom, as sort of a heat shield. On a smoker like the Weber Smokey Mountain or other bullets or kamados, where the heat is directly below, a good case can be made for fat side down. Others cook halfway with the fat up, and halfway with the fat down. I cook cap up if I am cooking when the heat is to one side, cap down if the heat is below.
Point. The point end is usually twice as thick as the other end, so by the time it is properly cooked the other end is overcooked. Some cooks remove the point layer by sliding a knife through the fat layer that runs between the flat and point. They cook both muscles side by side rather than one on top of the other. Since the flat is pretty even thickness, it cooks more evenly than with the point on top making it thicker on one end. They then cook the point separately and use it for "burnt ends" (described below). I leave the packer intact.
Temp. Many competitors swear that low and slow, around 225°F for up to 20 hours for a whole packer, is necessary to make the meat tender and juicy. Danny Gaulden, the respected owner of Danny's Place in Carlsbad, NM recommends 250°F. Legendary "Barbecue King", Walter Jetton, Lyndon Johnson's caterer, advocated cooking brisket at 275°F and up. John Fullilove of Smitty's Market confesses that he cranks the heat over 300°F and knocks out his briskets in as little as 8 hours. I have seen competitors take home big prize checks with brisket cooked at 350°F. The bottom line is that cooking temp seems to be less important than other factors. But because it is hard to make brisket tender, I advocate for low and slow until you have mastered the techniques and are certain that your meat source is superior. I cook at 225°F.
Mop. A lot of cooks like to keep their meat wet by mopping it with a baste. They say the mop replaces moisture that evaporates. Others say mops cool the meat and slow the cooking.
Crutch and Rest. The Texas Crutch is a technique for speeding the cooking and moisturizing the meat. The concept is that you wrap the meat tightly in heavy-duty foil with a little beef broth, apple juice, white wine, or light beer, and let it braise in the cooker. The best time to do this is when it hits the stall, at about 150°F. The stall is a maddening point in the process when the meat seems like it is stuck. The temp just doesn't rise for hours at a time. This is freaky and a lot of novices panic when it happens. Many people think the stall is cased by melting collagen. It is not. Click the link to learn more about the stall.
Wrapped in foil, the sealed meat goes back on and rises steadily to about 190°F. Then it comes off, it cools a bit so it stops cooking, and sits in a faux cambro, an insulated box, for several hours. The foil captures natural jus for use in a sauce, and it helps prevent the dreaded stall cutting hours off the length of the cook. If you don't wrap, when the meat hits about 150°F moisture rises to the surface and cools the meat by evaporation, like sweat on an athlete. The meat then sits there stuck at 150 to 160 for up to 5 hours. The down side is that the foil softens the crusty bark. You can overcome that by placing the meat over high heat for about 20 minutes per side just before slicing. I think wrapping in foil and resting in a faux cambro is essential. Opponents say it is not traditional. Spare me. Cooking with charcoal in a steel tube is not traditional. You want tradition? Dig a pit.
Slicing. When it is cooked, controversy reigns over slicing. Brisket is easier to chew if you cut it perpendicular to the grain. Cut with the grain and it can be stringy and chewy. The problem is that there are two muscles, the flat and the point, and the grains run in different directions. Most folks slice from the thicker, point end into about 1/8" to 1/4" thick slices. Some folks run a knife through the fat layer between the point and flat and separate them and slice each separately. Some folks cut off the flat where the point meats it and then they rotate it so the cut is on the side and they slice through the point and flat from the side. Below are photos of how Barry Sorkin of Smoque BBQ in Chicago slices his incredible succulent brisket. That's the way I do it.
Recipe for a Whole Packer Brisket
In the recipe below I have chosen a path that yields excellent results for me and my readers. Some may dispute my choices, but if you start here, you can then riff on the controversies above. If your effort yields meat that is a bit dry or tough, try again. Sometimes it's the cow, not the recipe or the cook! Cattle are not widgets. But remember, garbage in, garbage out. Start with choice grade beef or better.
Yield. 12 servings if you are cooking a whole packer of about 12 pounds. Calculate about 1 pound of meat or more per person. There will be significant loss, up to 20% from fat trimming and up to 40% from shrinkage. You'll end up with about half a pound per person, more than enough and maybe you'll have some leftovers.
Preparation time. 5 minutes to apply the rub. If you can let the rub soak in for an hour or two, that would be nice. Overnight is better. You can make the sauce while the meat is cooking.
Cooking time. Rule of thumb: 1 hour per pound if you wrap in foil at 150°F. If it gets done sooner, you can hold it in a faux cambro or in an oven at 170 to 190°F (see rest time, below). If you do not wrap in foil, then expect about 90 minutes per pound for a whole packer. But that rule of thumb can vary significantly by as much as 25% depending on how thick it is at the thickest point, and the orneriness of the particular steer whose flesh you are honoring, and if you chose to wrap in foil (I recommend it). A Hunk O' Flat (HOF) is hard to predict. Again, it is the thickness that determines cooking time, not weight. Plan on about 6 to 10 hours for most HOFs. There are too many variables to be precise. Once you have done the same cut on the same cooker several times, you'll be able to better predict.
Resting time. When the meat is cooked, let it rest, wrapped in foil, wrapped in a towel, buried in a plastic cooler, for another 3 to 4 hours. You can also let it rest in foil in an oven, indoor or out, at 170 to 190°F. This is a great fudge factor that lets you take the meat off when it is ready and hold it until the guests are ready. Resting also helps tenderize.
Total Time. 15 hours more or less for a whole packer.
Toolkit
1 grill or smoker with lots of fuel
6 feet of heavy-duty aluminum foil
16 ounces by weight of hard wood chunks, chips, or pellets for smoking
1 digital meat thermometer, preferably a Maverick ET-732
1 plastic beer cooler bigger than the brisket (not styrofoam, which could melt)
1 towel or blanket
1 long, thin, sharp knife
Cooking log
1 alarm clock
1 lawn chair
1 good book
6 pack of beer
1 pair of shades
Sun tan lotion
Tunes
A crowd of hungry friends
The Meat
1/2 cup Big Bad Beef Rub
1 whole packer brisket about 12 pounds, Choice grade or higher
1/8 cup of beef broth per pound of raw meat for injecting
1 cup of beef broth for use in the Texas Crutch
The Sauce
2 cups of Texas Barbecue Mop-Sauce (you can make this days in advance) for a packer, or 1 cup for a HOF
Sides
Brisket is great with potatoes. For sandwiches, use thick slices of sturdy bread or kaiser rolls, and let the gravy soak in and get sloppy. Garnish with grilled ancho and red bell peppers or caramelized onions.
Do this
1) Trim. Rinse the meat and dry it with paper towels. If you have a packer, trim off most of the fat cap but leave at least 1/4". If you are trimming a packer, until you get the hang of it you might cut off some of the meat while trimming. No harm, no foul. Some cooks will attempt to remove some of the fat layer between the flat and the point by slicing them apart from both sides, but not slicing all the way through so they remain attached. If you are competing, trim the flat to about 9" wide in order to fit the width of the standard 9" x 9" turn-in box after shrinkage. On the meaty side, slice off any silverskin, a tough thin membrane. If you have a HOF, you probably will not need to trim much at all. Just make sure there is no silverskin on the meaty side. I freeze the fat and grind it if I think my burgers need more fat. I render some of it over low heat in a pan and freeze that too. I use it to paint my steaks just before searing.
2) Pump. This is an optional step, but I almost always inject briskets with beef broth. It is essential to pump a HOF. If you have a hypodermic for injecting meat, now's the time to use it. Pump in about 1 ounce of beef broth per pound of raw meat by inserting the needle parallel to the grain in several locations about 1" apart and back it out as you press the plunger. Do it in the sink and be careful so you don't get squirted in the eye. Use broth only. All we want here is moisture. We don't want the fluid to mask the flavor of the meat.
3) Rub. Before you apply the Big Bad Beef Rub, notice the direction of the grain of the flat and remember this so you can carve it perpendicular to the grain. Coat the meat lightly with oil and sprinkle the rub liberally on all exposed meat and rub it in. Not much sense in wasting rub on the fat since most of it will melt off or be cut off by your guests. I coat the meat with oil first because many of the flavors in the rub are oil soluble. Some folks use a slather of mustard first, but it is water based and will not dissolve the flavors as well as oil. If you can, let the meat sit for 1 to 2 hours to allow the rub to penetrate a bit and form a moist paste that will become your crust. I strongly recommend you use a digital remote thermometer such as the Maverick, and insert the probe with the tip centered in the thickest part of the meat.
4) Preheat. OK, before we begin, it is important to note that brisket is an inexact science, and the timing can vary significantly depending on the size of your brisket, it's moisture and fat content, and the nature of your cooker, not to mention the accuracy of your thermometer. But the method I describe has a long period of resting in an insulated beer cooler, and that time is flexible so you can use that buffer time to keep dinner on schedule. Take the meat out of the fridge about 3 hours early so it is not really cold when you put it in the smoker. If you are using a grill, set it up for indirect cooking. Click here to see how to set up a gas grill. Here's how to set up a charcoal grill, and here's how to set up a bullet smoker like the Weber Smokey Mountain. Get the temp stabilized at about 235°F. We want to cook at about 225°F, but the temp will drop a bit once you load in the cold meat.
5) Cook. Put the meat on the cooker, fat side up. On a smoker with a water pan, put the meat right above the water. Place the oven temp probe next to the meat. Add about 4 ounces of wood right after the meat goes on. When the smoke stops, add 4 ounces more for the first 2 hours, usually about every 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the water in the pan. Don't let it dry out. After 3 hours, turn the meat over if the color is different from top to bottom. Otherwise leave it alone. No need to mop, baste, or spritz. It just lowers the temp of the meat. The meat temp will move steadily upward to the stall, somewhere between around 150°F. Once in the stall zone, it will seem to take forever to rise. The stall can last 5 hours and the temp may not rise more than 5°F!
 6) Texas Crutch. After about 2 to 4 hours, by which time the meat will have hit about 150°F, take it off and wrap it in a double layer of heavy-duty foil or put it in a pan just larger than the meat and cover it with foil. I prefer a pan because foil leaks too easily. Pour a cup of beef broth around the sides of the meat being careful not to wash off the rub before you seal the foil. Then crimp it tight and put the wrapped meat back on the smoker or move it to an indoor oven at 225°F. This step, called the Texas Crutch, slightly braises the meat, but most importantly, it prevents surface evaporation which cools the meat and causes the stall. If you wrap the meat at 150°F it will power right through the stall and cut your cooking time significantly. So when is it ready? In general, I say 190°F. The experts say you really can't tell by temperature. Each brisket is different. The pros can tell when it is ready by feel. Some talk about a gelatinous bounce it has when they poke it because the connective tissues have melted. They call it the "wabba wabba" point. Others stick a fork in the side of the flat and twist. If it turns easily, it is ready. "Fast Eddy" Maurin says he waits until his thermometer probe "falls into" the meat on a whole packer and it is "as soft as buttah." If it never gets tender, pull it off before it hits 205°F.
7) Rest. When the temp hits 190°F, get your plastic beer cooler, line it with a towel, blanket, or crumpled newspaper and put the meat, still in foil, into the cooler on top of the lining. Leave the thermometer probe in. If the foil is leaking fluids, put the meat in a large pan first. The lining is important to prevent the plastic from warping or cracking. Close the lid and let the hot meat sit in the cooler for at least 2 to 3 hours until you are ready to eat. Do not let the temp of the meat fall below 150°F while it is in the cooler or else you could get a tummy ache. If you have a tight cooler it should hold the meat well above 160°F for hours.
 8) Optional: Burnt ends. Burnt ends (right) are amazingly flavorful bite-size crispy cubes. Originally they were simply edges and ends that were overcooked, sort of fried in their own natural fat, and trimmed off and munched by the kitchen staff. If there were any leftover, they were given away for free. Then, in 1970, in his marvelous book American Fried, Calvin Trillin wrote the following about Arthur Bryant's restaurant in Kansas City "The main course at Bryant's, as far as I'm concerned, is something that is given away for free -- the burned edges of the brisket. The counterman just pushes them over to the side as he slices the beef, and anyone who wants them helps himself. I dream of those burned edges. Sometimes, when I'm in some awful overpriced restaurant in some strange town -- all of my restaurant-finding techniques having failed, so that I'm left to choke down something that costs seven dollars and tastes like a medium-rare sponge -- a blank look comes over my face: I have just realized that at that very moment someone in Kansas City is being given those burned edges free."
Before the resting period, remove the point from the flat by slicing horizontally along the vein of fat between the two muscles. They should come apart easily. Now cut the point into 1/2" to 3/4" cubes. Discard any pieces that are too fatty. Put the cubes in an aluminum pan and pour in about 1/4 cup of your sauce and 1/4 cup of the drippings from the crutch. If you wish, add a hunk of the beef fat you trimmed at the start of the process or cheat and add bacon fat. Put it back on the cooker in a hot spot and close the lid. If the fire is out you can put the pan on top of a burner over medium low heat. Stir them every 15 minutes or so. Let them get dark and crispy, but don't let them burn. When they're done, put them in the faux cambro with the flat.
Slicing brisket
In these photos, Barry Sorkin of Chicago's Smoque BBQ (my favorite brisket outside of TX) demonstrates how to slice brisket. Start by slicing the flat across the grain until you encounter the point muscle on top of the flat. In the photo above he is one or two slices from hitting the point.
The remaining hunk has two muscles with the grain going in different directions. Slice it in half as above. The right section is a butt end with one cut edge. The left section, actually the middle of the brisket after the sliced flat is removed from its left, and the butt from its right. It has two cut edges.
Slice the center section as shown, from the outer edge in.
Slice the remaining butt end of the point in the same direction as you cut the flat, continuing along the cut face.
Leftovers can be chopped, doused in sauce, and served on a bun like they do at many restaurants in Texas. I'm not a big fan of this method since there is more surface area and the meat dries out quicker. You will need lots of sauce.
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9) Slice. Don't slice until the last possible minute. Brisket dries out quickly once it is cut. If you wish, you can firm up the crust a bit by unwrapping the meat and putting it over a hot grill or under a broiler for a few minutes on each side. Watch it closely so it doesn't burn. When your guests are ready, heat up your Texas Barbecue Mop-Sauce and bring it to the table. Turn the meat fat side up so the juices will run onto the meat as you slice.
Slicing is a bit of a challenge because there are two muscles and the grain flows in different directions. There are two good ways to slice:
(a) This is my favorite method, shown in the pictures at right. Start slicing the flat, cutting across the grain so the meat will fall apart in your mouth about 1/4" thick, about the thickness of a pencil. As you approach the area where the point muscle lies on top of the flat, stop and cut the remaining hunk in half. Slice the center section crosswise, in the opposite direction that you sliced the flat. The slice the remaining butt section in the same direction you sliced the flat.
(b) Some competitors prefer this method of slicing. Run a knife between the flat and the point and separate the two muscles. Trim off excess fat. Slice them separately across the grain about 1/4" thick. The meat should hold together, not fall apart or crumble. It should pull apart with a gentle tug. If the first slice falls apart, cut thicker slices. Here is a picture of the brisket entry by KCBS President Candy Weaver. Nice even slices of flat with the smoke ring on top surrounded by chunks of burnt ends.
10) Serving. If the meat is perfectly cooked it should be moist and juicy. You can serve it simply sliced on a plate or as a sandwich made with Texas Toast. If you wish, drizzle some Texas Barbecue Mop-Sauce mixed with some of the drippings from the crutch on top of the meat (taste this carefully because the drippings can be very salty from the rub). Serve everyone a little of both muscles.
Serving the next day and leftovers
I often get asked what's the best way to cook brisket or pulled pork on Saturday and serve it on Sunday. My answer is "don't do it". That's called serving leftovers.
These meats are best fresh off the smoker. If you have to serve it at noon on Sunday, then start cooking before you go to bed. If you need to take it to a game, then wrap the hot meat in foil and blankets and put it in a beer cooler and you can keep it warm that way for about two hours (read my article on faux Cambros).
If you don't want to cook overnight then consider serving something that doesn't take so long, like smoked turkey or baby back ribs.
If you cook it Saturday to serve Sunday, you must refrigerate the meat overnight. If you refrigerate it before pulling or slicing, it will take you many hours to reheat it. That's a big hunk of meat. So you are best off pulling or slicing the meat on Saturday, and then refrigerating it.
Brisket the following day is best reheated in the microwave a small amount at a time. But it will be a bit drier and tougher than the first day, so bring back some life with a splash of water, apple juice, or barbecue sauce. The best method is in the microwave, second best is to heat it slowly in a pot with the lid on.
If you have leftovers that you will not scarf down in a few days, mix the leftovers with a bit of barbecue sauce, and freeze them in measured portions in zipper bags. The sauce prevents freezer burn. Pop one in the microwave and you've got a great emergency meal for two.
Here's are some other ideas for leftover brisket:
 Probably the best thing I've ever done with leftover brisket is Shepherd's Pie. This classic Irish peasant casserole was a hearty meal for sheep herders, often served midday. There are hundreds of variations on the theme, but it is essentially meat and potatoes in two layers. Here's the core concept: Brown veggies and cubes of lamb in a deep pan or casserole. Whup up some mashed potatoes, and pile them on top. Put them in the oven and bake.
So here's what I did: On Sunday I did brisket and garlic mashed. I browned carrots, celery, onion, and frozen peas, and then tossed in cubes of leftover brisket, some of the jus that was in the foil when I did my Texas Crutch (not too much, it's strong stuff), and some beef stock leftover from the last time I did a Prime Rib (beef broth will do). Topped them with about 2" of leftover garlic mashed. Painted the top with butter, sprinkled on some parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, and baked the whole shootin' match in the oven until the top was brown. OMG.
Leftover brisket makes good sandwiches. I like mine with lettuce, tomato, and avocado. I slice or chop leftover meat and freeze it, two portions per zipper bag (that's brisket being chopped for sandwiches at the Salt Lick outside Austin, below). Freeze the sauce in ice cube trays and put the cubes in zipper bags. When it's time to serve, defrost the cubes, pour the gravy over the meat, and gently warm it in a microwave on low or in the oven at 200°F (below boiling). If you don't have gravy, moisten the meat with beef stock.
Slow's Bar-B-Q in Detroit is famous for their brisket enchiladas. They are made by sauteing onions, tossing in some sliced brisket and a splash of hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and their house secret sauce. They then dump it on a tortilla, top it with grated smoked gouda cheese, roll it up, grate some American cheese on top, and give it a squirt of hot sauce for good measure.
Believe it or not, leftover brisket is great in a Chinese stir-fry with onions, carrots, broccoli, and a soy/sesame oil/hoisin sauce with a splash of hot sauce on a bed of rice.
Buzz Dean of in Wisconsin, says he takes his leftovers to the pub and trades it for beer!
John R. Crowley in Denver says he likes to chop leftovers up in beans or fry it up in some hash.
Bill Martin in Hawaii likes his leftovers chopped up in scrambled eggs and on top of a salad.
Lucy Baker says "Make Italian beef-style sandwiches with very cooked (limp) green and red bell peppers, onion, and a little Italian seasoning. Reheat the beef in broth and spoon over crusty bread before adding the beef and peppers. Yikes!"
Merrill Powers in Elmhurst, Illinois, makes quesadillas with his leftovers.
Dave Frary makes chili with his leftovers.
Danny Gaulden makes burritos.
Rodney Leist from Elfrida, Arizona, kills several different leftovers in one dish. He puts one of those single serving bags of corn chips in a bowl, adds a big scoop of leftover chopped brisket, a similar amount of leftover smoked sausage, and a similar amount of beans. On goes some leftover sauce, chopped onions, chopped jalapeños, and grated cheese. The whole thing gets heated in the microwave.
This page was revised 9/12/2011
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