This Whisky Injected Brisket recipe started as a simple question. Does injecting a whole brisket with whisky make it better, or does it just sound cool?
So I ran the test. One packer brisket, half a cup of Pendleton Whisky, then a straight 12-hour cook at a low temperature. Science. Sort of.
Post sponsored by Pendleton Whisky
Here’s my honest verdict: yes, but subtly. Most alcohol cooks off long before the brisket finishes, so what reaches your taste buds is a faint vanilla sweetness rather than whisky. Sorry to anyone hoping to get a buzz off barbecue. The real win is moisture, because injection liquid in the thickest part of the brisket is insurance against a dry flat. That alone takes it to the next level.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Brisket Recipe
- Why I Reach for Pendleton Whisky
- Ingredients Round-Up
- How to Make Whisky Injected Brisket
- Trim and Inject the beef brisket
- Season and Dry Brine
- Smoke beef brisket to 165F
- Wrap and Finish
- Rest and Slice the beef brisket
- What to Serve
- Storage & Leftovers
- Fun ways to use brisket
- FAQs for Whisky Injected Brisket
- Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
- Whisky Injected Brisket Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Brisket Recipe
First, it’s simple. No eight-ingredient injection mixture, just whisky, a good dry rub, and beef tallow. A meat injector is the only special tool you need, and you want a wide-gauge needle since narrow ones clog.
Second, the flavor profile shifts in a good way. Pendleton Whisky brings vanilla and oak that sit under the beef flavor instead of fighting it. Half a cup is my number for a 15-pound packer. People ask how much brisket injection is too much, and the answer is anything that leaves the meat waterlogged. Nobody wants a brisket that sloshes. Inject in different spots about an inch apart across the flat and point.
Third, you can take it any direction you want. Whisky is the play here, but a homemade beef brisket injection has options. The best brisket injection marinade for your taste might use beef broth or beef stock as a base, plus Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, or melted butter. A little bit of pineapple juice tenderizes, and a few drops of liquid smoke boost smoky flavor. Mix your flavorful liquid in a mixing bowl, then strain it so nothing clogs the needle. This same beef brisket injection recipe approach works on a pork shoulder or prime rib too.
Finally, this is an epic meal. Fifteen pounds of barbecue brisket is the perfect way to anchor your next barbecue.
If you know me, you know I’ll go stupid far for a good brisket. So I rounded them all up in one spot: Best Brisket Recipes. Favorite? Can’t do it. That’s like picking a favorite kid, and I’ve only got one so far, so don’t put that on me.
Why I Reach for Pendleton Whisky
I’ve got a real soft spot for this one. Pendleton Whisky was created in 2003 to honor the Pendleton Round-Up, the rodeo that’s been running in Pendleton, Oregon every September since 1910. The company sends 20% of every bottle sold straight back to that rodeo. A whisky that actually funds the tradition it’s named after is a whisky I can get behind.
It also happens to be the right bottle for this cook. Pendleton is smooth with vanilla and caramel on the finish, so it folds into the beef instead of overpowering it. A heavily peated scotch would wreck this brisket. Don’t ask how I know.
And when you’re twelve hours into tending a fire at 4 a.m., a glass of it on the rocks isn’t a luxury. It’s medicine.
Ingredients Round-Up
- Brisket – One whole packer brisket. Ask your butcher for one with a thick, even flat.
- Injection – Pendleton Whisky.
- Seasoning – SPG, meaning salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. A little onion powder is never a bad call.
- Tallow – Beef tallow, warmed over medium heat until liquid.
Now at this point, you may be asking yourself: “How long does a brisket take to make?” Honest answer? Plan 12-14 hours at 250 degrees F plus the rest. If it’s your first time, cook to temperature and feel, never the clock.
It’s a long wait, but cooking brisket that low and slow pays off in the best, most freakin’ delicious bite of beef you’ve ever had in your own backyard. Guaranteed.
How to Make Whisky Injected Brisket
Trim and Inject the beef brisket
Keep the brisket cold and place it fat cap down on your cutting board. Trim silver skin and fat pockets from the flat, then square off the sides. Cut one corner on the point to mark the grain for later. Future you, fourteen hours deep and running on three hours of sleep, will thank present you for that corner.
Flip it and take the fat cap down to a quarter inch. Remove the fat flap on top.
Once the exterior of the brisket is trimmed, inject the whisky throughout in that grid pattern.
Season and Dry Brine
Season generously on all sides. Then refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours, ideally 12. This dries the surface, which builds better bark.
Smoke beef brisket to 165F
Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F and add wood chunks. Place the brisket on the grill grates. Fat side up or down both work, and anyone who tells you otherwise has a podcast to promote.
Cook until the internal temperature hits 165-170 degrees F at the thickest point, about 7-8 hours. Use a meat thermometer, since cooking time varies with every brisket. Don’t peek, because every lid lift stalls the cooking process. That slow heat is what builds your smoke ring.
Wrap and Finish
Lay out two overlapping six-foot sheets of butcher paper. Set the brisket two feet from one end and then drizzle with warm tallow. Fold the short end over, tuck the sides, then roll it up tight.
Return it to 250-265 degrees F with the loose end down. Cook to 195-200 degrees F internal, about 5-6 more hours.
Rest and Slice the beef brisket
Rest it in a room-temperature cooler for a couple of hours minimum, four if you can. I know. You’ve waited twelve hours already and now I’m asking for four more. Room temp ovens work too, as do aluminum pan or disposable pans setups that catch the drippings.
Unwrap and save that paper for burnt ends. Start slicing at your grain mark, aiming for a thick slice about the width of a #2 pencil. Serve and enjoy. Cheers!
What to Serve
Smoked mac and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, or cornbread all work. White bread, pickles, and raw onion is the Texas move. Keep a spray bottle of thinned sauce around for the sauce crowd.
Storage & Leftovers
Store slices in an airtight container for up to 4 days with a splash of beef broth. Reheat wrapped in foil over low heat at 275 degrees F.
As for what to do with leftovers, possibilities are just about endless. Brisket tacos, anyone? Or, make a brisket sandwich with some crunchy French bread, Dijon mustard, sliced pickles, and crispy coleslaw, and you have another epic meal.
Fun ways to use brisket
FAQs for Whisky Injected Brisket
Depends where it’s made. Canada, Scotland, and Japan drop the “e.” Ireland and America keep it. Pendleton is a Canadian whisky, so no “e.”
Not as whisky. You get a subtle vanilla sweetness under the beef, which rounds things out rather than announcing itself.
Nope, this is a great way to cook brisket without it. However, that injected marinade adds real moisture insurance for the flat.
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Whisky Injected Brisket
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Packer Brisket 13-15 lbs
- 1.5 cup SPG
- 1 cup Beef Tallow warmed up
- ½ cup Pendleton Whisky
Instructions
- Keeping your brisket cold, place the brisket on your cutting board fat cap side down. Next, trim the outside of the flat of any silver skin or pockets of fat. Remove the larger pocket of fat near where the flat and point meet. Square off all sides of your brisket then cut one of the corners on the point to show you how to cut against the grain later. Flip the brisket over and begin carefully removing fat from the fat cap. Make sure the fat cap side is about ¼ inch thick as anymore will be too much. Finally, remove most of the fat “flap” at the top of the brisket.
- Once completely trimmed, carefully injected throughout with Pendleton Whisky.
- Then, season thoroughly with your favorite beef rub (I prefer my Cowboy Campfire Rub). Place your brisket into the fridge to dry brine for at least 4 hours but ideally 12 hours.
- Preheat your smoker for 250F with some added wood chunks or chips for extra smoke flavor.
- Add the brisket on to the smoker fat side either way. Cook the brisket until it reaches about 165-170F at the thickest and fattiest part (about 7-8 hours). Once it has hit 165F, get ready to wrap in butcher paper.
- Lay out 2x6ft long pieces of butcher paper that slightly overlap. Place your brisket on the butcher paper about 2 ft from the end, then drizzle the top of the brisket with more beef tallow.
- Pull the short end of butcher paper over the brisket and tuck underneath. Fold the sides into the brisket and begin to roll the meat over the butcher paper until it is completely wrapped. Any excess paper can be folded and placed underneath the wrapped brisket.
- Place the brisket back onto the smoker at 250-265F so that the loose end of butcher paper is on bottom to prevent it from unraveling. Cook until the meat hits 195-200F internal (about 5-6 more hours). Once it is done, pull the meat off and let it rest in a room temperature cooler for at least 2 hours but ideally 4 hours.
- When it is ready to slice, unwrap and place the butcher paper to the side (save for serving or for burnt ends). Begin slicing the brisket right where you made your “against the grain” cut when prepping. Make your slices about the width of a #2 Pencil. When you make it a little over halfway through the slicing process, the meat will change from the flat to the point & the flat. Stop slicing at this point if you want to make brisket burnt ends.
- Serve everything up and enjoy!
