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A close up shot of the sliced Texas Smoked Brisket.
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4.38 from 24 votes

Texas Smoked Brisket Recipe

Texas Smoked Brisket for all you looking to give the classic brisket a go!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time14 hours
Total Time15 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 People
Author: Derek Wolf

Ingredients

  • 1 Whole Packer Brisket 12-15 lbs
  • 2.5 tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 2.5 tbsp Black Pepper
  • 2 tbsp Garlic Powder optional
  • 1 cup Beef Tallow warmed up

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, season thoroughly with Kosher Salt and Black Pepper (add Garlic Powder if you like). Place your brisket into the fridge to dry brine overnight..
  • Preheat your smoker for 250-265F with some added Post Oak 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 165, get ready to wrap in butcher paper.
  • Lay out 2x 6ft long pieces of butcher paper that slightly overlap. Drizzle your beef tallow over the butcher paper. 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 202-203F internal (about 7-8 more hours). Once it is done, pull the meat off and let it rest at room temperature for at least 2 hour.s
  • 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 and choose one of two things: slice more the point now or cube up the point for burnt ends.
  • If slicing the point: Rotate the point 90 degrees and then slice in order to go against the grain. When you are done, serve and enjoy with smoked brisket!
  • If making burnt ends: follow out Brisket Burnt Ends recipe from here.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 598kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 2361mg | Potassium: 798mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 5mg