Brisket Recipe

While smoking a beef brisket is definitely not black magic, there are several tips to follow that will help you to turn out a tasty brisket.

First of all, I enjoy working with a 6-8 pound brisket. Before cooking, you need to apply a rub of choice to the brisket. There are many ways to make a rub, so that will not be included here. Once your charcoal is about halfway ashed over, lay your brisket in your charcoal smoker with the fat side up. Now add some wood chunks to the fire (I use apple, hedge, or hickory). If these woods are not available, you can typically use any wood that bears fruit. Be sure to check with the appropriate experts first to make sure you are not using something poisonous! I am not an expert on trees! Make sure that your brisket is not directly above the fire and keep your heat around 225-250 degrees. Cook the brisket like this for about 5 hours. Now, place the brisket in an aluminum pan and dump a bottle of Worcestershire sauce along with a couple of warm beers. Cold beer will drop the temperature of the brisket and it will take awhile to recover. Cover the brisket with aluminum foil and continue cooking for another 5 hours or until desired tenderness.

If you have kept steady heat on the brisket at this temperature, the brisket will be very tender and great-tasting. If you prefer not to use beer, you can use water, but the flavor is not quite the same in my opinion. The alcohol also helps to tenderize the brisket.