How to Smoke Brisket

Step 1

Preheat your smoker to 108°C.

Step 2

Store your brisket in the refrigerator until you are ready to start trimming away the excess fat and sinew as cold briskets are much easier to work with. Keeping the point of the brisket on the bottom, remove any silver skin or excess fat from the flat muscle. Trim the large crescent-shaped fat section until it is a smooth transition between the point and the flat. Trim any excessive or loose meat and fat from the point. Turning the brisket over, trim the fat cap to about ¼ inch (0.6 cm) thickness across the top of the brisket. Be careful to do all this without over-trimming -you want to leave some fat.

Step 3

Mix together all the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chilli powder, kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper in a small bowl. Season brisket well and evenly on all sides.

Step 4

Place the brisket, fat side down (or the thicker point end towards your main heat source). Cook brisket until it reaches an internal temperature of 71° C. This should take about 3-4 hours.

Step 5

When the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 71° C, remove from the smoker. Add the beef broth by wrapping the brisket in aluminium foil, ensuring a leak-proof/tight seal.

Step 6

Return the brisket to the smoker until it reaches an internal temperature of 91° C which should take approximately another 3-5 hours. There is no need to continue to smoke the brisket at this point while it’s wrapped in foil.

Step 7

Once the internal temperature of 91° C has been reached, remove from smoker. Keep in foil. Wrap in a beach towel and place in an empty eski, or another cool, dry place. Allow the brisket to rest for at least 60 minutes before carving.

Step 8

Carve against the grain and serve immediately. Enjoy!