Step 1

Start by placing your brisket lean-side up on a cutting board or baking sheet. Trim away most of the silver skin, fat, and grey edges on the sides.Tip: Cold fat is easier to trim, so it helps to freeze the brisket for 30 minutes before trimming.

Step 2

Flip the brisket over with the fatty side up. Cut off any hard fats and trim the fat cap down to a quarter-inch thickness.

Step 3

Save your fat trimmings and place them in an aluminum pan to smoke along with your brisket.

Step 4

Optional: Lightly rub a binder, like Worcestershire sauce or yellow mustard, all over the brisket to make the seasoning stick to the surface.

Step 5

In a small bowl, stir together the black pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Apply the seasoning blend all over the brisket, including the sides, pressing it into the meat.

Step 6

Wrap the brisket tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours, giving the seasonings time to flavor the meat.

Step 7

Sit your brisket out at room temperature for 1 hour before smoking.

Step 8

When ready to smoke, fill the hopper on your pellet grill with the wood pellets of your choice (use oak pellets for a Texas-style flavor), adjust the temperature to 225°F, and set the smoke setting to the highest it will go. Allow the grill to preheat for 15 minutes with the lid closed.

Step 9

Place your brisket fat-side down directly onto the grill grates and the pan containing the fat trimmings onto an upper rack. Insert the attached probe thermometer into the center-most part of the brisket. Close the lid and smoke at 225°F.

Step 10

After 4 hours of smoking, remove your fat trimmings from the smoker. Pour them through a metal strainer collecting the liquid tallow in a heat-proof container. Cover and let sit at room temperature to solidify.

Step 11

After about 6 hours of smoking your brisket, or when the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165-175°F and a dark bark has formed, remove it from the smoker.

Step 12

Unroll 2 sheets of pink butcher paper to 4 times the width of your brisket, overlapping them by 1 inch. Smooth out about 1 cup of your solidified tallow onto the end of the butcher paper in the dimensions of your brisket. Place your brisket lean-side down on top of the tallow. Fold the long sides of the paper in and over your brisket. Roll it up tightly until the fat-side is facing back up. Tuck any access paper in and under your brisket.

Step 13

Place your brisket back in the smoker fat-side up, and increase the heat to 250°F. Close the lid and continue smoking. Start checking for doneness when the internal temperature of the meat reaches 190°F. It should feel like softened butter when probed with a thermometer. This can be anywhere between 190-210°F. Remove immediately when done.

Step 14

Rest your brisket inside the butcher paper wrap for at least 2 hours before slicing. This will give the juices time to redistribute throughout the meat. Slicing too soon will most likely render a dry, tough piece of meat. (If resting for only 2 hours, sit on the counter at room temperature. If resting for 3-8 hours, wrap in a towel and rest in a cooler with the lid closed.)

Step 15

Using a long, serrated knife, cut the brisket into thin slices against the grain. To do this, start by cutting the brisket in half - this helps to separate the flat (the thinner, flatter half) from the point (the thicker, fattier half). Starting along the short end of the flat, make pencil-thin slices. Take the other half (with the point) and turn it 90 degrees before slicing.

Step 16

Serve with pickles, onions, burger buns, and my Southern BBQ sauce. Enjoy!