How to Make Brisket
Start with a fresh, high-quality piece of meat., Apply a simple dry rub., Optionally, prepare a mop sauce., Start your grill., Cook your meat over low, slow, indirect heat., Optionally, add wood chips for smoke., When done, remove and serve.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Start with a fresh
When it comes to brisket, the better your starting materials are, the better your finished product is likely to be.
While it's always possible to ruin a good piece of meat (or to make something great out of a mediocre piece of meat), in general, the very best brisket comes from the highest-quality meat.
In addition, because cooking brisket is an enormous time investment compared to other meat dishes, you'll want to make sure that the time and effort you spend on your brisket is worth it.
In the U.S., meats are typically assigned one of four quality grades.
From lowest to highest, they are: select, choice, prime, and wagyu.Try to get the highest-quality cut possible.
Avoid “select” meats, which can be somewhat tough and flavorless, unless you have no alternative. -
Step 2: high-quality piece of meat.
For this grilling recipe, we'll use a dry rub (a dry, powdery mixture of spices and seasonings that, as its name suggests, is rubbed directly onto the meat).
For a great dry rub recipe, see the ingredients section above, or, alternatively, use your own recipe — there are literally hundreds of great ones online.
Regardless of the dry rub recipe you use, you'll apply it to the brisket basically the same way: wiping it on with your hands to give it a thorough coating.
It can be slightly easier to apply your dry rub if you wet your brisket with a light spritzing of water beforehand.
This moisture helps the dry ingredients of the rub adhere to the meat but quickly evaporates during cooking, ensuring the meat achieves a proper blackened “bark”. , Some brisket grillers like having having a bowl of "mop sauce" handy for basting, brushing or "mopping" the brisket as it cooks.
This thin, flavorful sauce allegedly keeps the brisket moist and juicy.
However, some grillers discourage this practice, claiming that it prevents the formation of a crispy "bark" on the outside of the meat and prolongs the cooking process.If you'd like to try making a mop sauce, try mixing together the ingredients in the recipe provided above, or use your own! If you make your own mop sauce, remember that it should be relatively "thin" (certainly thinner than sauces like ketchup and barbecue sauce) to allow it to be easily brushed or mopped over the meat. , When you've seasoned your meat and you're ready to start cooking your brisket, you can start your grill.
Brisket-grilling aficionados are split on whether charcoal or gas grills provide the best cooking experience.
Regardless of the type of grill you use, you'll want to cook your brisket with indirect heat, rather than direct heat, so only heat up one side of your grill.
See below for more information:
For a charcoal grill, arrange your charcoals on one side of the grill with a pie tin or oven pan containing a cup or two of water on the other.
Light your charcoals and wait until they have fully ashed over and are giving off a strong orange glow before laying down your meat.
For a gas grill, simply light the burner (or ‘’burners’’) on one side of the grill, set them to a medium heat, close the lid, and wait until the grill heats up. , When your grill has warmed up, add your brisket to the side of the grill that isn't over the flame or charcoal.
Unlike common barbecue meats like hamburgers and hotdogs, brisket cooks much better with low, indirect heat than it does with searing direct heat.
Brisket naturally contains lots of connective tissue, which requires long cooking times before it softens and breaks down.
If you're using a gas grill, reduce the heat to "low" when you add your meat.
If you're using a charcoal grill, the heat will naturally reduce over time.
Regardless of the type of grill you're using, you want to cook your brisket at low temperatures.
Many aficionados grill at between 225-275o F (107-135o), though some grillers recommend going as high as 350o (176o C)., Many brisket grillers like to add water-soaked chips of wood like mesquite and hickory to the grill to give the meat an added smokey, savory flavor.
If you'd like to smoke your meat, soak your wood chips in water until they're soaked through, then drain them and set them in a grill-safe pan over the flame or charcoals (as a reminder, your brisket should be on the opposite side of the grill).
As they sear and burn, they'll release rich smoke which should smell (and eventually, taste) like heaven.
Use wood chips from heavy woods like oak, hickory, maple, and mesquite for smoking brisket.
Other types of woods, like pecan and apple, offer flavorful "accents" if added in small quantities.
Don't use pine or cedar wood — it's too resin-filled for proper smoking. , Brisket generally takes quite a long time to cook — depending on the size of your piece of meat and the temperature you use to cook it, it may take anywhere from 8-20 hours for your brisket to cook fully.
Lower temperatures (like, for instance, 225o F) can give cooking times of 20 hours or so, while hotter temperatures are often in the 8-10 hour range.
When the brisket is done, it will have a blackened exterior but will be tender enough to be pulled apart with a pair of forks.
Remove from the grill and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting into thin slices and serving.
Bon appetit! Allowing the meat to rest after cooking is an old grilling trick — this allows the meat to re-absorb moisture that may have been lost during cooking, resulting in a moisture final dish. -
Step 3: Apply a simple dry rub.
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Step 4: Optionally
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Step 5: prepare a mop sauce.
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Step 6: Start your grill.
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Step 7: Cook your meat over low
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Step 8: indirect heat.
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Step 9: Optionally
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Step 10: add wood chips for smoke.
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Step 11: When done
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Step 12: remove and serve.
Detailed Guide
When it comes to brisket, the better your starting materials are, the better your finished product is likely to be.
While it's always possible to ruin a good piece of meat (or to make something great out of a mediocre piece of meat), in general, the very best brisket comes from the highest-quality meat.
In addition, because cooking brisket is an enormous time investment compared to other meat dishes, you'll want to make sure that the time and effort you spend on your brisket is worth it.
In the U.S., meats are typically assigned one of four quality grades.
From lowest to highest, they are: select, choice, prime, and wagyu.Try to get the highest-quality cut possible.
Avoid “select” meats, which can be somewhat tough and flavorless, unless you have no alternative.
For this grilling recipe, we'll use a dry rub (a dry, powdery mixture of spices and seasonings that, as its name suggests, is rubbed directly onto the meat).
For a great dry rub recipe, see the ingredients section above, or, alternatively, use your own recipe — there are literally hundreds of great ones online.
Regardless of the dry rub recipe you use, you'll apply it to the brisket basically the same way: wiping it on with your hands to give it a thorough coating.
It can be slightly easier to apply your dry rub if you wet your brisket with a light spritzing of water beforehand.
This moisture helps the dry ingredients of the rub adhere to the meat but quickly evaporates during cooking, ensuring the meat achieves a proper blackened “bark”. , Some brisket grillers like having having a bowl of "mop sauce" handy for basting, brushing or "mopping" the brisket as it cooks.
This thin, flavorful sauce allegedly keeps the brisket moist and juicy.
However, some grillers discourage this practice, claiming that it prevents the formation of a crispy "bark" on the outside of the meat and prolongs the cooking process.If you'd like to try making a mop sauce, try mixing together the ingredients in the recipe provided above, or use your own! If you make your own mop sauce, remember that it should be relatively "thin" (certainly thinner than sauces like ketchup and barbecue sauce) to allow it to be easily brushed or mopped over the meat. , When you've seasoned your meat and you're ready to start cooking your brisket, you can start your grill.
Brisket-grilling aficionados are split on whether charcoal or gas grills provide the best cooking experience.
Regardless of the type of grill you use, you'll want to cook your brisket with indirect heat, rather than direct heat, so only heat up one side of your grill.
See below for more information:
For a charcoal grill, arrange your charcoals on one side of the grill with a pie tin or oven pan containing a cup or two of water on the other.
Light your charcoals and wait until they have fully ashed over and are giving off a strong orange glow before laying down your meat.
For a gas grill, simply light the burner (or ‘’burners’’) on one side of the grill, set them to a medium heat, close the lid, and wait until the grill heats up. , When your grill has warmed up, add your brisket to the side of the grill that isn't over the flame or charcoal.
Unlike common barbecue meats like hamburgers and hotdogs, brisket cooks much better with low, indirect heat than it does with searing direct heat.
Brisket naturally contains lots of connective tissue, which requires long cooking times before it softens and breaks down.
If you're using a gas grill, reduce the heat to "low" when you add your meat.
If you're using a charcoal grill, the heat will naturally reduce over time.
Regardless of the type of grill you're using, you want to cook your brisket at low temperatures.
Many aficionados grill at between 225-275o F (107-135o), though some grillers recommend going as high as 350o (176o C)., Many brisket grillers like to add water-soaked chips of wood like mesquite and hickory to the grill to give the meat an added smokey, savory flavor.
If you'd like to smoke your meat, soak your wood chips in water until they're soaked through, then drain them and set them in a grill-safe pan over the flame or charcoals (as a reminder, your brisket should be on the opposite side of the grill).
As they sear and burn, they'll release rich smoke which should smell (and eventually, taste) like heaven.
Use wood chips from heavy woods like oak, hickory, maple, and mesquite for smoking brisket.
Other types of woods, like pecan and apple, offer flavorful "accents" if added in small quantities.
Don't use pine or cedar wood — it's too resin-filled for proper smoking. , Brisket generally takes quite a long time to cook — depending on the size of your piece of meat and the temperature you use to cook it, it may take anywhere from 8-20 hours for your brisket to cook fully.
Lower temperatures (like, for instance, 225o F) can give cooking times of 20 hours or so, while hotter temperatures are often in the 8-10 hour range.
When the brisket is done, it will have a blackened exterior but will be tender enough to be pulled apart with a pair of forks.
Remove from the grill and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting into thin slices and serving.
Bon appetit! Allowing the meat to rest after cooking is an old grilling trick — this allows the meat to re-absorb moisture that may have been lost during cooking, resulting in a moisture final dish.
About the Author
Ann Ford
Brings years of experience writing about pet care and related subjects.
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