Brisket 101 - One of the finest cuts of meat to Slow Smoke BBQ

Buying The Right Brisket

You will find two types of brisket at the store. Trimmed and Untrimmed. From the viewpoint of slow smoking, use the untrimmed brisket. During the 4 to 12 hours of cooking, the fat, when placed on top, will drip over the meat and help keep it moist. This will retain the juices and flavor of the meat. When completed, the fat can be trimmed off. For purposes of serving it is good to know that a brisket will weigh-in after cooking at about 50% of the uncooked weight. Remember this at the time of purchase so no one goes hungry!


Barbecuing The Brisket

First I recommend removing the brisket from the refrigerator and allowing the meat to warm to room temperature for approximately 1 hour. After that time, use a dry rub on the surface of the meat and allow the it to "stand" at room temperature for an additional hour.
When it comes time to actually barbecuing the brisket, place the fat side up at 225 to 230 degrees, for 8 to 12 hours. If you use charcoal as the source of the heat, the brisket will result in a smooth smoked flavor. If on the other hand, you opt for burning actual wood in the firebox, then expect a much stronger smoke flavor that can verge on being bitter.

Cleaning A Cooked Brisket

Once the brisket has finished cooking, for great presentation, we suggest cleaning it to remove any unwanted outer fat. Your guests will appreciate your efforts greatly! Locate the fat side and the broader lean side (bottom) of the brisket. There is also an important inner fat layer separating the two halves. Start at the back or the large end of the brisket and start to separate it with a knife. Keep poking around, you will locate the fat. If you are cutting meat, then you are not in the correct place.

Follow the fat layer with the knife while lifting the fat side up. This aids in viewing what is being cut. Eventually, the two layers will be separated! Once you have two slabs of brisket, one lean and flat and the other fatty and enlarged, take a knife and slowly remove any visible fat. Keep the knife flat against the meat and shave the fat off. Keep going until it looks like it can be served.


Slicing A Brisket

Once the brisket has been cleaned, place the trimmed 'fat side' (which has more fat in the meat spaces) on top of the trimmed 'lean side' (which has very little fat in the meat) and slice against the grains of the meat. This will give everyone one slice of each type. I prefer using an electric slicing knife.