Dad's Best Brisket Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the 3 2 1 rule for brisket? ›

Often used for other meats that require long, slow cooking on the barbecue, such as ribs, the 3-2-1 method essentially involves firstly smoking the meat as it is for three hours, wrapping it for the second two hours, and finally finishing the cooking unwrapped for the last hour.

Importance of Marbling

The fat melts as it cooks, infusing the brisket with incredible moisture and flavor. Marbling enhances brisket by naturally tenderizing the muscle fibers during low and slow cooking. For those dedicated to their brisket game, the main thing to remember is prioritizing marbling is key.

“Poor Man's Brisket” AKA: Smoked Chuck Roast.

Once seared, place brisket in foil pan, fat side up, and smoke, uncovered for 2 hours. Flip brisket and smoke for 1 hour. At this point, the juices inside are under a fair amount of pressure. It is important not to pierce the meat from this point until it is done.

That means that they smoke the brisket with a medium temperature, then on a very high temperature for a short period and then steam it for the last 10 degrees over a very long period of time.

To set things straight, we're here to put an end to the confusion, so you can get back to the grill with confidence. For brisket cooked to flavorful perfection, fat-side-down is the way to go. This is the only way to achieve a brisket that is perfectly moist with a perfect bark on both sides.

Add Moisture

After two or four hours of cooking, you can lightly spray your brisket with water, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, or apple juice. You can do this every 30 minutes or every hour, based on preference.

Wet rubs are fantastic when you are cooking low and slow – again, brisket and pulled pork.

Brisket can be done in a range of 200-210°F (93-99°C), but as a general rule, it's safe to bet on 203°F (95°C). Brisket should be tender but not so tender it's falling apart. You should be able to slice it into pieces that can just hold together, requiring a little pull to come apart.

The brisket meat is also referred to as "breast meat." It's a flavorful and versatile cut that comes from the chest area of a cow.

What is the hard fat on a brisket called? ›

118 is just “Beef Brisket” and the bones remain intact), and the “deckle,” or the hard fat between the rib cage and the pectoralis profundus muscle, also known as the brisket flat, has been removed.

Second Cut / Point Cut

This is the part of the brisket that sits on top of the first cut, separated from it by a generous pocket of fat. The second cut has much more intramuscular fat, or marbling, that makes it extremely tender and flavorful when cooked.

All brisket, no matter which cut you choose, is a tough cut of meat that needs to be cooked low and slow: think oven, slow cooker or indirect heat on a grill.

The temperature of the meat begins to rise again -- which you want because brisket gets more tender the longer you cook it.

Pour apple cider vinegar over the brisket. The vinegar will help tenderize the meat and will add sweetness to it. Proper brisket should be cooked low and slow in a smoker, using wood or charcoal.

Twenty of those place the target anywhere between 185 and 200 degrees, while eight of those put the magic number right at 190. You might get tough brisket if you use the Salt Lick range of 165-175 degrees. BOTTOM LINE: Cook it to 190 degrees.

Danger Zone for Smoking and Grilling Meat

As mentioned above, the temperature danger zone is 46°F -140°F (8°C-60°C). Hence, it is better to keep the hot smoking or grill above 158°F (70°C).

Put brisket on the grill at 225 °F. Smoke for 6 hours until internal temperature is 160 °F.

A: You can usually figure about 1.5 hours per pound at 225 degrees for brisket, pork shoulder and other larger pieces of meat. Several things can affect this time such as actual meat thickness, wind, temperature and how often you open the door of the smoker.