Spring is near and that means a whole lot more outdoor cooking for us! We pulled out the smoker on the weekend and made a smoked beef brisket that was incredible. Smoking meat is an event that cannot be done in just a few hours. It takes planning and time so if you are interested in creating this recipe, make sure you plan a couple days ahead and start one night before you smoke. All the time and planning is worth it in the end, I promise!

Smoked Beef Brisket

For this recipe we used a 4 pound brisket. The night before we wanted to smoke our brisket, we rubbed the beef with the coffee rub I posted last spring. It is an easy to make rub that has a lot of flavour for the beef.  After rubbing the beef, we covered it in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight. 

The next morning we got the smoker going. We used a mixture of hickory, pecan, apple and cherry wood for the smoke. The wood chunks need to soak in water for about 20 minutes so we poured the chunks into a bucket full of water.

While the wood chunks were soaking, we started the charcoal using a charcoal chimney and electric charcoal starter. We did about three batches of charcoal, putting the burning charcoal into the smoker box after each batch. We then added several of the water soaked wood chunks on top of the hot charcoal and opened up the air vent on the side of the smoker box to get the temperature up.

Once the smoker is ready and at a temperature of 225 degrees F, the beef brisket is ready to go on. This is the part where you use your patience because it needs to be on the smoker for at least six hours. Keep the smoker going with smoke for at least two of those hours, and the temperature steady around 225 degrees F. We use a wireless digital thermometer to control the temperature. After about two hours of smoke, you can just keep the beef brisket cooking using the charcoal for heat. 

Every hour or two we mopped the brisket with a mop sauce mix of the coffee rub and cola pop. Keep in mind that every time you open the smoker you are loosing smoke and heat! Try not to open it any more than you have to.

After about six hours, the beef will hit it’s stalling point on the smoker, where it won’t increase in temperature any longer, usually around 150 to 160 degrees F. At this point we took it off the smoker, wrapped it tightly in aluminum foil and put it in the oven at 250 degrees F for another two hours. Some say it may be “cheating” to do this, but we think it just finishes the smoked beef brisket perfectly. The brisket is done when the beef is very tender. This could be around an internal temperature of 190 degrees F, but it is really more of “the brisket is done when it is done”, as opposed to an actual internal temperature. The brisket should be almost fall apart tender. If you feel resistance inserting a fork, keep cooking.

Let the smoked beef brisket rest for at least 20 minutes.  If you have the time you can take it out of the oven, wrap it in towels and place it in a cooler for around two hours for a better rest.  Slice brisket and serve with your favourite sides such as coleslaw, baked beans and corn bread.

If you are smoking other meats and want a good guide, check out Bro BBQ here for his great tips and infographics! 

Will you spend a whole day cooking something like a smoked beef brisket?

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