How to Make Smoked Brisket: An Easy Guide
- by Omaha Steaks
- Last updated Nov 3, 2023
You have to be a seasoned pro to make your own smoked brisket, right? Making barbeque at home can seem intimidating or even impossible, but it’s not. Just call on the experts at Omaha Steaks — we’ll not only handle the meat delivery, but also teach you exactly how to make a smoked brisket.
There are years and years of barbeque smoking here at Omaha Steaks, and now we’re bringing that big flavor to our friends, family, and customers. Our ready to smoke section has the best in competition-ready and backyard-friendly cuts of beef and pork, expertly mixed barbeque rubs, and necessary accessories.
OK, so how to smoke a brisket? This is the big one, the main event at most barbeques, and the meat that new cooks most often ask questions about. Using an aged Omaha Steaks Beef Brisket trimmed by our butchers and an Omaha Steaks rub, here’s how we do it in six easy-to-follow steps.
How to Make Smoked Brisket in 6 Easy Steps
1. Prep Your Brisket
Rinsing Your Brisket
You need to start with a truly great piece of beef. Most experienced cooks choose what’s known as a packer brisket — with both the flat and the point left on. Our 12 lb. Whole Brisket is competition-grade and has already been expertly trimmed by Omaha Steaks butchers. That saves you time and effort, especially as a beginner.
- Wash your brisket with white vinegar and then rinse it completely.
- Rub your brisket generously with a tasty bonding agent like yellow mustard — this will help your rub blend stick and add extra flavor.
2. Use a Great Rub
Don’t Be Afraid to Use Lots of Rub
Choose a barbeque rub that’s full of bold flavor and made with big, chunky pieces. This is what will form that wonderful black “crust” during smoking that explodes with flavor when you dig in.
How to Rub a Brisket:
- Use it like you mean it! Don’t be conservative with how much rub you use. This is a BIG piece of meat,
- Make sure to use your fingers to get plenty of rub in every corner and crevice. More rub, more flavor.
- Omaha Steaks premium rubs are perfectly formulated for great barbeque.
3. Inject More Flavor
Inject Flavor with an Easy Smoking Spritz
Make a flavorful spritz and inject it right into that brisket! Some will leak out, and that’s ok — the juicy stuff that stays inside will make amazing flavor. Our easy brisket spritzer recipe is perfectly delicious. A brisket injection recipe is a personal thing, and also a closely guarded secret of competitive chefs… but these are some of the most common ingredients:
- Beef Broth
- Worcestershire Sauce / Soy Sauce
- Your Favorite Rub (same as outside)
- Onion Powder / Garlic Powder
- Pepper / Spices
4. Low & Slow Cooking
Charcoal + Wood Chunks or Chips = Magic
Use your smoker or grill to create a low, slow-burning fire. If you’re using a standard bullet smoker (the best and most common choice for beginners), you’re going to need plenty of lit (one chimney) and unlit (two chimneys) of standard charcoal to keep it going, and high-quality wood chunks to create smoldering smoke.
- Keep the temperature as close to 250 degrees F as you can.
- A full-size brisket like this will need to cook for at least 10 hours.
- Cook to temperature, not to time! Your brisket could take less or MUCH more time, depending on a compendium of circumstances that you can’t control.
- Keep the lid/door closed as much as you can! The old adage is, “If you’re lookin’, you ain’t cookin’.
5. Carefully Monitor
We recommend a remote meat thermometer for accurate readings that don’t require opening your cooker. When you insert your thermometer, make sure it sits in the middle of the brisket. Your target temperature for great beef is 190 degrees F.
6. Rest, Slice, and Share
When you take the brisket out of the smoker, leave it alone! Let it rest for 30 minutes to a full hour – the juices will redistribute, the temperature will lower, and you’ll LOVE the end result. When it’s time, slice and share with everyone you know.
More Tips on Smoking Meat:
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2016 and has been updated for freshness and comprehensiveness.
Whole Beef Brisket
It’s here. Competition-grade whole beef brisket from the one and only Omaha Steaks. It’s big, thick, well-marbled, and includes both the flat-cut and the point (to those new to smoking, that means it has all the good stuff). Our whole brisket is indeed ready for smoking competition, but you can handle it at home, too. A basic smoker, a good seasoning rub, a bit of patience, and a passion for incredible flavor are all it takes. Each 12 lb. whole brisket yields about 48 servings after smoking.
