Low N’ Slow Beef Brisket

The Trim

You want to try and remove as much of the stubborn fats on the Brisket . These dense fats won’t break down during your cook and are unpleasant to eat. They will also prevent the bark from forming and significantly reduce smoke penetration, a bit of extra work in this initial step is well worth it in the long run. 

I like to trim some of the loose bits of fat, meat and silver skin from the top side of the brisket to ensure even cooking but leave most of the soft fat on the underside intact as this will render down over the 8-10 hour cook and really elevate the moisture content of the meat.

Take note of which way the grain is running as you will need to remember this in 8-10 hours when you get to slice and impress your mates.

The Season

Before applying the rub, use a generous amount of your favourite mustard, sauce or olive oil over the brisket to act as “binder" before applying your chosen beef rub. This process assists the rub to stick in place.  Rub the meat down with your favourite BBQ rub we use The Four Saucemen “The Beef Rub” as it is loaded with Beetroot and gives a really attractive red appearance aswell as tasting great!  Apply a healthy covering of your rub across all parts of the brisket. Ensure to get all the sides and under any flaps that maybe present on your brisket. 

The Smoke

Prepare your BBQ or smoker for Low N’ Slow cooking. It really doesn’t matter if you are using full charcoal, Offset Wood Smoker or a Pellet smoker the fundamentals remain the same. You should be aiming to hit that constant temperature of 250-275F and be able to maintain this for as long as it takes. Place your seasoned brisket in your smoker fat side towards the fuel source, close the lid and get comfortable as this is going to take some time. We spray or spritz our briskets every hour usually with apple cider, however you can use anything you like such as water, cider or a cheeky beer. Spritzing helps maintain moisture to prevent the brisket from drying out and bark formation.

If you notice a pool of moisture appearing you can prop up your brisket with a tinfoil ball this will stop the moisture pooling and ruining that bark you are trying so hard to form.

 The Wrap

 Once our brisket has hit what is termed the ‘Stall’ – usually around 160F and you are happy with the formation of the bark it is time to wrap. We wrap in two layers of Peach Paper as its more forgiving on the bark, however you can use a double coating of aluminium foil and achieve the same result. Wrap like you would wrap a present to trap in the moisture.  After double wrapping your brisket it is back in the smoker until it has reached its final temperature. As we are cooking a Point End brisket, you will be aiming for a slightly higher internal temperature. As a general rule of thumb we aim for an internal temperature of  205F -207F before resting because there are more fat and collagens to break down in a point end brisket. 

We don’t usually start checking for doneness until we are seeing an internal temperature of above 200F 

The Rest

 Once the whole brisket is “probing like butter” meaning you are only getting resistance from the probe like pressing it into room temperature butter, remove from the pit and crack the peach paper or foil open to allow heat and steam to release and vent the brisket in preparation for the resting phase. This process stops the brisket cooking and usually we let it rest on the bench for 20 - 30mins.  Once the venting process has been completed transfer the brisket to a chilly bin to rest we cover the package with two heavy beach type towels then let it rest for one hour minimum. In this cook we rested for 1.5 hours. 

This is the key step to a perfect point end brisket that can be easily overlooked!

 The Slice

 Slice the Point end brisket across the grain. By cutting across the grain you shorten the fibers and if you haven’t quite got the texture right it can be your saving grace.  Now is the ideal time to step away from the cutting board and grab yourself a plate. 

 After all of the hours of preparation, trimming, smoking, spritzing, wrapping, fire management, watching your clock during the rest and finally slicing, as it’s finally time to enjoy the final product. 

 Only cut enough brisket to serve, as you cut the brisket the exposure to the air will start to dry out the meat. If you to ensure your brisket remains moist cut to serve and enjoy hot.