Smoked Beef Brisket is a classic barbecue dish that is perfect for summer cookouts. Traeger pellet grills make it easy to get the perfect smoke flavor, and the results are juicy and delicious. Here’s how to make smoked beef brisket on your Traeger grill.
When it comes to bbq there is one thing that every griller must master – brisket. For the longest time, we tried making brisket in the oven or on a gas grill – it was never quite what we wanted.
Then we got a Traeger smoker and it was a complete game-changer. Tender, juicy, falling apart beef brisket turned into one of the easiest and MOST DELICIOUS things we make during bbq season. You won’t believe how simple this is and I know you’ll love it.
Now – I’m not going to lie – this is a significant time commitment. Up here on the northern tip of Idado, the sun comes up around 3:45 in the morning during the height of summer.
So after trying to sleep through the light, we finally decided to roll out of bed around 5:00. This worked out well because it allowed us to get the brisket on the Traeger early so we could have dinner at a reasonable time.
Now – keep in mind that it also stays light out until nearly 10 pm during the summer – so dining late isn’t as much of an issue. But we like to have food wrapped up before 6 and we were able to do that.
Now this recipe says to cook the brisket for 16 hours – or until the meat reaches 205 degrees. Ours took a total of 11 hours, but that’s because we had a smaller one along with the ambient temperature.
Yours could take less time too – but I wanted you to have a good ballpark on time because depending on the meat, it absolutely could take that long or even longer.
But I’m telling you – it is all worth it once you take a bite! I mean – just look at that smoke ring!! YUM!
pellet grill brisket
Here are some commonly asked questions
How to store leftover brisket
We love to have leftovers for sandwiches, salads, and dinner the next night. Place any leftovers in an airtight container and keep them refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Can this recipe be doubled?
You bet! Honestly, because we are on a high protein diet, our plates are mostly filled with this main dish – making leftovers scarce. So I highly recommend making 2 if you can if you are on a similar diet.
I don’t recommend trying to double this on the small camper Traeger as it really can only hold one of these. But we can fit 2 of them on our pro-grill Traeger making doubling this recipe so easy.
Serve this with these homemade sauces
What type of wood should I use for smoking my brisket?
It is all in how you want to add to the flavor of your meat through the smoke. Hickory and mesquite tend to be the pellet of choice when one is going for a rich flavor without adding so much sweetness.
However, a little sweetness may not be a bad thing when trying a bit of applewood or maple in your recipe.
What is the best way to serve smoked brisket?
Your brisket is best served cut into thin slices. We like to serve it alongside fresh steamed vegetables like Sea Salt Garlic Corn or my delicious Macaroni Salad.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy this brisket recipe is actually what I get to do with the leftovers by adding some Texas BBQ Sauce and turning the meat into a sandwich.
225℉ seems cold for grilling. Why does this recipe call for cooking the meat at such a low temperature?
The difference between traditional grilling and smoking is that we are trying to allow time for the meat to absorb the flavor of the smoke rather than just getting it to a safe temperature for consumption.
If you try to smoke your meat with too much heat, it will dry out the outside, searing juices in but keeping the smoke out. Properly slow-smoked meat would have a pink smoke ring like that seen in the pictures of my recipe here.
Why do we trim so much off of the brisket before it is grilled?
Brisket done right requires that you set yourself up for success. Most of what gets removed during the trimming process are parts that will detract from the flavor experience or will not survive the grilling process.
Hard fat and silver skin are often removed from the meat since they will become very tough after you are finished grilling. Squaring the edges removes thin parts of the meat that will dry out and not be suitable for serving after a long, slow smoking process.
Overall, this will remove a lot of substance from your brisket, but this will improve the experience when you enjoy the final product.
That being said, be sure you are careful about removing the fat and silver skin while leaving as much of the muscle intact as possible. This will preserve the integrity of the meat while allowing you to keep more of what you paid for.
Watch For The Stall
So – if you are using a thermometer throughout the smoking process, (instead of just poking and checking occasionally) you will notice something called the stall.
When the collagen in meat breaks down, the temperature will stop rising for a period of time. It’s aggravating, but every time-consuming cut of meat will have this. Brisket and pork shoulders are notorious for it.
Just continue to let it cook, be patient, and know that it is all worth it when you get to the end and you can enjoy the juiciest and most delicious cut of meat you’ve ever had!
Can I add my own seasonings to this recipe?
Absolutely! You might like to try a Montreal seasoning, seasoned salt, or your favorite rub to encrust your brisket during the smoking process. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Incorporate what you like when deciding how to put your signature on this recipe.
Traeger Brisket
Why must the meat rest for an hour before it can be served?
It is important to let your meat rest so that the muscle fibers are able to retain the juices that are still quite fluid inside.
Particularly, we are considering the fats, oils, and water that were heated from a solid to a liquid phase (or liquid to gas state in the case of the water) during cooking, allowing them to move throughout the muscle.
If we were to cut into the meat right away, we would release all of these liquids, making our food quite dry. Instead, letting the meat rest allows fats and oils to condense into a more viscous state, helping them stick in the muscle fibers better.
This also lets the vaporized water return to a liquid phase, preventing it from evaporating into the air as soon as you make a cut in the meat.
Because brisket is so tender cutting it too soon can ruin hours of work by allowing these juices to escape. Instead, patience pays off.
By allowing juices to be captured by the muscle fibers and fats to marble throughout the meat. In the end, you will end up with a richer, moist, and tender cut of brisket than if you did not wait as long after cooking.
Ingredients for Smoked Brisket
- whole packer brisket
- kosher salt
- coarse ground black pepper
- paprika
Why is there so much emphasis on leaving some of the fat we were trimming?
The fat cap on the brisket serves two purposes. The first is that it protects the most tender parts of the meat by preserving the moisture content. This is crucial to consider when cooking your meat low and slow for so long.
The second reason is that the fat cap is composed of a softer, butterier fat than what was on the bottom by the silver skin. During the cooking process, this fat layer releases its juices and oils into the meat, keeping it moist and adding more flavor.
How to Make Smoked Brisket
- Preheat the smoker to 225°F.
- Combine the salt, pepper, and paprika in a small bowl. Whisk.
- Trim the brisket. Remove any silver skin or excess fat from the flat muscle, and square the edges and ends of the flat. Flip the brisket and trim the fat cap to no more than ¼ inch thickness.
- Liberally sprinkle all surfaces of the brisket with the blended seasonings.
- Place the brisket on the smoker with the thicker end closest to the hotter section of the smoker.
- Close the lid and smoke until the internal temperature is 165° F. Around 8 hours.
- Remove the brisket from the smoker and double wrap tightly with peach butcher paper.
- Return the brisket to the smoker and close the lid and continue cooking at 225°F until the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 203°F in the thickest part of the meat (another 6-8 hours of cooking).
- Remove the brisket from the smoker, wrap in a thick towel and place it into a cooler to rest for one hour before slicing and serving.
- To serve, slice across the grain of both the point and flat muscles with a sharp knife.
Why wrap the meat with peach butcher paper halfway through the cooking process?
Seasoned barbecue chefs will tell you about the “stall” that brisket will undergo when smoking it low and slow. This stall is when the internal temperature of the meat does not rise, due to something called evaporative cooling.
Like when you sweat, liquid water absorbs energy from a surface, converting the water to vapor but stealing heat energy from the surface.
In your brisket, this happens at such a scale that the meat is unable to continue heating until much of the water is evaporated out of the muscle fibers.
To expedite the stall and prevent your meat from drying out, you should wrap it in peach butcher paper to hold in the moisture.
This works because the water vapor is retained and forced to return its heat energy back to the meat, allowing it to continue rising in temperature before all of the water vaporizes.
What to serve with smoked brisket
We pair this brisket recipe with so many things. But since we are typically smoking meat in the summer/warmer months – here are some of our absolute favorite BBQ pairings you’ll want to serve alongside this delicious meat!
Sides
- Smoked Mac and Cheese
- Parmesan Ranch Pasta Salad
- Slow Cooker Bourbon Baked Beans
- Squash Casserole Recipe
Drinks
Desserts
Products I love when making Traeger Smoked Brisket…
This beef recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand
OR maybe you have never cooked on your smoker before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love it. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this dinner recipe. (you can also SHOP MY FAVORITES in my store)
If you love this Smoked Brisket recipe, you’re going to love these other smoked recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Other Beef Dishes
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Smoked Beef Brisket
Ingredients
- 11-15 pound whole packer brisket
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 225°F.
- Combine the salt, pepper, and paprika in a small bowl. Whisk.
- Trim the brisket. Remove any silver skin or excess fat from the flat muscle, and square the edges and ends of the flat. Flip the brisket and trim the fat cap to no more than ¼ inch thickness.
- Liberally sprinkle all surfaces of the brisket with the blended seasonings.
- Place the brisket on the smoker with the thicker end closest to the hotter section of the smoker.
- Close the lid and smoke until the internal temperature is 165° F. Around 8 hours.
- Remove the brisket from the smoker and double wrap tightly with peach butcher paper.
- Return the brisket to the smoker and close the lid and continue cooking at 225°F until the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 203°F in the thickest part of the meat (another 6-8 hours of cooking).
- Remove the brisket from the smoker, wrap in a thick towel and place it into a cooler to rest for one hour before slicing and serving.
- To serve, slice across the grain of both the point and flat muscles with a sharp knife.
Equipment
- 1 Traeger/ Pellet Grill
- peach butcher paper
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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