How Do You Keep a Brisket Moist While Smoking It? - Chad's BBQ (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep brisket moist while smoking? ›

Keeping a water pan in the smoker is the best way to retain moisture. After the first 2-3 hours start spritzing your brisket with water, apple juice, hot sauce or apple cider vinegar every 30 minutes to an hour. This helps keep it moist and stops it from burning.

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.

Classic ingredients include beef broth, water, apple juice, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Avoid spices that could clog the spray nozzle. Start spraying the brisket 3-4 hours into cooking, every 30 minutes, until it's time to wrap the 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.

It's a tough cut of meat, which is why the best way to cook brisket is a low-and-slow method: Long, slow cooking makes it tender.

Fully wrap your brisket in heavy duty tin foil with the fat cap facing up. This helps ensure the brisket will stay very moist. The timing will change brisket to brisket, but after 5-8 hours the internal temperature will reach 195 degrees. More importantly, it should easily fall apart.

Put a water bowl in your smoker to add moister and to promote a better smoke ring. Cook until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees and then wrap the brisket in butcher paper. Cook until the meat is somewhat limp when you pick it up with tongs in the middle or a thermometer inserts without resistance.

Contrary to some sources, you do not need to flip your brisket at any point during cooking. Flipping can disrupt the smoking process, as you are repeatedly lowering the temperature every time you open the grill, extending your brisket cook time.

It also serves as the perfect probe to feel for doneness. There is no magic number for when briskets are done. I've had briskets be done anywhere from 200° – 208°. What are you looking for is for it to feel done.

Watch for an internal temperature of 185F (it will come up to 190 while it rests). If your brisket has little marbling or inconsistent marbling, the 225F temperature for smoking a brisket makes sense. It smokes the meat more quickly, preventing rubberiness, and produces a rich smokiness.

What is the danger zone for brisket? ›

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 a water bowl in your smoker to add moister and to promote a better smoke ring. Cook until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees and then wrap the brisket in butcher paper. Cook until the meat is somewhat limp when you pick it up with tongs in the middle or a thermometer inserts without resistance.

Wrapping a brisket helps seal in the moisture and juices for the duration of the cooking process, which prevents your meat from drying out in the smoker.

Cooking over indirect heat, marinating, using a high ratio of smoking chunks to charcoal, wrapping in aluminum foil, and allowing your meat to sit for three to five minutes will help to keep it moist.

Before you inject and smoke the brisket, trim the meat down a bit to help infuse it with moisture and extra flavor. Trim the top fat cap down to a 1/4 inch thick. Remove the tail on the end of the meat if any of the point has been left. Remove excess fat from the underside of the brisket.