Have you ever stood in line to eat badass Texas-style Angus brisket and wonder if it was possible to make it at home? Well you in luck not only did we knock out some killer Salt & Pepper Brisket but we did it low and slow, the way it’s supposed to be cooked.
What you’ll need
- Beef Brisket
- Salt & pepper
- Butchers paper (or aluminum foil)
- A cold one or two to drink while waiting
The Prep
Now cooking a beef brisket - even an Angus brisket - is not as hard as some will make you think. You can do it too! If you prepare the cook correctly and know your pit well, you can start right away. Having said that, here are some things to take care of before firing up the smoker.
First, clean the pit. This is going to be a long cook, and you want to do it under the best conditions possible.
Next, trim the brisket. Remove the silverskin and trim down any excess fat that won’t render down during cooking. Especially when dealing with higher grade beef, the marbling on the inside is going to give the meat more than enough flavor. Make sure to round up any sharp corners on the brisket, since those will easily burn during the cook.
Finally, season the meat. We did a Texas-style Angus brisket, so it was straight salt and pepper on that. But feel free to be creative and experiment. After all, BBQ is about doing what you enjoy.
The Cook
Time to get those coals red-hot. Once you have a healthy coal bed and enough fuel to last a few hours, adjust your smoker for low and slow. You want to keep the cooking temp around 250ºF (121ºC). Add some smoke wood, and when that’s all set, place the beef brisket over indirect heat.
Some will ask, what’s the benefit to cooking low ’n’ slow? Is the extra time really worth it? The answer is that it truly depends on what you want.
Cooking slower means you get more of that smoky flavor, and in the case of Angus beef or others of that grade, it gives time to the marbling inside to render down. But cooking hot & fast means you’ll be eating a LOT sooner, so do what you like!
Let the briskets soak up the heat until the color looks right, then it’s time to move on to the next step.
Now, once you get the color right (the bark should be dark, almost black), go ahead and wrap them. You can use either butcher's paper or aluminum foil. There’s a whole debate about that, and the bottom line is you can use whichever you think is best. I used butcher's paper on this cook.
The Payoff
Put the wrapped Texas-style Angus briskets back on the cooker. Start monitoring internal temperature, and pull them right when they hit 203ºF(95ºC). Open up the paper or foil to let the meat steam and stop the cooking process, then rest before carving into it.
Enjoy!
