One-Hour Smoky Beef Brisket Recipe | BREA Getting Fit (2024)

FAQs

What is the 3/2:1 rule for brisket? ›

First off, you'd smoke or bake the brisket at 225 degrees for 3 hours; then you'd wrap it in foil and keep cooking it for 2 hours. Finally, uncovered and cook for 1 more hour before letting it rest for a few minutes prior serving.

The temperature of the meat begins to rise again -- which you want because brisket gets more tender the longer you cook it. Legend has it "The Texas Crutch" first came into being on the competition barbecue circuit. In these contests, smoked meat must be delivered to the judges at a specific time.

Add small pieces throughout the smoking process as wood burns away. Slow-smoke at a temperature of 250˚F, allowing about one hour of cooking time per pound of meat. So, if you have a 10-pound brisket, expect to smoke it for about 10 hours. Keep the fat side up so the juices can drip through the meat.

That long cooking process shrinks the meat considerably. If you are cooking it in a smoker, it can shrink 30-40% during the cooking process. With this number in mind, if you start cooking a 15 lb, you will end up with 9-10 lbs of brisket.

Place it fat side down on the grill grate and smoke for 4-6 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches around 160° F. 4. After 4-6 hours of smoke, remove and double wrap in foil. Turn the grill to 225 and cook the brisket until it reaches an internal temperature of 200 – 205° F, approximately 6 more hours.

Brisket contains a lot of connective tissue, which can make it tough. The type of connective tissue in brisket is called collagen. Cook the meat quickly and you get tough, dry meat. Cook a brisket slowly, with some liquid, and the collagen turns into gelatin.

Texas Crutch Method: The Texas crutch method involves wrapping the brisket tightly in foil or butcher paper during the cooking process. This helps retain moisture and speeds up the cooking time, resulting in a tender and flavorful brisket.

To set things straight, we're here to put an end to the confusion, so you can get back to the grill with confidence. For brisket cooked to flavorful perfection, fat-side-down is the way to go. This is the only way to achieve a brisket that is perfectly moist with a perfect bark on both sides.

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.

Many pitmasters recommend wrapping the brisket once it reaches the desired level of smoke absorption or when it hits the "stall" phase, typically around 160-170°F (71-77°C). Wrapping too early may hinder bark formation while wrapping too late can result in excessive moisture loss.

Is it better to smoke brisket at 225 or 250? ›

I think the sweet spot for brisket is 225-250°F. This low temperature allows the brisket to render nice and slowly while having enough time to absorb all that smoke flavor. Cooking a brisket hot and fast can tighten up the connective tissue in the meat which will leave it tough and chewy.

The main goal is to cut away most of the fat cap, which comes too thick to fully render in the low-and-slow smoking temperatures every brisket needs to become tender. If you don't trim the fat cap, you'll be left with big mouthfuls of fat that'll have to be sliced off after the cook anyway.

Cutting brisket in half is the most logical thing to do. You may not need the whole primal cut, or the size can be too big for a smoker. If you cut it in half you'll also speed up the cooking process, and you can still cook it to perfection.

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.

Wrapping the brisket at this stage also helps keep it moist and tender by trapping the juices and preventing it from drying out. If you wrap a brisket too early, you may end up with a softer, less textured bark. If you wrap the brisket late, it may take a lot longer to cook.

While smoking meat, you should pay special attention to the temperature danger zone because there is a higher chance of bacteria growth in the meat. Therefore, you need to find the optimum temperature for meat. As mentioned above, the temperature danger zone is 46°F -140°F (8°C-60°C).

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. It also cuts down on cooking time, meaning you'll have a perfectly smoked brisket on the table faster.