Best Brisket Recipe EVER! Thyme And Garlic Brisket (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist tender brisket? ›

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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.

All brisket, no matter which cut you choose, is a tough cut of meat that needs to be cooked low and slow: think oven, slow cooker or indirect heat on a grill.

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. A tender and moist brisket is the result.

Dry rubs are great on their own but can be spectacular when finished with a sauce in the case of ribs, brisket, and pulled pork. Wet rubs are fantastic when you are cooking low and slow – again, brisket and pulled pork. This allows your food to develop a unique bark and allows the sugars to caramelize instead of burn.

Once seared, place brisket in foil pan, fat side up, and smoke, uncovered for 2 hours. Flip brisket and smoke for 1 hour. At this point, the juices inside are under a fair amount of pressure. It is important not to pierce the meat from this point until it is done.

What's the 3-2-1 method for brisket? While it is true cooking brisket is a time-consuming process, the 3-2-1 rule makes it easier for beginners. 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.

The day before you plan to cook the brisket, apply a generous amount of brisket rub on all sides of meat and refrigerate overnight. The rub will not only enhance the flavor of the meat, but tenderize it as well. Similar to rubs, the meat should soak overnight in the marinade for maximum flavor absorption.

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.

The temperature of the meat begins to rise again -- which you want because brisket gets more tender the longer you cook it.

What temp does brisket fall apart? ›

Brisket can be done in a range of 200-210°F (93-99°C), but as a general rule, it's safe to bet on 203°F (95°C). Brisket should be tender but not so tender it's falling apart. You should be able to slice it into pieces that can just hold together, requiring a little pull to come apart.

Water: if you want to increase humidity, slow the cooking process to build more smoke flavor, or just want to keep the meat moist, you can just spritz with 100% water.

To enhance the tenderizing effect of smoking, marinate the brisket with lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, or any other acid-based marinade. This will help break down the tough fibers in the meat and the acid will carry any flavor you add to the marinade deep into the meat.

One of the tricks I use for making a brisket with great bark and tenderness is wrapping it in aluminum foil or butcher paper. The wrap helps to keep moisture in the meat, ultimately speeding up the cooking process. This technique is commonly called the "Texas crutch."

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.