Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket

Name: Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 210 min
Total time: 240 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American-Southern-Soul Food
Ingredients: 1/4 cup coarse salt; 3 Tbs. freshly ground pepper; 3 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar; 3 Tbs. paprika; 3 Tbs. onion powder; 2 Tbs. granulated garlic; 2 Tbs. dry mustard; 1 Tbs. ground cumin; 1 Tbs. chili powder; 1 beef brisket, 5 to 7 lb., trimmed to leave a 1/4-inch layer of fat; 5 lb. mesquite chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes; White bread for serving (optional); Barbecue sauce for serving (optional)

Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket is rated 1.7 out of 5 by 7.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 210 minutes

Servings: 8

In Texas, barbecue means beef, and brisket is king. Here, the brisket is given a spice rub and is slow-smoked over mesquite. Have extra coals or a backup gas tank ready because the cooking time is long.

Printer Friendly Version

Tweet
Pin It

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coarse salt
3 Tbs. freshly ground pepper
3 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
3 Tbs. paprika
3 Tbs. onion powder
2 Tbs. granulated garlic
2 Tbs. dry mustard
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 beef brisket, 5 to 7 lb., trimmed to leave a 1/4-inch layer of fat
5 lb. mesquite chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes
White bread for serving (optional)
Barbecue sauce for serving (optional)

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the salt, pepper, brown sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic, mustard, cumin and chili powder. Process into a coarse powder.

Rinse the brisket under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Generously season the brisket all over with the spice rub, massaging it into the meat. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling.

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for indirect grilling over medium-low heat. Brush and oil the grill grate. Unwrap the brisket, season again with the rub and place it, fat side up, in a large, disposable aluminum roasting pan.

For a charcoal grill: Sprinkle half of the soaked wood chips over the coals. Place the roasting pan with the brisket on the grill grate toward side of the grill where the heat is less intense, cover the grill and cook, basting with any accumulated juices, until the meat is mahogany brown in color, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Replenish the coals and wood chips every 30 minutes.

For a gas grill: Increase one burner to high heat. Heat a smoker box half full of soaked wood chips until smoking, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Place the roasting pan with the brisket on the grill grate over the area of lower heat, cover the grill and cook, basting with any accumulated juices, until mahogany brown in color, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Replenish the wood chips every 30 minutes.

Transfer the brisket to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut the meat into thin slices. Serve with barbecue sauce and slices of white bread. Serves 6 to 8.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma On the Grill, by Willie Cooper (Oxmoor House, 2009).

Return to Previous Page

Rated 1 out of 5 by nabor37 from This is not Texas Brisket So much wrong, so little room to write. No mention of temperature. Charcoal Grill? It takes at least 10-12 hours at 210-225 degrees to get a good brisket. I found it humurous that the reviewers who loved this recipe were from PA, because this will never get you rave reviews trying to pass it off as Texas BBQ.

Date published: 2012-08-18

Rated 1 out of 5 by FASherman from Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket - NOT 1. The rub recipe is weak 2. If you refrigerate your bricket overnight after applying the rub, it pulls moisture out of the meat. You lose juices and turns to a wet rub. 3. No talk of temperature control. preferences vary from 180-210, but all agree not to go over 212, when the juices in the meat will boil off internally, drying meat. 4. No talk of slicing technique. Always against the grain. Picture shows slicing with the grain. 5. Smoke ring in picture is weak as well. As other point out, not enough time in the smoker. 6. Smoked meat on a gas grill? Definitely not Texas style. Low and slow. 7. Bark? Burnt ends? Man you are missing out on some of the best parts of TX BBQ. All and all, a recipe written for people who don't know Texas BBQ by someone that doesn't do true Texas BBQ.

Date published: 2012-08-08

Rated 1 out of 5 by JimfromSanAntonio from This is a joke, right? As a transplanted Texan to the middle east, I can tell you that this recipe is how they think you make Texas style brisket... in Dubai! I lived and worked in Iraq for over 6 years and in that time I cooked probably close to a hundred briskets and can categorically tell you that this recipe is not how you do it. I've never taken less than 8 hours cooking a brisket and that was a small one. Most briskets will take between 10 and 12 hours to cook. But when they are done, they are a thing of beauty. Even while in Iraq, I used only hardwood (mesquite and oak when I could get it), never charcoal. We didn't have gas but I wouldn't have used that either. In order to cook a proper Texas style brisket, you have to use real wood and smoke the brisket low and slow. When it is done, all the neighbors will turn out! Any other way and you are roasting Yankee style.

Date published: 2012-07-24

Rated 1 out of 5 by texasbbq from Please do not follow this recipe Good brisket takes much longer to prepare and smoke. It needs to marinade for at least 24 hours, brisket is a tough cut, this isn't a prime ribeye that needs little prep. Shiner Bock with a very spicy rub is excellent choice for a hearty Texas flavor. Or Concord wine with a spicy rub will give it a very good spicy sweet taste. But you will need marinade to break down the connective tissue. Next LOW and SLOW is the key, I usually smoke for about 12 hours at about 210. Use an all wood fire preferably indirect heat, if you can't get mesquite use hickory.

Date published: 2012-07-06

Rated 2 out of 5 by JumboJet from Recipe is not for me I have been SMOKING brisket for years and years - 300 lbs. at a time. I use wood and charcoal and indirect heat. I smoke brisket for up to 12 hours at 210F. I have a few 1st & 2nd place trophies for my brisket. The only thing from that recipe and instructions I would try would be the dry rub. Each year in October, the Wheeler Fire Department does a fund raiser dinner featuring smoked chicken and brisket. For years, the brisket was truly smoked. The man that smoked the brisket died. Last year his method was replaced by a new "king of brisket". I nearly puked! The new "king" makes an aluminum bowl and boils the brisket over direct coals in a soy sauce mixture. Yuck!

Date published: 2012-07-05

Rated 1 out of 5 by prmkpr from this is the wrong way!!!! from a person who live in the heart of Texas and knows his BBQ...whoever wrote this recipe needs be taken out back and beat with a hickory switch!!! NEVER EVER EVER, and I will say it again EVER cook bbq using charcoal or gas!!! If you tried that here you would be shot!!! we Texans take our BBQ very seriously!!! A good brisket should cook slow and low about 45 minutes to an hour per pound....so 7-8 pound brisket should take 6-8 hours to cook at 225 degrees. if you cook a brisket as fast as this guy recommends, the cap part of the meat(fat end) will be to fatty because it hasn't had the time to break down enough. the other issue is that you never use gas to cook TEXAS BBQ PERIOD!!!! If you are using charcoal you are grilling not smoking there is a huge difference!!

Date published: 2012-06-30

Rated 5 out of 5 by Pelayo from Absolutly Delicious! This was my first time doing a smoked brisket and had absolutly no idea what rub to use. I stumbled upon this and my friends and I loved it. One actually saved the recipe and used it for a work conference dinner where he smoked brisket for 350 people. The brisket was a hit. I highly recomend this rub.

Date published: 2012-01-10