How do you cook your Brisket?

[Stangkiller]

Last time I made it I tightly wrapped the brisket and baked it in the oven over beer in a a broiler pan, at 225* for 6 hours then grilled for another hour...it's still a bit tough...so any ideas?

[Iron Chef]

Apply a spice rub liberally the night before. Wrap in plastic and let sit refrigerated overnight. Take it out for about and hour, then put on the smoker (I like hickory). let it go at 200 degrees until the meat has an internal temp of about 195. Take it off smoke. wrap tightly in aluminum foil, then in a thick towel and put it in a cooler for two hours.

Unwrap, slice and enjoy.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

Apply a spice rub liberally the night before. Wrap in plastic and let sit refrigerated overnight. Take it out for about and hour, then put on the smoker (I like hickory). let it go at 200 degrees until the meat has an internal temp of about 195. Take it off smoke. wrap tightly in aluminum foil, then in a thick towel and put it in a cooler for two hours.

Unwrap, slice and enjoy.

That pretty much sums it up. I have found that, when it comes to brisket, a rub of just kosher salt, cracked black pepper, granulated garlic, and chili powder works just fine. Doesn't have to be fancy, although I use a spicy chili powder. Yes it is best if the rub is able to work on it overnight but I've done it both ways and honestly couldn't tell the difference. I smoke briskets at 225 usually, and they smoke just fine at 250 too. Reason I don't smoke at 200 is that it takes so frickin' long at that temp.

My favorite wood to use when smoking brisket is pecan and cherry, but hickory or a hickory/pecan blend works fantastic too. Some people cut the point from the flat when doing a full (packers) brisket, and cook the point much longer than the flat (well past 195) to make what's called burnt ends. That's a Kansas City thing, but they are good. The point has a lot of fat to render out, and isn't as purdy as the flat when sliced, so that's not a bad idea.

It is important to let them rest, foiled, after taking off for at least 2 hours. I've kept them wrapped in foil for 8 hours in a cooler packed with old clean towels and they just seem to get better that way.

One more good trick is to mark the direction of the grain using a skewer prior to smoking. That way there is no guessing when it comes time to slice it up.