Recipe: Barbecued Beef Brisket

Based on a recipe from Cook's Illustrated and prepared for dinner on Sunday, July 8, 2012.


Makes roughly 12 servings. This recipe is for a gas grill.

Ingredients

5 to 6 pound beef brisket, flat cut
⅔ cup table salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups wood chips
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons pepper

Instructions

1. Prepare a brine solution in a large container by dissolving the table salt and ½ cup sugar in 4 quarts of cold water. 
2. Cut slits on the brisket's fat cap in a 1″ cross-hatch pattern, cutting through the fat but not into the meat. 
3. Submerge the scored brisket in brine for two hours. Add ice if you will be brining at room temperature, otherwise put the container into the refrigerator.
4. In a small bowl, combine the kosher salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
5. Soak the wood chips in water for 15 minutes. Drain, wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil, and cut several holes in the packet.
6. Remove a cooking grate from the gas grill and turn on all burners to high. Place the packet of wood chips directly on the primary burner and close the lid until the wood chips start to smoke.
7. Remove the brisket from the brine and dry it with paper towels.
8. Rub both sides of the brisket and the slits in the fat cap with the salt mixture.
9. Turn the primary burner on the grill down to medium. Turn the remaining burners off.
10. Clean the cooking grill on the cool side of the grill.
11. Place the seasoned brisket on the cool side of the grill, fat side down, with the thinner side of the brisket farthest from the primary burner, and close the lid. 
12. Smoke the brisket for 3 hours. Adjust the primary burner to maintain the temperature between 250° and 300°.
13. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a wire rack inside. 
14. Preheat the oven to 325°.
15. Move the smoked brisket to the wire rack set over the baking sheet and roast the brisket in the oven to an internal temperature of 195°, 2 to 3 hours.
16. Remove the brisket from the oven, tent loosely with foil, and rest for 30 minutes
17. Slice the brisket against the grain and serve.

Cut slits through the brisket's fat cap.

Brine the brisket for two hours, adding ice if brining outside of the refrigerator.

Season the brisket with a salt/pepper/sugar mixture.

Smoke for three hours on gas grill.

Place the smoked brisket on a wire rack set in a raised baking sheet and roast in the oven.

The brisket is done when tender with an internal temperature of 195°.

Rest for 30 minutes then slice across the grain and serve.