How To Make Tender Juicy Smoked Brisket Recipe – No Traeger!

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If you love smoked brisket, you’ve come to the right place! We LOVE to make this smoked brisket recipe for special occasions, and for feeding big crowds!

This makes a perfectly flavored smoked beef brisket that’s so tender it just falls apart when you cut into it. Be sure to print your free recipe card below!

smoked brisket sliced on cutting board with text

There are a lot of smoked beef brisket recipes out there, and this is our favorite a more old-fashioned smoked brisket recipe. (No fancy smoker needed.)

I use the entire beef brisket, rub seasonings all over it, smoke it for 4-8 hours, then wrap it in aluminum foil and bake slow and low overnight (9-12 more hours). Feeds 15-20 people depending on brisket and portion sizes. Serve with BBQ Bacon Baked Beans!

Smoked Brisket

I have NOTHING against Traeger’s… I love mine… But, you don’t need an expensive pellet smoker to make a good smoked brisket… It just needs to be big enough to fit the brisket inside!

We have an old “Big Chief” smoker that we picked up at Cabalas before Traeger’s were a thing. It’s old, a bit rusty, and uses a coil electric burner to turn the wood pellets, or wood chips, into smoke. But, it works great!

smoked brisket ingredients on cutting board with raw brisket

Selecting Beef Brisket

I buy a whole brisket in two different ways: I love to buy a half cow from Y-1 Farms (a local rancher). But you only get 1 big brisket when you buy half a cow, (Because a cow has 2 briskets, one on each side of its body.) Y-1v Farms sells the highest quality beef, and theirs is the best brisket I’ve ever had!

I also like to buy beef brisket at Costco because they have better-quality beef than my local grocery store. When I’m shopping for beef brisket, I look for a large one that has a nice fat cap on one side!

(Brisket is not low fat, and if it were it would be dry and lack flavor!) The fat keeps the meat moist through hours and hours of smoking and roasting in the oven, Plus, it adds a ton of flavor that you just can’t get any other way!

Cook – Smoke Time

Making smoked brisket is a process… It takes time. I smoke the brisket for a minimum of four hours and roast slow and low inside for 12 more. Cooking it on low heat for so long results in a really tender brisket that you can’t get any other way…

It’s definitely worth the time! For best results, give yourself at least 16 hours. If you are going to serve brisket tomorrow, start smoking it today!

combine seasonings and rub seasoning all sides of brisket generously

Instruction Overview

Making smoked brisket is much easier than you may think! There are really only a few steps: season, smoke, wrap and bake low! Here is the entire process:

  • Bring your brisket (10-15 pounds) to room temperature. If it’s frozen, defrost it the day before you start cooking it.
  • Season entire brisket on all sides.
  • Place on a rack in smoker fat side up
  • Smoke for 10-20 hours, till internal temp reaches 165 degrees F in thickets part.
  • Wrap smoked brisket in aluminum foil or pink butcher paper
  • Bake at 220 for 2-4 more hours till internal temp reaches 195-205 degrees F.
  • Remove and place brisket on a large carving board.
  • Let rest 1 hour
  • Slice against the grain, or muscle fibers, & ENJOY!
seasoned brisket on preheated traeger smoker grill

Smoke Brisket

After seasoning your brisket, it’s time to put it on a smoker rack, fat side up, and add your wood chunks or pellets! Our little “big chief” smoker needs pellets or wood chunks to be replaced every hour or so while smoking. Make sure to keep the smoke on your meat for at least 4 hours.

Your meat will not really cook in the smoker, so don’t freak out when you take a raw beef brisket out of your smoker! In this recipe brisket cooks after smoking. Most of the actual cooking happens in a 225-degree oven. The smoker just gives your brisket the delicious smoke flavor!

I like to smoke our brisket for 4 hours before we go to bed, then wrap it in aluminum foil nice and tight (seal 2 pieces together by tightly folding ends together.) And then pop it in the oven when I go to bed.

Meat Thermometer

A meat thermometer is one of the best investments you can make in your kitchen! It’s the only sure way to make sure any type of meat is cooked correctly and is SAFE! I use my meat thermometer for brisket to make sure it’s going to be tender, but I also love to use it for chicken, turkey, and pork to make sure they are SAFE to eat and serve my kids!

If your oven is working right, your brisket should be done after 9-12 hours of roasting. To make sure it’s going to be tender, check the internal temperature! Beef Brisket is done after the internal temperature of the meat reaches 210-214 degrees F.

After cooking, wrap the brisket in foil and let it rest for 20 to 40 minutes before slicing. When you let your meat rest after cooking, it allows juices to redistribute instead of running out when you cut it! Making meat juicy and more flavorful instead of dry. If you cut right into the brisket, juices run out all over the cutting board instead of staying in the meat.

smoked brisket wrapped in pink butcher paper at 197 degrees F

Let Brisket Rest

After removing from the oven, let your brisket rest wrapped in foil for at least 20-45 minutes, butter yet an hour, so that juices can redistribute throughout meat before cutting! If you cut into it too early, the juices run out and the brisket is drier… It’s worth the wait!

How To Carve

Using a sharp knife. Slice your brisket against the meat grains. Meat fibers are long, and you do not want them to be long in the slices you cut (or it’s tougher). Brisket fibers go the long way through the brisket, so cut across the short direction.

Serving

Honestly, your brisket will be super flavorful and is excellent all by its self. But you can kick it up a notch by serving with your favorite barbecue sauce! I love to serve smoked brisket with mashed potatoes and homemade gravy in the winter and The Best Loaded Potato Salad – Old Fashioned Recipe (Easy!) in the summer, or a delicious colorful salad!

smoked brisket sliced on cutting board (1)

Best Wood Chips & Pellets For Smoked Brisket

You can’t really go wrong with applewood, mesquite, and hickory wood for smoking! Our favorite is the hickory flavor, but they all give off a tantalizing smoke flavor and are all delicious smokes!

FAQs

How long does it take to smoke a brisket? That depends on the size of the brisket and the temperature of your smoker:

If you are smoking at the ideal temperature of 225-250 F:u003cbr/u003eSmall Brisket (4-6 pounds): 6-8 hours Medium Brisket (7-10 pounds): 10-12 Large Brisket (11-14 pounds or more): 12-16 hours Rather than relying solely on time, it’s best to use a meat thermometer to determine when the brisket is done! The internal temperature of the thickest part of the brisket should reach around 195-205°F (90-96°C) 😉

sliced smoked brisket

Tender Smoked Brisket

This makes a perfectly flavored smoked beef brisket that’s so tender it just falls apart when you cut into it.
4.20 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: dinner
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 23 hours
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 17 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 15 servings
Calories: 1318kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 10-15 pound beef brisket
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt course ground
  • 1 tbsp black pepper cracked, course ground
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder or chopped garlic
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar optional
  • 1 tbsp paprika smoked, optional

Instructions

  • In a small bowl combine the seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar and optional smoked paprika. Season entire brisket on all sides.
  • (Optional Marinate) Wrap that seasoned brisket tight in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least 12 hours to soak in all those flavors!
  • Bring your brisket to room temperature. If it’s frozen, defrost it the day before you start cooking it.
  • Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F.
  • Place on a rack in your preheated smoker, fat side up for the fat to melt into the brisket.
  • Smoke at 225 F. until internal temp reaches 165 degrees F. (this takes at least 12-20 hours depending on the temperature outside, your smokers consistent heat, and the thickens of your brisket)
  • Wrap smoked brisket in butcher paper or aluminum foil. If your brisket is wrapped in aluminum foil, make a small vent hole.
  • 2nd smoke (or bake) Turn temperature up to 250 degrees F, and cooked wrapped till internal temp 200-204 degrees F. (It usually takes between 2-4 hours to go from 165 to 200 degrees F internal temp.)
  • Remove and place brisket on a large carving board., and tent it with foil.
  • Let rest for an hour!
  • Slice against the grain, or muscle fibers, & ENJOY!

Notes

Butcher paper allows for some breathability, while foil creates a tighter seal, which can speed up cooking.
Maintaining a consistent smoker temperature of  225°F is crucial for predictable cooking times 😉
The “probe tender” test. When a temperature probe slides into the brisket with very little resistance, it’s usually done. That can happen anywhere from 195 to 205 degrees.
Honestly, your brisket will be super flavorful and is excellent all by its self. But you can kick it up a notch by serving with your favorite barbecue sauce! I love to serve smoked brisket with mashed potatoes and homemade gravy in the winter and The Best Loaded Potato Salad – Old Fashioned Recipe (Easy!) in the summer! It’s also great with a green salad to keep things healthy ?

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 1318kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 131g | Fat: 84g | Saturated Fat: 33g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 39g | Cholesterol: 481mg | Sodium: 470mg | Sugar: 1g
juliea huffaker

About Juliea

Juliea Huffaker is the creator of Farmhouse Harvest, and dedicated to teaching from-scratch cooking, sourdough baking, gardening, and food preservation. With over 25 years of hands-on experience she has preserved hundreds of jars of produce, mastered the art of meats and sourdough baking, and nurtured a thriving organic garden. Her recipes and articles have been featured across the web. And she’s passionate about inspiring others to embrace a simpler, self-sufficient life style.

4.20 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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