Texas Style BBQ Brisket
Being from Texas, I appreciate a great Texas style bbq brisket. There are countless restaurants that claim to have it, but rarely can you find any away from Texas that actually know what a real Texas style bbq brisket taste like.
I was watching a cooking show one day and witnessed how to make a Texas style bbq brisket on my grill. Never in my wildest thoughts had I even considered this. I was hooked throughout the entire show. I had only made my brisket like my Aunt had shown me, in a roasting bag with rub and liquid smoke on low heat for 8 hours. The grill was a new challenge. I have it down almost perfect, for the most part.
Choose a 10-12 pound untrimmed whole beef brisket
Having an untrimmed brisket is the best. You can trim the fat off to 1/2-1/4 inch thickness, instead of the brisket being trimmed too much and risk drying out while on the grill. About 12-24 hours before cooking, you want to put a dalmation rub on both sides. A dalmation rub is just black pepper and kosher salt. You mix 1/4 cup each together and rub into both side of your trimmed brisket. Then cover the brisket lightly with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator until it’s time to place it on the grill.
Setting up the Grill is THE most important part of a perfect brisket
Each grill is completely different and there are many variables that can affect the heating of your grill, along with the size of your brisket, which in turn affects the timing. This Texas Style BBQ Brisket can take anywhere from 8-12 hours.
Open the bottom vent of the grill completely. Make your charcoal snake, which is two rows of 58 briquettes each, 2 briquettes wide in a “C” shape. There should be an 8 inch gap between the beginning of the snake and the end. I use a disposable pan to count mine into for each row so I don’t get lost in count. This pan is used in the middle afterwards for 6 cups of water.
Evenly place your wood chunks on top of the charcoal snake, starting about 4 inches away from the ends. Then place a disposable pan in the center and fill it with 6 cups of water. In a chimney starter, light 10 briquettes and when they are covered partially in ash, pour them over one end of the charcoal snake. Make sure these lit briquettes do not touch the other end of the snake. Place your cooking grate on top and clean and grease it.
Add your brisket, fat side down, onto the grill, with the point facing the gap of the charcoal snake. The point is the big, thick part of the brisket. Insert a temperature probe into the side of the upper third of the point.
Cover the grill with the lid, open the top vent completely. Make sure to place the vent over the gap portion of the charcoal snake. DO NOT disturb the lid until the temperature probe reaches 170 degrees. This can take 4-5 hours.
Low Smoky Heat creates the perfect brisket Every Time.
When the brisket reaches 170 degrees, use silicone oven mitts to lift the brisket off the grate onto 2 large sheets of aluminum foil crossed, at 90 degrees, on a large baking sheet. Remove the temperature probe from the brisket. Wrap the foil tightly around the brisket making sure to remove air pockets. Carefully remove the cooking grate and add about 3 quarts of unlit briquettes to the end of the charcoal snake. This will fill in where the gap was before. Put the grate back on the grill. Reinsert the temperature probe into the point side of the brisket and place it fat side down on the grate again. Make sure the point side is facing where the gap in the original charcoal snake was. Close the cover and do not disturb again until the temperature reaches 205 degrees. This will be anywhere between 1-2 hours.
Once the temperature reaches 205 degrees, carefully using the silicone oven mitts, remove the brisket from the grill and place upside down in a cooler. You now want the fat side up. I normally line my cooler with aluminum foil to catch any juices that may leak out. This makes for an easier clean up. Close the cooler lid and let rest for 2 hours, or up to 3.
After resting the brisket 2-3 hours, carefully transfer it to a carving board. Unwrap it and place the fat side up. Slice the flat against the grain and then rotate 90 degrees to slice the point. Serve your delicious Texas style bbq brisket. Sauce is on the side if desired.
We served our brisket, shown here, with buttery corn on the cob and cheesy garlic mashed potatoes that my Daughter-in-Law made. All of us where in a food coma shortley thereafter.