How to Smoke a Brisket for Beginners

Smoking your first brisket might seem intimidating, but with these simple tips, you’ll create a juicy, flavorful masterpiece that’ll impress everyone at the table.

Smoking a brisket is often seen as a rite of passage for BBQ enthusiasts, and while it might seem overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be! In this video, I break down the process into simple, beginner-friendly steps that anyone can follow to create a mouthwatering brisket. From selecting the right cut to mastering the basics of trimming, seasoning, and managing your smoker, this guide is designed to set you up for success. With a focus on keeping things straightforward and achievable, you’ll learn how to cook a tender, flavorful brisket without overcomplicating the process.

STEP 1: Selecting the Perfect Brisket

Selecting the right brisket is the first step to success, and it’s easier than you might think.

Look for a “whole packer brisket”, which includes both the point and flat muscles, as this gives you the best balance of lean and fatty meat. A packer brisket will normally weigh anywhere from 10 to 24 lbs but a 12-15 lb brisket is the average. Keep in mind the heavier the brisket, the longer it will take to cook! Sometimes if I’m short on time I like to buy small briskets because they cook much faster.

Aim for a brisket with good marbling—the white streaks of fat running through the meat—since this fat will render during the cook and keep the brisket juicy and flavorful. The fat cap should cover the entire top of the brisket with as few “scalped” areas showing the meat as possible.

In terms of brisket grade, look for at least USDA Choice grade and preferably Prime. Certified Angus Beef is a great option because it guarantees you will get an “upper grade Choice” brisket and you won’t get a low-marbled Choice which can often be closer to Select grade in marbling. American Wagyu is also an excellent choice if you don’t mind spending a bit of extra money for better quality. These briskets are almost always graded as “Prime” and they often have much more marbling than a typical Angus Prime-grade brisket. Snake River Farms is a trusted source of American wagyu briskets and I have used them succesfully in BBQ competitions.

Where I live in Canada, we grade our briskets as AA (equivalent to Select), AAA (Choice) and Canadian Prime (same as USDA Prime). It’s very hard to find high quality angus beef briskets in Canada because we send our best beef to restaurants or export it. I buy AAA briskets from Costco because they are the best bang for my buck. Quality is inconsistent but they are typically pretty good, and at some times of the year they are extremely well-marbled. When I want a really good, consistently well-marbled, brisket I get a “Canadian Wagyu” brisket from Brandt Lake Farms in Calgary. They are the Canadian equivalent to Snake River Farms.

I used to “bend” my briskets in the store and look for ones that were more flexible, but I’ve learned this isn’t a very good indicator of a quality brisket. It’s more important to look for a brisket with a continuous fat cap and abundent intra-muscular fat marbling which you can see on the bottom of the brisket. 

Step 2: Trimming the Brisket

Trimming is the first and one of the most crucial steps in preparing a brisket. A brisket consists of two parts: the fatty point on top and the leaner flat beneath. Start by removing the brisket from its packaging, being careful not to spill the juices. Trim the fat cap to about ¼ inch thick—this allows the fat to render properly during the cook. Focus on areas with uneven fat, removing thicker spots to ensure even fat cap rendering. If the tip of the flat is very thin, trim the thinner section to promote even cooking.

Don’t over-trim! Leaving the silver skin and fat intact on the bottom helps retain moisture during the long smoking process. If you’re feeling nervous, remember: it doesn’t have to be perfect, and practice makes progress.

Step 3: Seasoning the Brisket

Seasoning is where the magic begins. Start by slathering the brisket with a seasoning sauce, such as Datu Puti, Golden Mountain or Maggi. Soy sauce works as well. This acts as a binder for the rub and adds a base salty and umami flavor. Then apply some of my Smoke Trails BBQ brisket rub to the bottom. Flip the brisket fat-side-up and slather, apply a thin layer of kosher salt, then more brisket rub. If you prefer to make your own rub you can just mix together a quarter cup each of kosher salt, course black pepper and Lawry’s seasoned salt. 

Step 4: Smoking the Brisket

Preheat your smoker to 250°F. For offset smokers, position the brisket with the point facing the firebox, and place an ambient temperature probe at grate level. If you’re using a pellet grill, be sure to add a water pan beneath the brisket to maintain humidity and protect it from the radiant heat from below.

Smoke the brisket low and slow for several hours, maintaining steady temperatures and managing the fire as needed. Around 5 hours into the cook, the brisket will reach around 145 degrees internal and hit “the stall,” where the internal temperature plateaus due to evaporative cooling. At this point, bump the smoker temperature to 300°F to power through the stall and render the fat cap.

Step 5: Finishing and Resting

After about 10–12 hours, start checking the brisket for doneness. Use an instant read probe to test for tenderness—it should glide in effortlessly, like sliding into butter. The brisket should also be around 200-205 degrees and with gloved hands (cotton gloves with nitrile gloves overtop) you should be able to poke your fingers easily through the muscle fibers in the bottom of the brisket.

After the brisket is tender, remove it and rest in on the counter for 2 hours down to 140 internal. If dinner is still more than 4 hours away you can foil the brisket and put it in a cooler to stay warm. 

Step 6: Slicing

When the brisket is rested down to 140 internal, cut it in half, then continue cutting the flat against the grain into quarter inch slices. 

Next take the point and move the exposed cut surface facing away from you, then make perpendicular cuts against the grain, about 1/4 inch thick. You can slice thicker if the brisket is overdone and falling apart and thinner if the brisket is undercooked and slightly tough.