How to Smoke Meat for Low and Slow Cooking
We all love a good smoked beef brisket. It’s the perfect food for your Sunday BBQ, weekend lunches, and dinner parties. Unfortunately, smoked beef briskets can cost an arm and leg and can be a hassle to look for. Worry no more because you can actually smoke your own beef brisket in the comfort of your home! Who says you need a smoker to get that juicy, flavourful, and tender beef brisket? Read more to find out how you can smoke a brisket at home.
What is Smoking?
Nope, this is not about lighting up a cigarette and smoking away! Smoking is a low and slow cooking method that requires smoke (of course!) and an indirect heat source. Because it’s a low and slow cooking method, meat is cooked for long periods of time using low temperatures. In older times, smoking meat was a form of preserving meat due to the lack of proper storage, like refrigerators. They hung the meats in small rooms and let the meats get exposed to heat and smoke for hours to days. These days, the term ‘smoking’ is associated with BBQ-ing, and we are well aware of how smoking imparts rich flavours to the meat.
Why choose beef brisket for smoking?
When you think about smoked meats, one of the first things that can pop into your head is the beef brisket. The beef brisket is the cut of meat that comes from the lower chest of the cow. It is considered one of the primal cuts of the cow and is known for having a lot of connective tissue. If it has a lot of connective tissue, shouldn’t the beef brisket become tough when cooked? Yes, it’s true, but smoking helps break down these tissues to produce a tender and juicy smoked brisket. A lot of people choose brisket for smoking because it’s a versatile cut of meat that bursts with flavour, especially if prepared the right way. You get a great bite because of its texture, has the perfect ratio of fat and meat, and makes a great centrepiece during parties!
What is the best wood for smoking brisket?
Smoking meats require you to have quality wood chips on-hand. You can’t smoke without a smoke and heat source! Selecting the right wood chips is important to smoking any kind of meat. It is one of the key factors to consider to achieve the flavour and smell that you want for your BBQ. Each type of wood chip produces unique flavours and aromas, so it’s a plus if you choose the right one. There are so many types of wood chips in the market, but here are the top picks of Pitmasters for smoking beef brisket.
- Mesquite
- Oak
- Hickory
What temperature should I smoke beef brisket?
The right temperature when smoking meats can make or break it. When we talk about smoking beef brisket, the temperature of the smoker should range from 107°C to 125°C. This range can go higher or lower depending on the equipment, the size of the meat, the type of wood, and more.
How do you smoke beef brisket like a pro?
It’s so difficult to resist a slice or two of a perfectly cooked beef brisket. That smokey aroma and its fork-tender meat that bursts with every bite, it’s an experience that’s not so easy to forget! We’re happy to share with you that smoked beef briskets can be made by home cooks like you in your home. Read on to know how to cook a smoke brisket like a pro.
How do you smoke beef brisket with a smoker?
- Choose your beef brisket wisely. It’s better to purchase a whole brisket with intact flat and point muscles. A higher grade of meat will give you better marbling, which will produce a more flavourful result.
- Trim your brisket. You can trim away excess fats and silver skin from the meat. Don’t trim all the fat, though, because you need fat to add more flavour and moisture while smoking.
- Season your beef brisket. Some people would prefer to season with just salt and pepper, while some would go full on with the seasoning, adding garlic powder, onion powder, and more.
- Don’t forget to leave your meat at room temperature before placing it in the smoker.
- Prep your smoker. Add your choice of wood chips to the smoker and ignite them. Preheat your smoker to a temperature of 107°C to 125°C.
- Place your beef brisket in the smoker and smoke for 4 to 7 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 75°C.
- Remove the beef brisket from the smoker and wrap it in foil or parchment paper.
- Place it back in the smoker and let it cook until the internal temperature reaches 95°C.
- Rest the brisket for at least two hours before slicing and serving.
How do you smoke beef brisket with an oven?
Good news! You don’t need a smoker to produce smoked beef brisket. If you have a working oven in your home, you’re more than good to go! Here are the basic steps in smoking beef brisket using an oven.
- Purchase high-quality beef brisket from your local butcher like The Meat Inn Place.
- You can ask them to trim it for you, or you can trim the excess fat and silver skin yourself.
- Use a dry or wet rub to season your brisket. You can use different spices and seasonings, but if you’re a purist, you can simply use salt and pepper.
- Rest overnight.
- Wrap your brisket in foil.
- Place your beef brisket on a roasting pan over water mixed with liquid smoke. You can use any kind of liquid smoke. It’s your personal preference.
- Preheat your oven to 150°C and place your roasting pan inside. Cook your brisket until the internal temperature reaches 83°C.
- Remove the foil and cook the brisket uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 95°C.
- Rest for two hours before slicing.
Low and Slow Smoking FAQ
Yes. You’d be surprised to know that you can actually smoke meats even without a smoker. If you have a dripping pan and some quality wood chips, you can smoke meats inside your oven or use a regular grill.
Trimming the fat off your brisket boils down to personal preference. Some people prefer to have a less fatty brisket for smoking, and some prefer to leave a sizable layer of fat to seal in the flavours of the beef brisket when smoking.
Marinating your beef brisket will produce even greater and more tasty results. Smoking and BBQ Masters prefer to marinate the beef brisket for at least 12 hours or overnight before adding a dry or wet rub. This helps break down tough parts of the meat and allows the flavour to seep into the meat better.
It’s hard to get perfectly cooked smoked beef brisket on the first try. Here are the most common mistakes beginners make when smoking brisket:
- Using the wrong temperature for cooking
- Not giving it enough smoking time
- Not enough resting period
- Over-trimming brisket fat
- Buying poor-quality beef brisket
- Using the wrong type of wood chips
You don’t have to worry about not being able to purchase high-quality beef briskets because they are readily available at your local butchers or online butchers like us at The Meat Inn Place.
