How to Smoke a Brisket in an Electric Smoker
This is a simple and delicious smoked brisket recipe using a BBQ electric smoker. In this recipe, I wrap my brisket in butcher paper during the cooking process to avoid the stall—this is totally optional; you can also use aluminum foil.
Equipment
- aluminum foil / butcher paper
- spray bottle
- Smoker
- Wood Chips
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp BBQ Rub if you want to make your own, follow the recipe below
Spice Rub
- 3 tbsp chili powder use 1 – 2 if you don't like too much spice
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp oregano preferably fresh if not dried is fine
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 3 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper leave out if you don't like spice
- 1 tsp onion powder
Brisket
- 1 7 lbs brisket
- 1/2 cup Apple juice beer, cider, stock, or water for basting
Instructions
- Trim your brisket. Trim any excess fat, the deckle and any silver skin. Make sure you trim the fat layer so the brisket is even so you get a nice even cook.
- Dry rub your brisket. In a medium bowl, add the chili powder, kosher salt, black pepper, brown sugar, oregano, garlic salt, onion powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper and mix thoroughly.
- Make sure to coat your brisket evenly using all the rub. Depending on the size of your brisket, you may need to double the rub recipe to coat it fully. The rub will help add flavor to the brisket and help the bark form.
- Preheat your smoker to 225°F, following the manufacturer's instructions. I like to use mesquite or hickory for brisket; however, feel free to use your favorite wood chips.
- Once you have preheated your smoker to 225°F and you have a clean smoke, add in your brisket fat side up. Set your thermometer and water pan, and then close her up. You want to smoke your brisket for 3 hours without opening the smoker. At 3 hours, open the smoker and spray it with your chosen basting liquid. Do this every 30 minutes.
- If you find internal temp reaches 145°F then start to slow down, you maybe experiencing “the stall”. It can take hours for the temperature to get from 145 degrees F to 165 degrees F.
- You can wrap the brisket it in aluminum foil or unwaxed butcher paper. Be sure to make sure that there are no holes or open spots. Give your brisket a baste with your water/beer/cider, or juice mixture before wrapping. This will ensure it doesn’t dry out.
- Smoke for a further 3 – 4 hours or until you achieve an internal meat temperature of 195 – 203°F in the thickest part.
- For best results let your brisket meat rest wrapped in a towel in a cooler for around 1 hour, or until it has reached a temperature of 170°F.