By Steven Raichlen
- Total Time
- 7 to 8 hours, plus optional resting
- Rating
- 4(93)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Packer brisket is what you order at a barbecue restaurant. The brisket flat (the leaner, flatter of the two muscles that comprise a whole brisket) is what you’re more likely to find at the supermarket. Lacking the generous marbling of a packer, the flat tends to toughen and dry out during a long slow cook on your grill or smoker. But two simple techniques deliver a moist, tender brisket flat every time. The first is to cook the flat in a foil pan to shield the lean meat from the heat. The second is to drape the brisket flat with a layer of bacon, which renders its fat during cooking, basting the meat and keeping it moist. Then there’s the bonus: You get to eat barbecued bacon along with your brisket.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 1(4- to 5-pound) brisket flat with at least a ¼-inch layer of fat on top
- Coarse sea salt
- Cracked or freshly ground pepper
- Red-pepper flakes (optional)
- 12thick-cut bacon slices (about 12 ounces)
- Sliced white bread or brioche buns, for serving
- Barbecue sauce (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
894 calories; 73 grams fat; 28 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 31 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 52 grams protein; 712 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Place the brisket in a 9-by-13-inch disposable aluminum foil drip pan and generously season the top, bottom and sides of the brisket with salt, pepper and, if you like your brisket spicy, red-pepper flakes. Set the brisket with the lean side up. (The lean side is the flatter, less fatty side.)
Step
2
Light your grill, smoker or cooker (such as a Big Green Egg) and heat it to 250 degrees. If using a kettle grill, start with less charcoal than you would for grilling a steak: A third to a half chimney starter will do it. If using a smoker, place a large heat-proof bowl of water in the smoke chamber. (This is optional, but it creates a humid environment that will keep your brisket moist and help the smoke adhere to the meat.) Add wood as specified by the manufacturer to generate smoke. If using a kamado-style cooker, set up a top-down burn: Load the fire box with lump charcoal, interspersing it with wood chunks or chips. Light 3 or 4 coals on top in the center; gradually, they’ll burn down, igniting the coals and wood beneath them.)
Step
3
Transfer the brisket in its pan to the smoker and smoke for 1 hour.
Step
4
Using tongs, flip the brisket so the fat side is on top. Neatly drape the top of the brisket with half the bacon slices. Cook the brisket until the bacon is deeply browned, about 3 hours. Refuel your cooker as necessary, adding wood as needed to generate a steady stream of smoke. Remove the browned bacon slices (and feel free to snack on them as a reward for your patience). Shingle the remaining uncooked bacon slices over the top of the brisket, overlapping them slightly.
Step
5
Continue cooking the brisket until the bacon and top of the brisket are deeply browned and the internal temperature registers 200 to 205 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, another 3 to 4 hours. There should be a nice pool of bacon and brisket fat in the bottom of the pan. Refuel your cooker as needed.
You can eat the brisket immediately, but it will be moister and more tender if you let it rest in the drip pan, covered with foil, in an insulated cooler for 1 hour.
Step
7
To serve, transfer the brisket to a cutting board. Cut across the grain into ¼-inch slices, or as thickly or thinly as you desire, slicing the bacon along with it (or serving it on the side). Spoon any juices from the cutting board over the brisket, along with any pan drippings, to taste. Form sandwiches with bread or serve it on the side. Here, too, barbecue sauce is optional, but if you serve it, try the meat by itself first to appreciate the interplay of smoke and spice.
Ratings
4
out of 5
93
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Cooking Notes
John Willis
Can I do this on a gas grill?
Kitty Wumpus
Gas Grill question. I used to do everything on my gas grill, since I didn't have a smoker. You can't expect to do it perfect the first time, so play around a bit with low setting on 1/2 and off on the other half where you put the meat. I used an aluminum pan with chips, not a box or wrapped. Seemed to be equally as good. Then I got a Green Mountain Grill. Oh wow, so easy comparatively, and no need to fill the pan every few hours. Pricey, but worth it.
David
Did it in my oven low and slow exactly as written. Came out great. Seasoned w smoked paprika cayenne pepper and a small touch brown sugar.
Fxl Shultz
Smoked and cooked this on a Traeger , using oak pellets. Nine hours at 225 degrees, rested for three hours double wrapped in an insulated cooler. Simply delicious.
Paul
Cooked a 15 lb brisket with the bacon for 11 hrs and took it to a party and recieved complements from everyone there. They said the brisket was so moist and tasted so good. Will be cooking another one for sure.
Matt
I cooked a 6lb flat that had a 1/4-1/2 inch fat cap. I followed the recipe using a BGE and my brisket was ready in 7 hours total at a cooking temp of 250-275. I’m not sure if the bacon was necessary but it was certainly a good snack. Good recipe!
Chuck D.
I made this for the 4th of July this yr.! I was up @ 4:30am to start the fire in my BGE. My only regret was that I didn't smoke a larger Flat, as those that never RSVP'ed actually showed up...No bbq sauce needed. Another Reichlen gem!
Kate
About the gas grill question... here’s some of the linked text: “I’ve never had much luck barbecuing a brisket on a gas grill. (It’s hard to run one at 250 degrees, and it’s even harder to generate enough wood smoke.) If you do use a gas grill, Mr. Lewis suggests placing a metal pan with lit charcoal and wood chunks on the grate next to the meat.”
John Willis
Can I do this on a gas grill?
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