Smoke Brisket on a Pellet Grill
The trickiest barbeque item is the brisket, and it gets even more difficult when you don’t have proper gears. Form gears, we mean the smokers or grillers. The pellet grill is the ultimate solution for smoking brisket.
Providing the versatility of grilling, smoking, braising, cooking, and baking all at once, the pellet grills are the game-changers. The pellet grills are as easy to use as the oven. From auto-start to auto temperature control, you can take the guesswork out of smoking. So let’s see how to smoke a brisket on a wood pellet grill?
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Ingredients for smoking brisket
You will need:
- A whole 10 – 12 lbs. beef brisket, packer cut
- One tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. ground pepper
- One tbsp. kosher salt
- 2 tsp. sugar
Tools for Smoking Brisket
You should get:
- A pellet grill, preferably pit boss pellet smoker
- A meat probe if the grill does not have one
- A drip pan or aluminum pan
- Butcher paper
- A boning knife
- A big bowel
- Basting brush
3 Steps for perfectly smoked brisket on a pellet grill
We are mentioning the stepwise method of smoking brisket.
Step 1 (Trimming)
The brisket has marbled fat so, to get the perfect bark, you need to cut the brisket’s fats. For this, you will require a nice chef knife for perfect trimming. If you are afraid of your knife skills, I suggest watching the below video for perfectly trimmed brisket.
Why Trim The Brisket?
It is never a good idea to shower some seasoning on brisket and throw in the griller. The brisket is a whole chunk of meat that comes with a lot of fat marbled over. You might say that fat enhances flavor, so why cut it off. The reason to do so is to get the perfect bark. If the fat is marbled on the meat, you cannot apply the rub on the meat, which, as a result, will not make for the perfect bark.
Note: While trimming the fat, don’t peel all the fat as it will make for dry brisket
Step 2 (Season the Brisket)
Once done with the trimming, wash the brisket and then pat dry with paper towels. Now get the bowl and put all the spices and toss the brisket in it. Generously cover the brisket in the rub and leave for few hours or overnight for marinating.
Related: Smoke Turkey on a Pellet Grill
Step 3 (Start Smoking)
Now, this is the trickiest part, but for your understanding, I will elaborate it in steps:
- Fill the pellet grill hopper with pellets and turn on your country smoker.
- Get the temperature in between 225F to 250F.
- Now put the brisket(fat side up) in an aluminum tray and place it in the grill.
- Close the lid.
- Now check the meat hour to hour and also baste the brisket with the accommodated juices in the tray.
- When the mahogany-colored crust is formed on the brisket, or the temperature reaches 205F, then wrap it in the butchers’ paper and again place it in the grill for 2 to 3 hours.
- Now remove the brisket and let it rest for some time, i.e., from 45 mins-120 minutes; this resting will distribute the moisture evenly.
- Now to serve the brisket, get a boning and large cutting board and make fine slices.
So you see how easy it was to smoke brisket on pellet grills. To make it more concise, I’m mentioning some tips to get perfect bark every time.
Tips for perfect smoking of brisket
- When trimming the brisket, leave a quarter-inch of fat as it will make for perfect tenderness.
- Trim the brisket when it’s cold as it will not stick to the knife and make for ideal trimming.
- Trim with a sharp knife.
- If you are a first-timer, then don’t experiment with seasoning and stick to salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and sugar.
- If the smoked brisket slice drape over the finger, you can tell it is perfectly smoked.
- Do not trust the temperature gauges, and use food probes or thermometers.
- Use butcher paper for wrapping as it absorbs some moisture and makes for perfect crusty bark.
- For each pound of brisket, consider one hour of smoking time; for example, for a 3Ib brisket, consider 3 hours and 10 lbs. brisket flat considers 10 hours depending on temperature.
Final take
Low and slow cooking that giant beef prime is not easy. But thanks to pellet grills, which cut out babysitting brisket for hours. From or guide, you can see that smoking brisket is as easy as 1, 2, 3. First, you trim it, then season it, and then smoke it.
The above guide gave you a good insight into how to smoke a brisket on a pellet grill. I hope this guide be helpful to you. But remember that it’s the practice that makes for the perfect bark. I hope you get the perfect brisket out of your smoker every time.
