Start with a good brisket. Look for a 15 – 16lb Choice or better brisket sourced from Sam’s, Costco, or Kroger. Look for a thick flat, not too much fat, and no scalped marks. If you’re willing to spend a little more money for better quality, check out 44 Farms, Porter Road, or Snake River Farms.

Trim your brisket into a nice shape. Because briskets can come small, large, scalped, mounded in fat, and everything in between, the trick is to trim your brisket into a consistent shape so that you have a consistent slice on the cutting board.

Keep your seasoning simple. Start with a 2:1 ratio of 16 mesh black pepper to Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. The granules of the pepper and the salt are similar in size and stick to the brisket well, which will help you create an epic bark. Once you’re comfortable with this method, experiment with other brisket rub recipes. Our Brisket Rub recipe is allegedly the recipe Aaron Franklin uses.

Maintain an even heat. Depending on the size and type of your smoker, cook your brisket between 200° – 300°F for about 8 hours before wrapping and about 4–5 hours after wrapping. Pellet and smaller stick burning cookers can cook at the lower temperatures with similar time results because of the smaller cook chamber. Larger stick burning pits can cruise along at 275° – 300°+ with no ill effects on the meat inside. If using a pellet smoker and you would like a little more smoke, use a smoke tube.

Look for color changes. During the cook, a brisket will change its color and shape as it takes on smoke, renders fat, and loses water weight. First it will turn a light then darker mahogany color, then brown, then dark brown, then almost black.

Wrap it at the right time. Once it turns almost black the brisket will start to sweat and sparkle as fat renders from the top and cascades down the bark. Once this happens and the brisket reaches an internal temp of 165°–175°F in the center of the flat, this is the point of the cook known as “the stall.” At this point, it’s time to wrap the brisket.

Wrap using the foil metal jacket. Place a 24-inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil horizontally on the table. Place a second sheet of 18-inch aluminum foil on the table perpendicular to the horizontal sheet. Place the brisket horizontally on top of the crossed sheets of foil and crimp the foil outward along the edges of the brisket until it has formed a nice, tight to the body, foil metal jacket. This allows the fat cap of the brisket to get crispy during the higher heat of the finish while the lean stays moist in its own residual juices.

Pull the brisket when it’s tender. All briskets cook a little differently, with some finishing to tenderness at a perfect 203°, while some finish at 200°. What you’re looking for is a tender brisket slice that will yield to gentle pressure and not just fall completely apart. You’re looking for the ability to just barely penetrate the meat fibers on the bottom of the brisket. You can also check for tenderness using a probe, which should feel like inserting a shish kabob skewer into a jar of peanut butter.

Give the brisket a long rest. A long rest will redistribute all the juices and fat within the meat and make the brisket hold onto that moisture instead of it escaping into the air as steam and juices on the cutting board. The goal is to keep the temperature of the brisket hovering around 155° during its rest. The general rule of thumb is the higher the rest temp, the lower the pull temp and vice versa. Use your own equipment and figure out what works best. The main rule is If a brisket is too hot to hold with a single layer rubber glove, it’s too hot to cut.

Carve the brisket properly. Slice your briskets in half to separate the point from the flat. Using a 12″ serrated bread knife, slice the flat parallel to the first cut in about 1/4″ thick slices. Use long strokes to get through the crust, then a couple quick strokes to get through the meat, and finally, drag the tip of the knife on the board to make sure all the strands of meat are fully cut. Slice the point perpendicular to your first cut and just a little thicker than the lean slices (about 1/3″ slices).