Holiday Smoked Brisket

The inspiration for this holiday brisket is from the Passover/Seder meal we prepared at our house.  Like the RED PEPPER CHICKEN WITH OLIVES, the dinner needed to be prepared ahead of time.  With this brisket, I wanted to compliment my chicken dish, or more appropriately stated, please the men – my father and father-in-law – coming to the dinner.  I began the cooking of the brisket on my smoker.

Holiday Smoked Brisket from Feed Your Soul Too

Holiday Smoked Brisket

I have a big learning from the cooking of this brisket.  How long do you cook the brisket during primary cooking sequence?  The learning is simple.  Cook the brisket all they way and plan on re-warming it when you are ready to serve it.  It is very hard to partially cook tough cuts of meat.  The cooking of tough cuts of meat needs to be thorough.  In trying to understand the SCIENCE of cooking the brisket, I found an article explaining that the ultimate balance is cooking at a low enough temperature to break down the connective tissue but not too hot or the meat will get tough.  In this cooking of the brisket, I cooked it for 5 – 6 hours in the smoker and a couple of hours in the oven.

The above cooking was not enough time even with additional cooking on the day of serving it.  So the ultimate learning is that the brisket needed to be cooked completely on the primary day of cooking.  My brisket was not as tender as I wanted.  I saved it a little the next day by putting it into a pressure cooker. The additional cooking in the pressure cooker softened it some more but not as much as I would have liked.  LESSON LEARNED.  

The spice brisket (don’t be shy).

The Spiced Brisket

The brisket place on the smoker.

Brisket Placed on the Smoker

The brisket taken off the smoker.

Brisket out of Smoker

The Holiday Smoked Brisket plated.

Holiday Smoked Brisket plated

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Holiday Smoked Brisket

When cooking your main course ahead of time, be sure you cook your Holiday Smoked Brisket all the way through to ensure tenderness.

Course dinner

Cuisine beef, holiday meal, smoker

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 12 hours

Total Time 12 hours 20 minutes

Servings 16 people

Author Feed Your Soul Too

Ingredients

• 13 Lbs Flat Brisket with Fat Cap
• 3 Tbsp Seasoned Salt
• 2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika

Instructions

1. Prepare your smoker with cherry and hickory wood.

   Season the brisket liberally with the spices.

   Cook the brisket for 6 hours on the smoker.  Move inside and cook for at least another 6 hours in a 225 - 250 degree oven.

   If serving a couple of days later as I was, put in a 225 degree oven for 60 - 90 minutes prior to serving.  I put the brisket in a big foil tray with carrots and onions and 4 - 6 cups of chicken stock.

   Let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

   Serve and enjoy!