Next you need to have a whole, untrimmed beef brisket. This is going to weigh in at between 10 and 20 pounds depending on how it is cut and where you get it. A smoked brisket is going to give you about half the weight in meat of the original piece of meat, meaning if you bought a 12 pound brisket you will get about 6 pounds of meat when you are done. This is because of shrinkage during cooking and the fact that there is so much fat in a typical untrimmed brisket.
Knowing your brisket is very important. On one side is a thick layer of hard fat. There is another layer of fat that runs through the middle on the thicker end of the brisket. The large piece of meat that runs along the bottom is called the flat. The meat towards the top side (fat side) is called the point. These two pieces of meat run in different directions and present a challenge when it comes to carving, but we won't get to that for a while.
So, examine your brisket and we'll get started.
The supplies you will need for this are:
- One large, untrimmed beef brisket
- A lot of fuel for your smoker (depending on the type of smoker you have)
- A way of lighting more charcoal outside the smoker (if you are using a charcoal smoker)
- Wood chunks
- A good brisket rub
- Heavy duty aluminum foil
- A meat injection needle
- A reliable meat thermometer
- A good brisket mop
- A shape meat carving knife
- A very large cutting board
This process should be started about 24 hours before you plan on eating.
