Of all the things you need to know about brisket, perhaps the most important (and infamous) is that this lean cut can easily turn out tough and dry. Since it’s full of connective tissue, the beef takes a long time to become tender, yet the meat’s relatively low fat content doesn’t help it retain much moisture as the hours go by. To help you treat this complicated cut right, we asked grill master Silvio Correa of Silvio’s BBQ about the perfect temperatures for cooking and serving.
“I go with low and slow, around 225 degrees Fahrenheit,” Correa reveals, echoing the classic barbecue mantra. This is definitely on the safe end, as setting your smoker any higher than 275 degrees is generally not recommended. The hotter the environment, the more quickly the beef will lose its juices, and you’ll be in trouble if it dries out before its tough tissues turn tender.
Correa also advises, “Don’t stress about exact timing; it’s all about the internal temp.” While some guides say to cook brisket for a certain amount of time per pound, it’s really not a “set-and-forget” kind of cut. Testing your brisket with a thermometer is a more reliable way to track its doneness and avoid overcooking it. The grill master explains that “brisket usually hits that sweet spot around 203 degrees Fahrenheit,” making your brisket “tender and delicious every time.”
More tips to avoid overcooked and dry brisket
There are a few tips that you should know to help you cook your brisket to Correa’s perfect temp. Firstly, brisket is made of two cuts: the point and the flat. The “point cut” (also called “the deckle”) has a thicker, pointed shape and more fat than the thinner, rectangular “flat cut.” The point is usually more tender and juicy, while the flat offers more even thickness all around. Test the temperature of a flat cut a bit earlier than you would with a point or whole brisket, as the thinner shape means it might cook faster.
Also, avoid mistakes with your meat thermometer, such as poking it into a thin area of the beef, especially when working with the point cut. The deckle’s irregular shape makes it a tad more fussy to get an accurate reading. But no matter which cut of brisket you get, never rush the prep process, which starts before you put it in the smoker or oven. Bring the meat to room temperature first, rather than cooking it straight out of the fridge, and allow your appliance to preheat fully. These steps help the meat to cook evenly, with no risk of an overdone exterior paired with an interior that’s still not ready.
Finally, over-trimming the meat is one of the biggest brisket mistakes that can make the beef dry, even if you cook it to the perfect temp. If your brisket comes with a big layer of fat attached, only trim it down to ¼ inch minimum.
