Braised Brisket Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to braise a brisket? ›

Cook the brisket for several hours, or about 40 minutes per pound. At that point (about seven hours for mine), open the oven door and peel back the foil. Now, stick two forks into the meat and make sure it's fork-tender/falling apart, which means you can pull it apart to some degree.

Often used for other meats that require long, slow cooking on the barbecue, such as ribs, the 3-2-1 method essentially involves firstly smoking the meat as it is for three hours, wrapping it for the second two hours, and finally finishing the cooking unwrapped for the last hour.

You have to sear off the brisket to caramelize the meat before letting it slow-cook in the oven at 275°, so it goes from stove to oven. Afterward, you bring it back to the stovetop to thicken the sauce.

On the other hand, if you cook it too long, the result is dry meat. The fall-apart goodness of this delicious meat is worth every hour.

Danger Zone for Smoking and Grilling Meat

Therefore, you need to find the optimum temperature for meat. As mentioned above, the temperature danger zone is 46°F -140°F (8°C-60°C). Hence, it is better to keep the hot smoking or grill above 158°F (70°C).

There is no magic number for when briskets are done. I've had briskets be done anywhere from 200° – 208°. What are you looking for is for it to feel done.

A heavily debated topic within the BBQ realm is whether to cook a brisket fat-side up or fat-side down. We are here to answer the question once and for all: cook brisket fat-side DOWN. Many believe the theory that when a brisket is cooked fat-side up, the fat renders and naturally braises the brisket. This is not true.

Brisket can be done in a range of 200-210°F (93-99°C), but as a general rule, it's safe to bet on 203°F (95°C). Brisket should be tender but not so tender it's falling apart. You should be able to slice it into pieces that can just hold together, requiring a little pull to come apart.

The temperature of the meat begins to rise again -- which you want because brisket gets more tender the longer you cook it.

Importance of Marbling

The fat melts as it cooks, infusing the brisket with incredible moisture and flavor. Marbling enhances brisket by naturally tenderizing the muscle fibers during low and slow cooking. For those dedicated to their brisket game, the main thing to remember is prioritizing marbling is key.

Why is my braised brisket tough? ›

Brisket contains a lot of connective tissue, which can make it tough. The type of connective tissue in brisket is called collagen. Cook the meat quickly and you get tough, dry meat. Cook a brisket slowly, with some liquid, and the collagen turns into gelatin.

Check for doneness! Start checking after two hours by using your trusty instant-read thermometer. You could pull it at 190°F, but some say that as high as 200°F is the tender, moist sweet spot for braised brisket! Check with your thermometer, yes, but also just look at the meat.

You should not totally remove the fat cap. Fat is flavor, and a small amount lends that burst of juiciness to your brisket slices -- but too much fat would give those slices more of a mushy, slimy mouthfeel. While this is a personal preference, we recommend trimming the fat cap to 1/4 inch with 1/2 inch at the most.

Set your pellet grill to 225℉ and preheat, lid closed, for 15 minutes. Place brisket on the grill grate fat side down, and cook for approximately 6 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 160℉. Remove the brisket from the grill and wrap in butcher paper or foil.

It will take about 1 1/2 to 3 hours to become fork-tender. As soon as it's fork-tender, it's done. Cooking any longer will dry out the meat. With braising, just a little effort yields amazing results.

A 3-pound brisket will typically require 5-6 hours of smoking at the base temperature of 250° F to reach full doneness. If you have more time, you can lower the temperature for a more tender, fall-apart texture.