Smoked Brisket Flat | How To Smoke A Beef Brisket Flat on the Big Green Egg

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Brisket Flats make excellent smoked brisket. In this video I smoke a brisket flat on the Big Green Egg. You want to look for a brisket flat that has a uniform thickness with a good layer of fat on the bottom side.

Remove the beef brisket flat from the packaging and rinse under cool water and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove any excess fat from the beef brisket (top) side and any aging from the outer edges. I don’t trim any of the fat from the bottom because it acts as a natural insulator keeping the flat moist.

For smoked brisket rubs, I use a 3 step seasoning method. First the brisket gets a good dose of my AP rub on all sides.

The AP Brisket Rub is:
1 Cup Salt
½ Cup Granulated Garlic (not powder or garlic salt)
¼ Cup Ground Black Pepper

Next the brisket flat gets a layer of The BBQ Rub. Flip the brisket fat side down and pat the seasonings into the meat. For the last layer use a coarse ground Steak Seasoning to give the brisket bark more texture and a little flavor pop.

To cook, get your smoker to a running temp of 250 degrees with a couple of chunks of pecan and hickory for smoke.

Once the smoker has stabilized, place the brisket flat fat side down. The goal here is to keep the lid closed and hold the temperature steady at 250. For the first part of the smoking process we’re looking to get some color on the outside of the beef brisket and raise the internal temperature slowly to 165 degrees. It should take about 4 hours on an 8lb flat like this one. Keep an eye on the brisket color it’s the best indicator at this point. When you see the beef brisket getting dark, it’s time to wrap.

I use a crisscrossed layer of aluminum foil to wrap the smoked brisket. Center the flat on the foil and bring the edges up and around the brisket. Before closing the foil, pour in 1 cup of beef broth for additional moisture. Seal the foil tight and place the smoked brisket back on the smoker.

At this point time is out the window. You want to monitor the internal temperature of the brisket because this is where you can ruin a brisket flat. Brisket Flat is done when it hits right at 200 degrees and if you over shoot it there’s no coming back. I highly suggest investing in a good probe thermometer like the thermoworks DOT or Chef Alarm. At first the temperature will move a little slow but when the flat hits 185 it’s going to gain temperature fast and you need to be there to get it off the pit. It’s also a good idea to test the doneness with a separate thermometer. Not only are you verifying internal temp but you can feel how the probe goes into the meat. It should have little resistance at this point which is a good indicator that it’s done.

This last piece of advice will step your brisket game up big time and that to let the brisket rest for several hours. It’s as simple as wrapping the flat in an old towel and placing in a dry cooler with the lid closed. Leave it in the dry cooler for a minimum of 2 hours, but you can go up to 6 hours. The resting period allows the brisket to calm down and recover some of the moisture lost during cooking.
After a good rest the smoked brisket flat is ready to slice.

Unwrap the foil and place the smoked flat on a cutting board. Don’t just toss the foil out though, all that juice that cooked out can be used for Au Jus after separating the fat off the top.

Before you slice the beef brisket flat locate the direction of the grain. Move out to the edge, and make your first slice Across the Grain. This is crucial, all of your effort will be for nothing if it’s not sliced properly Trust me on this! Don’t be scared to pick up that first slice and inspect it. Make sure you’re hitting it across the grain. After that the rest is easy; just make repeated slices about ¼” wide down the rest of the brisket flat.

If there’s any excess fat on the bottom of the slices you can remove it, but I usually leave it attached because it’s good eating! Brisket, especially the flat, can be tricky to perfect but if you season it well, get some smoke on it for a couple hours, wrap and closely monitor the internal temperature, and last but most important rest for a couple hours… you will be well on your way to brisket nirvana.

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