We Made The Pioneer Woman's Brisket and Her Recipe Did Not Disappoint (2024)

FAQs

What to do with a failed brisket? ›

Reheat it in a moist environment: One of the easiest ways to soften a dry brisket is to reheat it in a moist environment. You can do this by placing the brisket in a covered dish with a small amount of beef broth, water, or tomato sauce. Cover the dish with foil and bake it in the oven until it is heated through.

Remove the brisket from the fridge and uncover. Sprinkle it with the remaining seasonings, then cover it with foil again and place it in the oven to roast for 5-6 hours (plan on approximately 1 hour per pound of meat). Remove the brisket from the oven and remove the aluminum foil.

The day before you plan to cook the brisket, apply a generous amount of brisket rub on all sides of meat and refrigerate overnight. The rub will not only enhance the flavor of the meat, but tenderize it as well. Similar to rubs, the meat should soak overnight in the marinade for maximum flavor absorption.

Our general rule of thumb is to plan on between 30 and 60 minutes per pound when learning how to cook a brisket. For example, a 16-pound brisket cooked at 275 degrees Fahrenheit will take between 10 and 12 hours. The entire process from trimming, injection, seasoning, and cooking will take between 18 and 20 hours.

Coat the brisket with mustard then season it with salt, cracked pepper, and garlic powder. Let it rest overnight. Roast the brisket at 300°F and keep it covered in foil for the first six hours. Uncover the brisket in the last two to three hours of cooking to get a crisp exterior bark.

Ask almost any contestant on the competition barbecue circuit, including Traeger's own Chad Ward, whether to cook a brisket fat side up or down, and you will likely get the same unanimous answer: fat side down.

In the competition BBQ space, many pitmasters cook at 325 degrees F and have great results.

The secret to making a delicious brisket is smoking at a consistent temperature, cooking with indirect heat, and, most importantly, monitoring the brisket's internal temperature to determine when to wrap it and when it is done. It is critical to know when to wrap the brisket.

Marinating helps tenderize tough cuts by breaking up the muscle fibers. But low, slow cooking does that, too, so no need to marinate when you're smoking brisket. Brown and Ayala start with high-grade brisket from a ranch in Iowa, and season it with nothing more than a dry rub of equal parts salt and pepper.

3. Dry rub: This is an important step to enhance the flavor. You can use any rub available on the market or simply smear the brisket with a mix of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Should brisket be wrapped in foil in the oven? ›

Wrapping a brisket in butcher paper or aluminum foil will speed up the cooking process. Wrapping the brisket will prevent what's called "the stall" — when evaporation from the surface of the brisket halts the cooking process.

With a brisket weighing 12 pounds, you can feed up to 24 guests this way. However, if you increase the portion size and are planning to serve half a pound per person, then one person per pound is sufficient. We need to consider that the brisket will shrink a lot after cooking, and you will also.

Slice the brisket into 1/4-inch-thick slices and put the slices into a roasting pan. Cover the sliced meat with the defatted cooking liquid and reheat slowly. All the fat is gone and the meat is tender and juicy.

Yes. There is, in fact, a science behind the Double Smoked Brisket Points. Things we have discussed like caramelization, rendering, and the secret behind why grilled food tastes good.

Wrapped and Back on the Smoker

Place the brisket back in the smoker, this time with the flat facing the heat source. This will help the brisket cook more evenly, and now that the meat is protected, you can expose the flat to a little more heat.

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