How to smoke brisket in an electric smoker is not a tiresome process at all. The introduction of electric smokers in the world of barbecue has created ease and comfort in the lives of barbecue lovers.
Above all, the market is overwhelmed with other types of smokers like charcoal smokers and propane smokers. But the use of electric smokers has made the job of smoking brisket easy for you. So let’s see how to smoke brisket in an electric smoker carrying the natural smoky flavor and mouthwatering taste.
Table of Contents
Step by Step Guide on Smoking Brisket in an Electric Smoker
Using an electric smoker ensures the smoking meat experience for all levels of user. Electric smoker makes the smoking brisket an entirely different and easy story.
What are the Things We Need Before Smoking Brisket in Electric Smoker?
Choosing the right brisket is a tricky process. If you have no idea of purchasing the meat, you can buy the imperfect one. If you are the regular purchaser of meat, then keeping the right standards of buying brisket in mind, you can save not only your time but also can save money. Always try to select the brisket that has a heavy layer of fat over it. The fat will add juices and moisture to your brisket when it is cooked. So selecting the right brisket will enable you to smoke healthy meat.
The brisket is the area of an animal under the first five ribs. Moreover, brisket is the part of the meat that comes from the breast section of the animal. It is a boneless area, and the weight mostly depends upon the size of the animal. Usually, it is large. Due to its large size, you may not want to smoke it fully. So, for your convenience, you can cut it into two pieces.
Furthermore, before choosing the right brisket, it must be kept in mind that brisket should be flexible. It should have fewer connective tissues. Bending the brisket, you can judge the quality. The more it bends, the good quality it will be.
If it has lesser connective tissues, it will turn easily. The brisket should be selected, keeping in mind the size of it. The number of people determines the size and weight. The size of a smoker and the experience of the chef also determine the size of the brisket. You have the option to select from a 5lb cut to the largest one.
To add this, make sure that brisket piece has enough fat marbling. For this, the piece must be up to 5lb. Upon heating, the fat will turn into juices. The juices will get mixed in the meat, and smoking the brisket will result in juicy food.
Trim the Brisket
After purchasing the brisket, the next step is to trim it. You need to set it in the final shape. Don’t freeze it after buying because you can’t trim it when it is feezed if you do this. If you don’t know how to trim it, follow the instructions below.
Just keep the top layer of fat by ¼ inch remove the extra one. In case of any hard fat, remove it because the excessive fat will spoil your dish.
If you find the thickness of meat is less than one inch, it removes it because it will burn to spoil the taste during the smoking process.
Trim the whole piece in a nice round shape because the nice shape of the smoked brisket will make you admire it. Besides, remove any raggedy pieces or small unnecessary fats.
Trim the brisket so nicely and keep the chunk only that looks beautiful in shape.
Important note
For trimming the brisket, you must have a 7-8-inch-longsharp blade knife. This type of knife paves the way for trimming the brisket in perfect shape.
Preparing the Brisket
The look of your smoked brisket is the first impression that you make on the minds of others. So, to prepare the brisket, it is necessary to keep in mind the right way of slicing as the brisket consists of two main muscles.
One is the “flat”; it is the long muscle and the below section of the total length. The flat has a thick layer of fat on the top of it, called the “fat cap’.
The other section is called the “point,” which is at the end of the brisket. There is a fat layer between the point and flat.
Moreover, from an important point of view, a flat is the most liked part of some brisket people. It covers most of the brisket. On the other hand, the joint comprises intramuscular fat. However, you can choose one section for cooking or can experience smoking the whole. The choice is yours as what do you want to cook?
Furthermore, for a beginner, it is important to know how to smoke a brisket. Usually, a brisket is available at normal room temperature. Most people want to know what should be the ideal temperature for smoking the brisket. If you feezed the brisket after trimming it, you need to bring it to normal temperature; this put it in warm water for some time. Until it turns in moldable shape, could you remove it from the water?
In addition to this, as soon as the meat comes to normal room temperature, it is time to marinate it. Rub the meat with hard hands. Rub the piece nicely so that the spices may absorb in the innermost layer to make it delicious.
Rubbing is the most important factor; if the marination is with a soft hand, it will remain on the upper surface only. To mix it well, it needs your attention and care. It is the process that makes your brisket delicious.
After marinating, cover the brisket with aluminum foil. Cover the meat tightly in foil. As you put the brisket in aluminum foil, please don’t put it in the refrigerator at a freezing point. If the brisket freezes, the innermost meat will remain to fail to absorb marination properly.
In addition to this, it also will be a good idea to put your brisket in a clay bowl. Put the clay bowl at room temperature, covering it with aluminum foil. You can put the marinated brisket inside for 10-12 hours. The benefit of using a clay bowl is that it will not get feezed and will absorb all the stuff.
Despite all your efforts, the innermost layers of meat will not absorb marination. So, for deep marination, before putting the meat in the smoker, use marination injections. Don’t inject in the fatty layers; inject deep inside the lean portion of meat.
Important Note
For good results, don’t inject brisket right after marination; inject it when you intend to smoke. Before putting it in the smoker, inject the brisket.
Set Your Electric Smoker
Now is the time to put your brisket in the smoker; before that, it is important to preheat your electric smoker. For this, adding wood chips is essential. There are many types of wood chips that you can add according to the type of your meat and your taste. But in our opinion, hickory wood is best for smoking brisket. Besides, it is up to you, and you are free to add according to your taste.
Moreover, be sure that you don’t soak the wood chips. Add it as dry. Because when you soak it, it adds moisture to the food, not the smoke. It starts releasing smoke when it gets dry. As soon as you added the wood chips preheat your unit and wait for the temperature to settle at 225 degrees/110-degree F. Balancing the temperature in the right way will enable you to smoke the even brisket. Stick the meat probe in the thicker portion of meat to predict the temperature.
Furthermore, it is also an important issue for a beginner to place the brisket in the smoker. Whether, to put the fats on upwards or downwards. You must put the fats upwards because if you put it downwards, all the fat will drop down on reaching heat. To add the juices to the brisket, place it as fats upwards on the rack.
To add this, as the brisket is heavy in size, you can change the sides after almost two hours. In this way, even heat will ensure better smoking. The ratio of smoking brisket in an electric smoker goes as
One pound = one Hour
Five pounds = Five hours
If your brisket is 5lb after trimming after five hours, it will be well smoked. The type of meat and atmosphere also affect the smoking timing. You need to check the internal temperature. If your smoker does not have an inbuilt thermometer, you need to purchase a separate one for getting the temperature.
When your thermometer gives the reading around 175 F, wrap the brisket in the aluminum foil. Foil ensures heat transmission in the innermost part of the brisket, saving moisture as well. Keep your brisket in the condition and wait for 30 minutes. Now your brisket is ready.
As soon as your brisket is smoked, it is time to cut the larger piece into small slices for serving to the guests. Take a long BBQ ten inches knife and a cutting board. The cutting board must be larger than the brisket so that you can move your hands and arms freely during making cuts. Starting from the pointed side of your brisket, make cuts in the narrow piece. Cut the pieces in nice shape, and the width of the piece must not be more than an inch.
In addition to this, in the middle of your brisket, you will find two muscle partitions. You need to stop here and take the big uncut chunk aside. You will find the two muscles here when you see inside from the cut part. On pressing the brisket, you see juice dripping from it.
Now rotate your brisket to the tackled part towards you and the uncut part in the opposite direction. If you intend to cut the part in two pieces, you will lose the previous rhythm and get an unstable cut. Besides finding the fat, remove it as it is not servable. Start cutting, maintaining the shape. Cut the bit thicker as it is the softer part.
After that, when the whole piece is cut into pieces, it is time to serve. Take the BBQ sauce for applying to save it from drying. You can use the homemade sauce for this purpose.
Final Note
Our guide, “how to smoke brisket in an electric smoker,” contains the whole information about smoking brisket in an electric smoker. To get the delicious smoky brisket, you must have a good quality smoker and meat probe. If you are a beginner, you must follow all the steps as it is and if you are moderate or an expert, you can modify according to your accord. Your concentration is the only key that brings better results.
Besides, if you have some suggestions, let us know through the comments below.
