This is how long to smoke a brisket flat on a pellet smoker. Slow smoked with a dry rub that is sweet and savory that turns out good! Fork tender beef on the smoker with a ton of flavor your whole family will love.

Do you want to smoke a whole brisket flat smoked to perfection? We wondered how worth it it would be with such an expensive cut but it's beyond good. one of our favorite easy smoker recipes with beef, but there are even more….

We were smoking whole this time, or a packer brisket. As you can see here it was quite large, almost 10 pounds but could be cut in half and the other half frozen for later too. We mean it does save well for leftovers but if there are only a few of you then we would buy a smaller piece. We'll go over the timing in a bit for each.

What is the best temperature to smoke a brisket?

225 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal. Anything higher than 250 F isn't considered smoking, but this is high enough to get it tender with a crust on the outside. If you only know How to Make Fall-Apart Brisket in the Oven this one is great because it doesn't heat up the inside of your house and the smoky flavor is fab.

The texture is better this way too. Similar to our air fryer brisket the dry rub gets baked on and a bit crispy too. You can add a bit of heat to make it spicy with a chipotle flair or leave it mild. If yours is large enough you could do half and half too if you wanted to.

Ingredient notes

We made a 10 pound beef brisket wholealso called a packer brisket, the flat cut is best with a thick layer of fat that is soft

Beef broth to keep it nice and moist as it smokes for a lengthy time is key, broth gives more flavor to the meat vs water but any liquid could be used, even beer!!

Brisket Dry Rub

You will need some dry mustard, chili powder, brown sugar, salt and black pepper, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin and some allspice

If you have your own rub that you love, or would prefer to use an already made bottled variety then by all means do. The measurements are easy to throw together. If you wanted to make it hot then use 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or dry Sriracha is even better. And of course you need a pellet grill with grates to set this on.

If you wanted to add heat into the sauce include more chili powder, Sriracha or red pepper flakes in yours. You can see the good crust that forms on the outside below here. Don't fret though because the outside is crusted, the insides will melt in your mouth if you follow the step by step below.

What type of pellets should you use?

Ok so beyond the actual ingredients to make this you will need some wood pellets unless yours uses chips. We are assuming that you already know where they go in your machine, usually pretty obvious, if not refer to your instruction manual. Most don't need the chips wet but older models may. We like Mesquite or Apple varieties.

Should you Sous Vide Brisket Before Smoking?

YES! For a tender brisket, sous vide first! Remove butcher paper, wrap the brisket inside freezer bag or thick plastic and put inside sous vide water. Set temperature to 135° and set inside the warm water for 48 hours. Once done, remove, pat the outside dry a bit and prepare with instructions below.

If you want super bold flavors we suggest that you coat the outsides with our tri tip dry rub. This is sweet and savory also creating a nice crust on the exterior you can see above which we love.

How long do you smoke a brisket flat?

That depends on the size. A small brisket would take less of course. You are going to want 1 hour per pound to smoke brisket and get it to the solid melt in your mouth texture all over. This is of course an estimate and depends a bit on the thickness of your piece and how constant you can keep it at a solid 225 Fahrenheit the entire time but a good gage of sorts.

How do you know when it is done?

The internal meat temperature is what is important to break down the connective tissues so it is easy to slice and chew. You'll want to smoke until meat reaches 195° F for the best texture ever. Allowing it to rest for a lengthy amount of time is important to getting it tender too. We will speak about how to slice against the grain later on too. All important aspects to perfection.

What temperature should brisket be to fall apart?

It should have a super smoke like flavor to it and not be hard to chew. 200-205F internally may seem high but it is a tough piece of protein and needs a high heat to break down the tissues. Slicing correctly, against the grain, will help with tenderizing it too.

When you enjoy it it will already be closer to warm than hot because it needs to rest quite a long time. For this reason it doesn't take long to cool down and store if you do have leftovers. They do save well too though!

How long should brisket rest before slicing?

Remove the brisket from the grill and allow it to sit at room temperature, covered, for 1 hour. Cut across grain and serve with pan drippings or your favorite BBQ sauce. Yes, it takes a while but so worth it. If you feel you don't have the time for this, try our Instant Pot brisket recipe here instead.

Smoked Brisket Flat Recipe

By Traeger brisket flat smoked with dry rub turns out good! Fork tender beef on the smoker with a ton of flavor your whole family will love. Prep: 15 minutes minsCook: 12 hours hrsServings: 12 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

10 lb brisket, whole, flat cut
1 cup beef broth
1/3 cup mustard
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp allspice

Instructions

** For a tender brisket, sous vide first! Place brisket with plastic wrap still in tact and sealed inside sous vide water. Set temperature to 135° for 48 hours. Then remove and prepare as directed below.
Prepare the night before: In a small bowl, mix together dry seasonings, beef broth, and mustard. Place brisket in aluminum pan. Spread mixture all over brisket, top and bottom. Place brisket in pan, fat side up. Cover with aluminum foil. Place in refrigerator overnight.
Take brisket out of refrigerator 1 hour before cooking to reach room temperature. Fill smoker container with hardwood BBQ pellets. Mesquite is a good flavor for this recipe. Prepare smoker by placing 2-3 long sheets of aluminum foil along the bottom of the smoker element, underneath the rack, for easy cleanup. Brush grill rack clean.
Set smoker to smoke. Once it starts smoking, set temperature to 225 degrees F. Smoke brisket in the aluminum pan – inserting meat probes if you're using one.
At the start of the 2nd hour, baste with juices that accumulate in the pan every hour. After 4 hours, check the temperature of the meat with probes or thermometer. Should be 160°.
Cover pan with aluminum foil once it reaches this temperature and smoke until meat reaches 200° F for fall apart texture. Total time will take 8-12 hours or about 1 hour per pound, timing depending on thickness and size.
Remove from smoker and allow brisket to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Cut across grain and serve with pan drippings or your favorite BBQ sauce.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main CourseCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

What to make with leftovers

We have a big roundup of leftover brisket recipes here to choose from. You can of course reheat it as is and enjoy the next day but dicing it up and adding it into another whole meal is sometimes even better. Our brisket mac and cheese is probably our fave.