How to Make the Ultimate Texas Barbecue Brisket in Your Own Backyard



Test cook Bryan Roof makes host Julia Collin Davison a tender and delicious Texas Barbecue Brisket. Then, equipment expert Adam Ried shows host Bridget Lancaster his top pick of coolers.

Get the recipe for Texas Barbecue Brisket:
Buy our winning cooler:

ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America’s Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.

If you like us, follow us:

source

Similar Posts

39 Comments

  1. Damn it. 20 years of making briskets on various smokers: pellet grills, drum smokers, homemade smokers….all were good, none were ever as good as my local Texas bbq joint. Until yesterday…. Amazed how well this worked.

    My 15lb prime (Costco) took 6 hrs to get to 165°. I pulled and wrapped in double butchers paper vs foil. Helps retain the bark, per many experts. I also added some wagyu fat to the paper per many experts. Getting to 205 didn't take long. Probably 90min tops.

    Also, my Weber ran hot with both vents full open. That scared me so I shut down the top about half way so my temp at the vent was about 295. It stayed locked in for the majority of the cook. Again, super impressed with the charcoal snake method. Kudos ATK for working this out!

  2. Just smoked my first brisket today for Thanksgiving 2022! So far it’s been a raging success from the folks who got some right as I was slicing it.

    Thank you! This is gonna be in my permanent rotation!

  3. Thank you for working two years to perfect it and share your secret that’s why I always go straight to your channel buy what you endorse and cook your recipe’s you truly are he best at what you all do!

  4. Two years and 500 lbs of brisket to develop a recipe and cooking method that they could have gotten in five minutes from any number of BBQ channels on youtube… (BBQ with Franklin, Chuds BBQ, Mad Scientist, Hey Grill Hey, AllthingsBBQ, Meat Church, Smoke Trails BBQ, Harry Soo, Bearded Butchers, Jirby BBQ, Guga Foods, Smokin Dad BBQ, and on and on and on….) LOL!

  5. I did this yesterday for a 20 person bbq, it was perfect! timing was to a tee! temperatures hit their mark exactly at the time they say. I had over the top compliments all evening! Amazing! thanks for doing 500 lbs to get this perfect!

  6. Help, please!
    I am going to try this brisket for my dad's 70th birthday.
    I have already bought the brisket and it weighs 20 pounds. This is before trimming off the extra fat.
    What times would you recommend for the grill to adjust, please? Feeling very overwhelmed and maybe even foolish for buying such a large piece of meat.
    Thanks

  7. Brian, over 500 pounds of brisket? I was a xray Pipe Welder and Pipe Fitter on high end construction jobs and worked with very intelligent men (engineers). All of them took my field measurements and updated their prints and files – I never got credit for any of my work. The point is engineers never admit to being wrong with a design or numbers, they just keep on no matter what the cost was. You Mr Brian must have some engineering experience because after a very short time of screwed up meat I would have started looking at the grill as the reason you spent two years and over 500 pounds of brisket. This black round grill you used looks like a Weber but not sure of this and this charcoal snake I have seen used on a Weber 15 years ago because no body can load up this grill with charcoal (has the air inlet on the center of the bottom so red hot coals do fall out on your patio and the air exit damper is on about the 45 degree mark on the lid. You will have draft problems and cold sections with this design. The lid handle is in the center in the way. Great design!) My point is the grill is the problem and a snake <— old design and thought here, is the ONLY way for a long and slow burn with this configuration! I have used my KAMADO for 24 years and it is all still original parts. At that time the only name advertised or demonstrated was Grill Dome but now many name brands are out there. A person can cook for 5 or more hours with out a snake, load up as a grill should be and this grill type will hold the heat and temperature steady for that time period. Your black grill and snake is old thinking. Many other grill designs are better suited for long, slow cooking. I would have more than probably stopped buying you brisket after your fourth mistake – got to be a point in time you look at this and say, are you sure about this Mr Brian? ? Milton here and the only person asking – what were you thinking, two years and 500 pounds of meat — I would like to know who these dummies were that kept on buying you meat?

  8. I have lived in Texas most of my life. At 63 years of age I have smoked probably close to 500 pound brisket my own self. In fact the reason I bought my Oklahoma Joe smoker was specifically cook a brisket and pork shoulder. That’s fine and good when I can cook at home, but occasionally find myself on the road at relatives or other peoples house who don’t have a 600 pound offset smoker. I tried early on to do briskets on their barbecue grills with at best mediocre results. Thank you for perfecting this. As I watched, it all made sense, and I am somewhat surprised I did not figure this out. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you show and watched every episode when it was only on PBS tv, and the internet was not available.

  9. wrapping at 165- 170 range is optional, but it does help shorten cook time. I tend not to wrap but I run a vertical cabinet smoker at 225° and it will hold temp for about twenty hours. Most folks say they cook a brisket for at least ten to twelve hours as a reference for when you want it to be served. if you wrap it to cook once it is off the pit, just leave the wrap on then wrap in a couple of large towels before putting in the cooler and it will hold for hours so you can take it over the river and thru the woods to granny's house. these days the pretty much standard rub is equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic. Yes, I am from Texas and have been trying to cook the perfect brisket since 1972. No BBQ is complete without at least half dozen links of sausage from central Texas on the pit. what he didn't talk about is meat quality, I see no point in paying for a prime cut brisket and tend to go for choice, after all you are going to trim close then cook to render out a lot of that fat till it is practically fall apart tender. I would say if you follow what he did you will get good brisket. the one problem with the Weber is there is not enough cooking surface to toss on a pan of beans or mac and cheese while the meat is cooking.

  10. This recipe works. done this method twice, but I’m getting old and lazy. I’m purchasing a pellet smoker next month. I will still use my new webber, had my first one for 30 years until it fell apart.
    Thank you

Leave a Reply