Texas brisket (low + slow)

brisket · verified system recipe · Central Texas tradition — hand-curated

Pit temp
250°F
Wrap at
165°F
Pull at
203°F
Total time
~11.0 hr

Phase timeline

360m
240m
60m
Smoke (bare)Wrap (butcher paper)Resttotal: 11h 0m

Step-by-step

  1. 1. Smoke (bare)

    → 165°F · ~360 min

    225-250°F pit, post oak. Spritz with apple juice + water 1:1 every 45 min after the bark sets (~hr 3).

  2. 2. Wrap (butcher paper)

    → 203°F · ~240 min

    Wrap tight in pink butcher paper once bark is mahogany and probe slides into the flat with mild resistance.

  3. 3. Rest

    ~60 min

    Vent in foil-lined cooler with towel underneath. Internal will carry to ~208°F.

Rub
Coarse kosher salt + 16-mesh black pepper, 50/50 by volume
Spritz / mop
Apple juice + water, 1:1
Wrap method
butcher_paper
Rest method
vented_cooler
Minimum rest
60 min

📐 Scale for guests

Target weight
2.2 lb
0.55 lb/guest
Cuts needed
1
~12 lb per cut
Cook time / cut
10h 0m
+ 60m rest

Each cut cooks at its own rate — even if you double up, plan the same hours. For very large crowds, run multiple cuts in parallel and stagger by 30 min.

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