If you are looking for an epic Traeger Brisket Recipe, look no further than Taylor Carroll’s complete guide on how to smoke brisket on your pellet smoker! (this recipe works on any smoker by the way! ) While Brisket is often a feared cook, this whole packer Traeger Brisket Recipe will make you look like a pro! And, if you are looking to smoke a brisket point or flat on your smoker, Robyn’s Better Than Sex Brisket recipe is the #1 recipe on this site! Let’s do this!!

Brisket—for many, it is a feared cook, but I am here to tell y’all the truth about how to cook brisket. It is not hard! There are four key elements to how to cook the perfect brisket: 

1. Time
2.  Patience
3. A quality piece of meat
4. People you love to share it with

How Long Do You Cook Brisket?

Like Boston butt, this Traeger Brisket Recipe (and any whole packer brisket recipe!) requires a long cook time to allow everything to break down to achieve a silky mouth feel and juicy slices. I’m going to let y’all in on my method: I estimate for about an hour and 15 minutes per pound of meat (NOTE, this will vary depending on your cook temp). I like to cook low and slow so that the meat proteins and fat render with your spice rub to create a thick and crispy bark, and I always use whole packer briskets, either prime or wagyu. This 15 lb. packer Brisket took a total of 17 hours. 

I recommend Snake River Farms if you are looking for Prime or Wagyu Brisket– their quality can’t be beat! 

Trimming hard fat from the brisket.

Seasoning the brisket after the hard fat has been trimmed.

How Do you Cook Brisket on the Grill?

I wrap the brisket in butcher paper when the internal temp hits between 165 F to 175 F. I do not add any liquid to the wrap, and it won’t need it. Typically, liquid is added to make a brisket less dry, but good brisket has plenty of moisture.

I pull my brisket off the smoker once it probes like room temperature butter, or a fresh jar of peanut butter, which is typically between 195-205 F.

I let it rest wrapped in its OG wrapping plus an old towel the settle it into a cooler for one to three hours before unwrapping and slicing to serve.

The rest is the key to success. All the juices settle in, and the time apart just makes the heart grow fonder for serving time.

Pellet smokers are pretty awesome for making long cooks like Brisket an easy endeavor.

Here is the Brisket before it gets wrapped in butcher paper.

Wrapping in butcher paper – if you can’t find butcher paper locally you can buy it here.

The Importance of Accurate Temperature

If you are going to take the time to do a 17 hour cook for this Traeger Brisket Recipe, please make sure you have an accurate Thermometer. Many smokers come with their own internal read thermomter but don’t trust that alone- It is important to cross reference with a good thermometer.

If you don’t have a Thermapen yet, run, don’t walk to get one. The Thermapen now gives ONE SECOND readings. This is important because the faster you read the temp, the less time you spill heat out of your smoker. 

You can read the Review of the Thermapen One on our Recommended Products Page. 

What is a Smoke Ring?

Spoiler alert—it does nothing to the flavor. However, if you are looking for a deep smoke ring, properly seasoned wood is necessary in achieving it. When the wood is burned it releases nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, which cause the myoglobin to turn smoke ring red and prevents it from turning brown.

Myoglobin will no longer be affected once the internal temp is above 140F; that is when it denatures into the brown hemichrome pigment. Do your research and buy a high-quality pellet, that isn’t made from random sawdust if the smoke ring is important to you. This might sound wild, but not all pellets are created equally!

Drool-worthy slices of brisket after its had time to cool.

What are burnt ends?

Burnt ends are made from the fattier section of the brisket called the point. The point and flat are separated by a layer of fat, you can find the natural separation with your hands easily and remove the point to process it for another use. Start by separating them and then cube up the point, toss it with some of your favorite BBQ sauce, throw it in a baking dish, and place it back on the smoker for another 2 hours.

Now that you’ve been schooled on everything you need to know to make this Traeger brisket recipe on your grill or smoker, it’s time to prepare! You will need to work backward to figure out when you will need to put your smoker on the grill based on when you want to eat. A 15 lb packer brisket will take about 17 hours so plan to put the smoker on the night before. If you don’t have an easy to use pellet smoker that will do the work for you of maintaining temp, a tool like the @grillgirlrobyn !

How to Cook Brisket on the Grill: The Complete Guide

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• Author: Taylor Shulman Carroll
• Total Time: 17 hours and 20 minutes
• Yield: 1 full packer brisket: enough to feed a small army 1x

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Description

If you are looking to make a Brisket on your grill or smoker, this recipe will give you the steps to successfully smoke a whole packer brisket with delicious results!

NOTE: For this recipe, I used a 15-pound brisket and cooked it for 17 hours.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Rub

Sunshine State of Mind seasoning

OR

• ¼ c kosher salt
• ¼ c cracked pepper

OR

• 2 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 tbsp. paprika
• 1 tbsp. ancho powder
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. chipotle powder
• 1 tbsp. onion granules
• ½ tbsp. garlic granules
• ½ tbsp. black pepper

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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Instructions

1. Fill the hopper with high quality pellets, place a drip pan down to save yourself clean up, and heat the smoker to 225 F.
2. Trim off any hard fat and cut the fat cap down to only about ¼-inch in thickness.
3. Cover the brisket thoroughly in your rub of choice, place the probe in the thickest part of the meat (avoiding large sections of fat) and set your alarm between 165-175 F.
4. When the alarm goes off, wrap the brisket tightly in butcher paper and place it back on until it probes soft, between 195-203 F. Then rest it in a cooler.
5. Once rested for a minimum of 1 hour and max of 4, cut it up and serve!

Notes

If you do not have a good thermomter on your smoker, I HIGHLY recommend using a Thermapen for all BBQ and Grilling, and for long cooks like this one I recommend the Chef Alarm to notify you when you have hit the internal temp you are looking for.

If you are looking to find Prime or Wagyu Brisket, Check out Snake River Farms American Wagyu.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 17 hours
• Category: BBQ, TEXAS BBQ, American BBQ, BBQ Brisket
• Method: Smoked
• Cuisine: American BBQ

Want more grilled beef recipes? Check out these posts!