Texas-Style Smoked Brisket

Set up a smoker to run at 200°F (93°C) with indirect heat and clean wood smoke.

Trim the brisket of excess hard fat and silver skin, leaving a uniform 1/4-inch fat cap on the top side.

Combine the salt and black pepper in a shaker or bowl to make a standard 50/50 dalmatian rub.

Season the brisket generously and evenly on all sides with the salt and pepper mixture.

Place the brisket on the smoker, insert a digital thermometer probe into the thickest part of the flat, and close the lid.

Then 360 min of waiting

Monitor the internal temperature until the brisket reaches the stall, roughly 165°F–180°F (74°C–82°C), and has developed a dark, mahogany bark.

Waiting until after the stall to wrap allows the fat to render completely and develops a deeper, crunchier bark.

Lay out two overlapping sheets of heavy-duty pink butcher paper on a flat surface and spread the optional beef tallow across the paper where the brisket will lay.

Remove the brisket from the smoker, place it on the tallow, and wrap it tightly in the butcher paper.

Return the wrapped brisket to the smoker and increase or maintain temperature between 225°F–250°F (107°C–121°C).

Continue cooking until the probe slides into the flat and point with virtually no resistance, like soft butter, around 203°F (95°C).

Then 360 min of waiting

Remove the brisket from the smoker and allow it to cool in its paper wrapper until the internal temperature drops to 165°F (74°C).

Then 60 min of waiting

Transfer the wrapped brisket to a warming oven or insulated cooler set at 145°F (63°C) and let it rest overnight.

Then 480 min of waiting

Unwrap the brisket, slice the flat against the grain into pencil-thick slices, and slice the point across the opposite direction to serve.