The 18-Hour Brisket
Central Texas style. Salt, pepper, post oak, patience.
Post oak burns clean and gives that quintessential Texas flavor. Hickory works if you like it punchier.
New recipe — be the first to log a cook with I cooked this above.
Ingredients
Serves 10–12
- Whole packer brisket, 12–14 lbUSDA Prime if you can swing it
A 14–18 hour overnight cook on a stick burner. Render the fat, build the bark, push through the stall. This is the recipe that earns you the Brisket Baron badge.
Method
- 0hTrim & rub
Trim the fat cap to ¼ inch. Square off the edges. Slather with mustard, then a heavy 50/50 salt-and-pepper coat. Let it sit at room temp 30 min.
- 0.5hOn the smoker
Fat side up, point toward the fire. Smoker steady at 225°F with post oak coals and a clean fire.
- 4hSpritz check
Once the bark sets, spritz every 45 min with 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water.
- 7hThe stall
Internal hits 165°F and stops climbing. Don't panic. This is moisture evaporating off — the bark is locking in.
- 9hWrap (optional)
Wrap in butcher paper if you want to push through faster, or ride it out naked for max bark.
- 14hProbe tender
Pull when internal is 203°F AND a probe slides in like room-temp butter. Temp alone is a lie.
- 14.5hThe long rest
Hold in a 150°F oven (or a dry cooler) for at least 2 hours. Overnight is better. This is the move.
- 17hSlice
Separate the point from the flat. Slice flat against the grain at pencil-width. Slice the point 90° to that.
Get what we use
Direct links to the rubs, oils, and gear used in this recipe. As an Amazon Associate The Turkey Leg earns from qualifying purchases.
- Get it on AmazonLane's BBQSalt + Pepper (SPG-style coarse rub)
Pre-blended Central Texas-style salt and pepper. The brisket rub that's only three ingredients — coarse, gluten-free, ready to slather.
sweet / mild - Get it on AmazonEpicGrass-Fed Beef Tallow
Brush on a brisket before the long rest — the fat baste that keeps the bark glistening and the flat moist.
- Get it on AmazonThermoProBluetooth Wireless Meat Thermometer (Rechargeable)
Wireless probe, rechargeable, alerts your phone when target temp hits. The tool that turns 'I hope it's done' into 'I know it's done.'