Over the first few years of competition BBQ I tried everything including the kitchen sink on Brisket. Different Rubs, different cooking temperatures, tumbling, orange juice, pineapple juice, apple wood, peach wood, I even tried sassafras wood. Then I came to the realization that simple is better in cooking a brisket. A couple of combined rubs, pecan wood and moderate cooking temperatures are the ticket. I won my first World Championship with this recipe in 1993 at the Jack Daniel’s World Championship BBQ Contest. It has been serving me well ever since then. If you ever see me messing around with another recipe for brisket slap me and tell me to snap out of it!

Ingredients:
1 Brisket Flat, 6-8 lbs.
Joe’s Original BBQ Rub
Joe's Steak and Burger Maker

Directions:
Fire up your Grill/Smoker as per the instructions in the manual.
Make sure to build the fire next to one side of the grill, or in the Firebox so that you cook with indirect heat.
Trim brisket to have no more than ¼ inch of fat inside and out.
Liberally apply Joe's Steak and Burger Maker and Joe’s Original BBQ Rub.

Once charcoal is ready to cook on, add a few wood chunks to the fire.
Cook brisket (unwrapped) at 250ºF to 275ºF using indirect heat and smoke for 4 hours flipping every hour. Make sure brisket is positioned away from the coal bed, near the smoke stack. Add charcoal and wood as needed to maintain cooking temperature.

After brisket has cooked 4 hours, place brisket in foil.
Continue to cook for approximately 3 hours at 275 to 300 degrees
Pull brisket from cooker and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour before slicing and serving. Slice against the grain for best results.
Make sure that brisket reaches a minimum internal meat temperature of 190F. For best results, keep brisket from exceeding 200ºF.

Total cooking time: 7 hours

Recommended wood(s): Pecan, Hickory, or Oak