Corned Beef Brisket

Get ready to dive into a melt-in-your-mouth corned beef brisket that's brined to perfection and smoked to juicy, tender glory. Here you'll find an easy recipe for a corned beef that takes you all the way from start to finish!

*Keep in mind this recipe as a 2 week Brine Time. Recipe card is based on the cooking and rest time only*

Beef brisket that has a smoke crust from the smoker.

I'm constantly smoking something on the back deck. When I find any meats on sale, it's game on! The motivation for this recipe was simple: I had a brisket I found for a great price and I wanted to do something new rather than just season and smoke it. With St. Patricks Day around the corner, I got to perfecting a brine for making a delicious Reuben!

Ingredients

Tip: Using whole kernels and seeds is key here. Ground pepper and cinnamon just doesn't have the crisp deep flavor that a whole peppercorn or cinnamon stick has.

Brine

Water
Salt
Mustard Seed
Peppercorns
Cloves
Juniper Berries
All Spice Berries
Garlic Cloves
Ginger
Cinnamon Sticks
Carrots
Celery
Onion

Four ingredients laid out for cooking brisket.

Seasoning for Corned Beef Brisket

Brisket
Mustard
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

There are only 4 big steps to this Corned Beef Brisket. First, you prepare the brine by cooking it, then cooling. Second, you'll trim the brisket and let it sit in brine for 2 weeks. Third, we season and smoke the meat while keeping a good eye on it. Fourth, we rest the brisket, cut and chow down! I'll break all this down below. If you have questions, leave a comment and I'll get right back to you.

Water being poured over vegetables to make brine.

Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely for 1 to ½ hours.

Step 2: Trim brisket as if you were smoking it on your Smoker or Pellet Grill. Remove excessive fat. See Video for a visual.

Hint: To give you a better idea of the trim process, I started with a 16 lb brisket and ended up trimming off 3.5 lbs of it. See YouTube for more detailed instructions.

Brine is being poured over the brisket in a large container.

Step 3: Once brining liquid is cool, submerge brisket into the brine and date for 14 days and put inside the fridge.

Seasoning the brisket on a cooking sheet.

Step 4: Preheat Smoker to 250°F. Remove brisket from brine. Rinse and dry it off. Coat with mustard. Season with cayenne pepper and LOTS of paprika. Don't be shy with paprika. I use a 8 to 1 ratio! *Save 1 cup of brine liquid and place in spray bottle.*

Step 5: Place meat directly on smoker. You'll cook it for about 4-5 hours depending on your size cut.

Spraying the brisket with apple juice on the smoker.

Step 6: 3 hours into the smoking, spritz the brisket with the brine liquid. You should see a "bark" setting on the brisket by now. Repeat spritzing every hour.

Tip!

If cooking this in the oven, I recommend covering the brisket through the whole cooking process. Remember, low and slow is the key!

A container of meat sitting on the smoker.

Step 7: Once internal temp reaches 145-155°F, place brisket into a pan, cover it and place back on the smoker until internal temp reaches 200°F.

Placing the brisket into the hotbox for resting.

Step 8: Once meat reaches temperature, remove from smoker and let rest in a cooler or hot box for 90 minutes before slicing into it.

Equipment

I've placed the smoker I used below, but an oven will work well with this recipe too! Investing in a good hot box or cooler is ideal for the resting process though. Happy cooking!

Traegar Pellet Grill Smoker - I use the Timberline series
Thermometer - I use Meater because it's held up and I love their app!
Brining container - 12 quart size is what I used for this brisket
Cooler or Hot Box - This food warmer is what we used for our catering business. It's now used for resting meats.
Flint and Flame Knives - I use these daily and have had them for over 2 years. I've yet to sharpen them! Definitely great quality knives. Code CHEFTIM40 to get 40% this knife or their entire website.
Aluminum Pans with Lids - These make clean up easy peasy!
Large Stock Pot - I use Hexclad pots and pans, but any large stock pot will work. Just make sure its at least 10 quarts.

Storing Corned Beef Brisket

If vacuum sealing your Corned Beef, it will last 7 days stored in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.

FAQ

Why do you cook the Brine first?

Multiple reasons! You want to make sure the salt (or sugar) completely dissolve. Think of the boiling process as opening up the seeds and kernels of your seasonings. Similar to a blooming flower releasing its scents.

Why so much Paprika?

When seasoning the brisket for the smoker, the paprika is the star of the show! It'll bring out the smoky flavors. Use a 8 to 1 ratio when measuring out your paprika and cayenne pepper. You don't want the heat of the cayenne to take over.