How to Cook a BBQ Beef Brisket

If you’ve been wondering how to cook a beef brisket, we have the recipe for you! Greg Mrvich from Ballistic BBQ shows you a no-fail way to create a mouthwatering brisket that the whole family’ll love.

Giving you a hint for how he makes the magic happen, Mrvich starts with a 10- to 18-pound beef brisket. To kick off the cook, he uses a custom marinade that he injects once every square inch throughout the entire brisket. And, to cover every part of the meat, he alternates the injections with and against the grain. He suggests seasoning it liberally with the beef rub of your choice. Or, he also offers up a quick salt, garlic, and black pepper mix. 

When it’s time to cook, place the meat with the fat-cap in the direction of the heat source to protect it. Then, close your cooker lid and let it cook until “the bark has set.” In other words, says Mrvich, the seasoning is firm enough so that you can’t scrape it off with your fingernail.

At this point, the brisket should have a nice mahogany color. Remove it from the pit and wrap it—along with a little beef broth—tightly in two sheets of aluminum foil. Then, place the brisket back on the pit.

Continue cooking the brisket until either a meat probe or toothpick can be pushed into the meat and removed with little to no resistance. It should feel almost like it’s going into warm butter, says Mrvich. At this point, it’s time to finish up the brisket. Pull it off the grill, vent the foil, and let it rest for about 30 minutes prior to slicing. Now, it’s simply time to kick back and enjoy the (tasty) fruits of your labor.

How to Cook a Brisket with Ballistic BBQ

Servings

4

servings

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Make your own mouthwatering BBQ beef brisket with this recipe from Greg Mrvich of Ballistic BBQ.

Ingredients

• 1 beef brisket in the 10–18 pound range

• 2 cups injection of your choice (optional)

• SPG Rub

• 1 cup Kosher salt

• 1/2 cup garlic powder

• 1/4 cup black pepper

Directions

• Inject marinade, then season brisket liberally on all sides. Allow it to sit at room temperature so it can “sweat” through the rub.
• At the same time, pre-heat your cooker to 250° Fahrenheit, using the wood of your choice.
• Place the brisket with the fat-cap in the direction of the heat source, to protect the meat. Close the lid on your cooker and let it cook until the bark has set, for approximately 7 hours. In other words, the seasoning is no longer a paste, and is firm enough so that you can’t scrape it off with your fingernail.
• Once the bark is set and the brisket has that nice mahogany color, remove the brisket from the pit and wrap it tightly in two sheets of aluminum foil, along with a little beef broth. Place the brisket back on the pit.
• Continue cooking the brisket until it is “probe-tender.” In other words, a meat probe (or toothpick) can be pushed into the meat and removed with almost no resistance. It should feel almost like it’s going into warm butter.
• Once the brisket is done cooking, pull from the pit, vent the foil and let rest about 30 minutes prior to slicing.