Aaron Franklin’s take on smoked brisket has become one of the most renowned worldwide. Learn how to make one of the world’s best smoked brisket recipes today! Simple brisket marinade Aaron Franklin method for smoking brisket has become one of the world’s most beloved barbecue techniques. Learn how to make one of the world’s best smoked brisket recipes today!
For newcomers to BBQ, top of their list on beef cuts to conquer sits brisket. It’s long remained as one of the world’s most iconic BBQ meats, and once you have some it’s no wonder why. It’s not an easy meat to get down right though. It takes time, patience, and craft.
So it’s not unusual for it to take a few attempts to nail down. Thankfully this approach from Aaron Franklin might have come up trumps with this Texas Brisket Recipe. The key to the approach is simplicity. Don’t get in the weeds too much with specific rubs, types of woodchip, or brines.
Rather than layer in a complex BBQ rub, Aaron makes use of a simple rub of salt and pepper in a 1:1 ratio. This helps dry brine the meat so that it locks in its natural flavors, while giving it a smokey edge with the pepper. It’s then cooked over a simple blend of oak for a simple BBQ taste that allows the juices in the brisket to do their work. If you want to experiment a bit, try adding a touch of hickory. Here are the main things to keep in mind when smoking BBQ brisket with the Aaron Franklin method. Now check your email to confirm your subscription. We respect your privacy and will never spam you.
In most cases, I’ve always recommended removing it, but Aaron argues that this will help keep the brisket warm. Because the cooking time on this is so much longer than other barbecue brisket recipes, I’m happy to go along with him here. So when you choose your whole brisket, you want both flat and point together. This is often referred to as a packer brisket. Doing this will also give you much more control over exactly what you trim later. Keep an eye out for marbling.
This is the streams of fat and connective tissues that we see running through the flesh of red meat. It’s an indicator of good meat for smoking because as it’s cooked low and slow it will begin to melt away, leaving us with beautifully moist and rich flavors. Also keep an eye out for a thick flat. This will allow the leaner parts of the beef underneath it to cook at the same rate as the rest of the beef. Leaving too much fat on will make it rubbery. Trimming too much off will make it dry. As a rule, try to remove about one-inch of fat across the flat cap.
Brisket often contains a thick membrane called the deckle. For meat geeks, this sits between the rib cage and the pectoralis profundus muscle. The deckle will not render when you cook it, so it’s important that this is removed. Your butcher may have already done this, but if not then it’s crucial that you do this. Like with any meat, brisket is firmer when cold. This makes it the best time to trim it, so try to do it when you’ve just removed it from the refrigerator. Aim to remove any stray parts of thin meat.