A Quest for Perfect Brisket on the Traeger
Brisket is one thing Hubby has been wanting to perfect on our Traeger. We tried making it once, but didn’t watch the time closely enough, and ended up over-smoking it. Ever since then, we (mostly Hubby) have been wanting to try again, and really dial in a good method for brisket on the Traeger. After all, what is a traditional BBQ without brisket?
We have an excellent, seemingly fail-proof smoked pork shoulder method. And we have a ribs recipe that we really enjoy (Traeger’s 3-2-1). We’ve also had good success with smoked turkey or chicken – both whole and breast only. But until now, good brisket had eluded us. Now, I’m not saying we can’t still further perfect our method. But, this recipe gave us the solid foundation we needed on our quest for the perfect brisket on the Traeger.
We recently had some friends visiting from out of town, and we invited them over for a summer barbecue. What better time to try out brisket on the Traeger again?!? A little risky, perhaps? But they are good friends so we didn’t have anything to loose. Good friends will eat dry brisket if it comes down to it, right? 😉 Thankfully, we didn’t end up needing to test that theory out.
Method Identified
Hubby did a lot of background research and recipe comparing, and settled on this recipe from the Traeger site – Texas Style Smoked Beef Brisket by Doug Sheiding. And believe me, we were not disappointed! We mostly followed this recipe, on an ~ 12 pound whole brisket (flat and point both included). Check out the process:
Brisket trimmed and ready to prep. 
Prep ingredients for the brisket. 
Brisket injection mixed and ready. 
Brisket injection. 
Apple juice spritzing on the outside of the brisket. 
Seasoning in action. 
Fully seasoned brisket (cracked pepper added). 
Brisket just loaded onto the Traeger. 
Nice crust developing on the brisket. 
Smoking the brisket.
One Main Modification
One thing that we did differently was to wrap the brisket in butcher paper rather than foil for the second half of the cooking time. I gather there is quite a debate surrounding to wrap or not to wrap. And if you do wrap, using foil vs. butcher paper … Suffice to say that Hubby opted for the butcher paper.
The other difference, was that we were not able to rest the meat for as long as the recipe recommends, or we would have liked. I think we only made it about an hour (the recipe recommends at least two). We were up against the clock and dinner guests, and had to cut the resting time short.
Brisket Results
Regardless, this brisket turned out delicious! It was moist, tender, and very easy to eat. No dry brisket here! We will definitely be adding this recipe to our repertoire of Traeger favorites.
Smoke ring and texture on the brisket. 
Nice crust on the brisket. 
Plated brisket drizzled with BBQ sauce.
For more information on the Traeger wood pellet grill, and other meats we have smoked, see the links at the beginning of this post, or visit my Traeger Intro page.
I hope you take this as an inspiration, and give brisket (or any other meat) a try on your wood pellet grill soon! If you don’t have a wood pellet grill, there’s no better time to invest and start that meat a-smoking!
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