Learn how easy it is to cook a brisket on your backyard gas grill with these easy to follow step by step photo instructions. You too can enjoy one of the Kings of BBQ at home.
Introduction and My Rating
I love brisket. It is almost my favorite meat. I usually cook brisket with Kansas City Oven Baked BBQ Beef Brisket and it is a family favorite. So I'm treading on dangerous ground here but time for something with a great bark that you don't get from the oven method.
First and most important, you need to set up your grill for indirect cooking and smoking. See my previous post How to Set To Up Your Gas Grill for Smoking and Low and Slow Cooking . This is the key to any cooking of this type.
I started with a basic rub, some sugar, paprika, salt, and pepper. You can complicate this as much as you want, but these are the basics of a rub. Now cooking it low and slow, add some smoke and you're there. Not a complicated thing.
My Rating
A very nice 5. Very good.
Brisket
Beef brisket is a cut of meat from the lower chest wall. The brisket includes superficial and deep pectoral muscles. The cow does not have collar bones, so these muscles support about 60% of the bodyweight of an 1500 pound cow.
All that work produces a lot of connective tissue, so cooking a brisket is all about melting the connective tissue completely. Read that as low and slow. It is the melted collagen that gives you wonderful results.
Whole briskets are generally vacuum packed for the producers and are usually 8 to 12 pounds which is more meat than most of us “cooking for two” people want except for parties. Think about ½ pound per person as a common serving.
I usually buy half briskets. There are the “point” and “flat” halves. Generally, the point half is two layers and the flat with only one layer of muscle.
I tend to buy flats, so I don’t need to deal with the two layers, but either is fine. Around me, most “point” cuts include a layer of the flat, so there are two layers usually, but the point is that upper layer. The point may be a bit more tender though.
Image from Texas A&M. 101 Cooking for Two is not endorsed by the State of Texas or it’s agencies.
✔️Tips
Trimming the Fat. Yes or no?
The anti-trimming gang says it is natural and will protect the meat.
The trimmers will argue it makes a big mess and that it is the melting of collagen that produces most of the moisture. Also, more area for the rub to be on the meat. I'm not eating a chunk of fat just because it has the "bark" on it.
A compromise is to trim the fat to ¼ inch thick. This is usually what I do now but the picture is a full trim.
To Inject or Not to Inject?
I don't. You can add a variety of flavors, but I don't want to do that.
Is it moister? Some say yes, some say no. If yes then it is marginal.
Research it carefully before doing this. Mistakes can ruin your brisket.
Should You Brine?
Some people swear by it, but most competition smokers don't. I have never been a fan if brining beef. I have experimented with it with other cuts of beef and I felt it took away the "beef" flavor a bit.
🌡️Temperature
I usually do 250° but feel that is the highest you should go or you may have more drying. Most smokers will use 225°.
Some recipes will suggest all the way to 300° and talk about how wonderful it is. Yep, it is wonderful because it is brisket, but it would be moister, and "wonderful-er" if cooked lower.
Please see How to Set Up a Gas Grill for Smoking and A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill for low and slow grill set up instructions if you need help.
You must have a good grill surface thermometer to do this correctly. Along with the required surface thermometer, a continuous read probe thermometer is a good idea.
I used the Thermoworks Therma Q Blue (This is an affiliate link, meaning I do make a small amount from your purchases. Your price is not affected by this commission.)
⏰Time
Most will say 1 to 1 ½ hours per pound assuming a 250° grill. Not a bad starting point for time management but a wide range.
More important than weight is probably thickness. A plump 8-pound brisket may take as long or longer than a thinner 10-pound brisket.
There are lots of variables: grill temperature, thickness, weight, and if you do a Texas crunch wrap (see two sections down). There are probably more. So no two briskets will cook the same.
When is a Brisket Done?
I like 200°-205° but this is a personal test thing. I think 190 is too low. 195°-200° will slice nicely. 203° seems to be the number I see from competition smokers. 205°-210° is ok. But over 210° is probably too much and will become a texture and moisture issue.
The Stall
“The Stall” happens when the fibers of the meat contract when nearing the “well done” zone of 150° to 160°. This occurs with both beef and porks and continues to about 180°F when the meat fibers start to relax.
Since it occurs past "well done" temperature for most meats, it is not an issue for steaks, pork chops or similar cookings. But with brisket or pork butt where we are cooking to the 200° plus range, you may want to consider this issue.
The water in the meat fibers will be forced out of the cells as they contract and will make its way to the surface. On the surface, the water will evaporate as cooking continues. Evaporation uses energy and will “stall” the cooking process.
This stall can go on for hours depending on the size of the meat and other factors. Six hours sometimes for a large whole brisket.
The Texas Crutch
This is a common method used to counter “the stall”. It as tightly wrapping the meat to prevent evaporation. 90% of competition smokers do this. But remember they are cooking large whole briskets.
By tightly wrapping, you are creating a “mini-environment” next to the meat which will quickly reach 100% relative humidity and prevent further evaporation.
While the meat fiber will continue to contract and force out water, it can not evaporate cooling your meat and prolong the cooking time.
Pros and Cons of “The Texas Crunch”
Pros
- By far the biggest pro is time. You can save hours in cooking time especially with larger cuts.
- Moisture. It can help maintain moisture in the meat. As the meat passes the 180° range and the cells relax, the moisture can re-absorb into the cells. This is not a huge effect.
- You can control the “color” better and prolong holding time some if needed.
- If on a smoker, you can also control the smoke exposure.
Cons
- The main con is water can destroy your bark. Your hard-earned crunchy bark becomes soft. You can counter this some (not completely). See the next section.
- The fussiness and a bit of work. Yep, some people complain about anything.
- Your grill temp goes down. I work hard to keep my temperature stable. I try to keep my hands off.
The Technique of the Texas Crunch
While some will use butcher paper (the pink butcher paper, not the white wax-coated stuff), I don’t want to buy hundreds of feet of it. It may be a bit better on the bark issue. Most people use heavy-duty foil since we all have that.
- You will want to do this in the 150°-160° range when the meat temperature “stalls”. Also, the bark should be dark red approaching black and “set up” meaning not mushy looking.
- Get an area close to the grill and get two large pieces of foil ready to double wrap.
- Quickly grab your meat off the grill. Do not just flip the lid wide open and keep it that way. Open as far as you need and close immediately.
- Wrap tight. I will say that again TIGHT and crimp the seams and ends. The less space in you mini-environment, the better.
- Crimp tightly around your meat thermometer. You must have a continuous read thermometer to do this right.
- Back to the grill until you reach your goal temperature, usually 200°-205° for me.
- If you want to improve your bark some, unwrap at this point and cook 30 more minutes.
Why I don’t usually do this.
- I’m cooking smaller pieces of meat. Less stall. So not much reason to bother with it.
- I love a good crunchy bark. If you don't care about bark, do my oven method.
- The moisture thing is not that much. A lot of that “moisture” you are loving is melted collagen. Collagen melting starts at 160° and increases to 180°.
📖Grill Recipes
Kansas City Oven Baked BBQ Beef Brisket
Pulled Pork on a Gas Grill – Not That Hard
How to Grill Baby Back Ribs on a Gas Grill
Memphis Barbecue Sauce – A Wonderful Thing
🔪Instructions
I started with a 5-pound point half of brisket this time.
Trim brisket of any large chunks of fat and the fat cap. Don't try to be perfect. Some people don't trim or will leave a ¼ inch thick layer. Personal choice.
Use the rub of your choice or you may use mine. For my rub, mix rub of ¼ cup each brown sugar and paprika. Add two tablespoons each of kosher salt and black pepper and mix well.
Give all sides of the brisket a heavy rub of the spices. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Remove from refrigeration about 1 hour before cooking and allow to rest at room temperature.
While the brisket is resting, set up the grill. You want a steady temperature of about 225°-250° with indirect heat with a drip pan on the indirect side and a way to create smoke. See How to Set Up a Gas Grill for Smoking.
Cook on the indirect side over a drip pan.
You need a method of adding some smoke to your brisket. The method, amount, and duration is up to you. I do about 1 hour of hickory with my built in smoke box. Other methods are reviewed at How To Set Up Your Gas Grill for Smoking and Low and Slow Cooking.
Cook until internal temp of 200°-205°. About 5 hours total cooking time for me with the 5 pound point.
Remove from grill and wrap in foil and couple of towels.
Allow to rest for 1-2 hours before cutting thin across the grain to serve.
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📖 Recipe
How to Cook a Brisket on a Gas Grill
Ingredients
- 5 pound Brisket - Size of your choice
My rub for a 5-pound brisket. Scale for different size. You may use the rub of your choice.
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup paprika
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
Instructions
- I started with a 5 pound point half of a brisket this time.
- Trim brisket of any large chunks of fat and the fat cap. Don't try to be perfect. Some people don't trim or will leave a ¼ inch thick layer. Personal choice.
- Use the rub of your choice or you may use mine. For my rub, mix rub of ¼ cup each brown sugar and paprika. Add two tablespoons each of kosher salt and black pepper and mix well.
- Give all sides of the brisket a heavy rub of the spices. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Remove from refrigeration about 1 hour before cooking and allow to rest at room temperature.
- While the brisket is resting, set up the grill. You want a steady temperature of about 225°-250° with indirect heat with a drip pan on the indirect side and a way to create smoke. See How to Set Up a Gas Grill for Smoking.
- Cook on the indirect side over a drip pan.
- You need a method of adding some smoke to your brisket. The method, amount, and duration is up to you. I do about 1 hour of hickory with my built in smoke box. Other methods are reviewed at How To Set Up Your Gas Grill for Smoking and Low and Slow Cooking.
- Cook until internal temp of 200°-205°. About 5 hours total cooking time for me with the 5 pound point.
- Remove from grill and wrap in foil and couple of towels.
- Allow to rest for 1-2 hours before cutting thin across the grain to serve.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- The set up of the grill for low and slow cooking plus smoking is the most important part of cooking a brisket on a gas grill.
- Use the rub of your choice, but I include a suggested rub.
- I usually will do smoke for about an hour, but more is fine.
- Cooking time varies a lot but 1-1 ½ hour per pound is a good starting point to estimate your cooking time.
- Be sure to wrap and let sit after cooking for 1-2 hours.
- You must cut across the grain.
- See the writeup about injection, brine, the stall, and Texas crutch.
- For serving size, I suggest 6-8 oz. unless you are talking a teenage boy, then double. You also want leftovers.
- This recipe scales up well but a large whole brisket may take 12-16 hours, and you want to read my discussion about the Texas crutch in the main post above.
- Good in refrigerator for 3-4 days and freezer for 3-4 months.
- Please see How to Set Up a Gas Grill for Smoking and A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill for low and slow grill set up instructions if you need help.
Nutrition
Editor's Note: Originally Published July 28, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos and a table of contents to help navigation.
Today's dog picture features two very tired puppies. We were out of town for a week, and the dogs went to the dog spa. Yep, and it really is doggie vacation time. It took them two days to recover. Countryside Kennels Pet Resort & Spa. If you look around the site, you will see our girls in a few pictures.
Josh
Thanks for posting this. You mentioned to set up the grill for smoking. I have a simple 4-burner propane grill. I don't see a smoking option. I can get the temp right for slow cooking and can heat it directly or indirectly. Is there some way I can generate smoke inside my grill to accomplish what you're recommending? What if I just put a wood chips in a metal bowl inside the grill? Would that do it?
Thanks in advance. Josh
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Josh,
Welcome to the blog.
Grill set up and smoking options are linked in the post but you may have missed it. It is covered here. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/set-gas-grill-smoking-low-slow-cooking/ Since it is relatively long and used for other recipes in addition to brisket.
Briefly, you can use a foil pouch with holes punched in it or get a cast iron smoking box discussed there. Place either over the hot burner.
Hope that helps.
Dan
TJ
I love the smoke tubes for use with smoke pellets. I use 2 tubes for brisket.
JoyV
DrDan.. this is my first try at brisket and am using your directions. One question though. Do I turn the meat or just leave it alone throughout the entire cooking process?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Joy,
Welcome to the blog.
No flipping is needed.
Dan
BARRY L PANITZ
Man, I'm so glad I found your "101 Cooking for two" blog! But I need your help. Here's what I did: Set up everything as per your instructions on my Weber Spirit 2 gas grill. Did the smoker box--but never, ever got any smoke, dunno why. But, that's the first of my problems. I kept the heat as close as I could to your 225-250, and mostly between 240-250, which as I found was pretty hard on the Spirit 2-just a 1/16 inch dial turn would make huge jumps in heat output of my grill ( I had kept off the center and rightmost burners for indirect heat cooking, with the smoker box over the leftmost burner. The brisket was centered between the center and right burners. I reached an internal temp as measured by by Igrill2 thermometer, which backed down to 143. I was surprised by this as I didn't change anything. But, then,the internal temp stalled there for approximate 2 1/2 hours, in which time I was going crazy. Finally, it went to 146, then 148, and stayed there for another 1 1/2 hours. Slowly it went to 151, but this was after 6-7 hours of cooking. (Still, never had any smoke). I got really worried about the whole thing because it was taking entirely too long. I jacked the ambient temp to 260 and the temps started rising, but stalled again in the low 170's. I then jacked the ambient temp even higher to 300 and finally 315 just to get some internal temp movement. After 14 hours, 22 minutes, and these high ambient temps, I took it off at 195 internal temp. I was worn out, and dunno what the devil I did wrong--with the lack of any smoke and the complete stalls I incurred during cooking.
Anyway, we tasted the this morning after a 2 hour rest in towels and inside a cooler, then placed in fridge because it was then 2 am.
This morning, the taste was good, but uber dry. The recipe is pretty doggone good, but next time I'll tone down the salt.
Tell me where I went wrong, please.
Be well.
Barry
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Barry,
Welcome to the blog and let’s see if we can shed some light on this.
I’m not directly familiar with your grill but it seems to have three burners front to back. The iGrill has probes for internal monitoring of the meat. There is an optional probe for air temp that clips to the grates (so a grill surface temperature thermometer.)
I will assume you when through my setup guide for the grill at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/set-gas-grill-smoking-low-slow-cooking/.
So what could go wrong?
Mostly it is temperature and temperature measurement.
The smokebox not smoking seems odd, like it was not hot enough in that area. If it is over a hot burner, it should smoke. So either the hot burner is not very hot or the box is not directly over that burner. One other reason is that to smoke, there has to be the oxygen to be sure if you are using something like a foil pouch, it has enough vent holes punched in it. Wood would generally smoke even at 250-300.
The surface thermometer needs to be measuring the temp in the indirect area of the meat, not the burner that is on.
So check the placement of the air probe. It needs to be in the indirect area away from the direct burner. You might want to do a quick check of the surface temperature in the direct area also for information.
If all that looks good, I would get a $10 grill surface and an instant-read thermometer and double-check if the iGrill is accurate in what it is telling you.
So, check (play with) your grill without cooking things and see if you can get the right temperatures in the right places and smoke. Hot over the direct area (will probably be 500ish) and about 250 in the indirect area.
Let me know what you think.
Dan
BARRY L PANITZ
Thanks for your response. I'll play around with making some smoke and the internal temps.
David G Strand
Hey Dan
My wife is allergic to paprika - so what would you suggest as an alternative for the bark (brown sugar is fine)
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi David,
Welcome to the blog.
My rub is just a simple suggestion so probably look around for one without paprika. Some paprika is for a single chili and some are a mixture of several types of ground peppers. Chili powder is frequently used but is always a blend of various things and may include some paprika or simular ingredients depending on the brand. So probably not very safe for her.
I will say if I had an allergy, I would not use similar ingredients. So probably look around for a rub you can use safely. All the ones I use have paprika or chili powder. You can make your own custom rub - see https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/8311-rub/ for suggestions of what you might want to use.
Hope that helps some.
Dan
Farah
Thank you for the thorough explanation and recipe! 👏🏼
Here's my review on a 2.6 kilo (almost 5.8 pound) flat brisket :
- I set up the brisket on the upper tray (aka warming tray) of a gas grill with the fat facing up. I placed a punctured packet foil with 1 cup of dry hickory chips on the burner and i replaced it on the hour.
- Next time, I will take the brisket out at 190-195°F as taking it out at 200-205°F was too dry in my opinion.
- I'm also going to change the rub a bit, add some more freshly ground pepper and perhaps even some coffee!
- Total cooking time was 5 hours. Total time wrapped in cooler was 2 hours.
Thank you so much for this recipe, I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I went with it instead of the other (complicated) ones 👍🏼
Thanks, Dr Dan!
Kathleen Velueta
Early on in your instructions about time, you state 1-1 1/2 hrs. Do you mean "per pound"?
Kathleen
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Kathleen,
Welcome to the blog.
You are right and I have now clarified that point and added it in the recipe card area also.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Wayne Hedrick
Thanks! Just smoked my very first brisket on a weber grill with the top-of-grates smoke box. I've read everything at Weber, watched a bunch of videos, read a bunch of other posts, read the brisket section in my BBQ Bible...
These are the best instructions that I've seen, so I just followed your instructions exactly, and it worked out beautifully. The little 2 pound brisket is delicious!
Thank you for being so clear in your instructions!
Wayne
Alana
Hi Dan,
we are planning to make this brisket recipe, but have one question. After it rests for 1-2 hours, will the brisket be cold? Do you recommend 1 hour or 2, or does it not make a difference?
Thank you.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Alana,
The rest will let the meat fibers relax and absorb fluid and the melted collagen. A minimum rest is 30 minutes but 1 hr is better. I give a range of 1-2 hr to help with the timing of eating. Well wrapped with foil and a few towels, it will usually be warm up to 3-4 hours.
Dan
Baker
OMG. My hubby said to cook this again ASAP thank you for the great instruction and helpful hints. We are one happy couple tonight.
Jamie
Do you wrap the brisket while cooking or only after cooked?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jamie,
Welcome to the blog.
If you are talking about the Texas Crutch for the stall then you wrap when the internal temp is 150-160. That is discussed in detail in the post. That is separate and optional. I generally don't do this since it is more important in large briskets.
But when done with cooking, you should wrap with foil and towels to slow the cooling. That will help the meat fibers absorbed the melted collagen and any fluid. I don't consider this wrap as optional. It is a must-do.
I hope that clarifies.
Dan
Christy
This was delicious! My timing was off and after 5 hours on grill, I ended up finishing it the next day in the oven. Best ever! Thank you
Kirk Reynaud
When do you if at all . Put home made BBQ sauce on it ?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Kirk,
Welcome to the blog.
The sauce should be added at serving. Try to just reheat and sauce what will be eaten at that time. The acid of the tomatoes will hurt the texture. So with brisket and pulled pork, you should protect them from that until time to consume.
Dan
Ramus
I got one more question for now.
You write that you add smoke for 1 hour. Is that at the start, the middle, or the end of the grilling, or?
Best regards,
Rasmus
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Ramus,
Welcome to the blog.
For a long cooking like brisket, I don't add water anymore. A gas grill is just not a tight enough environment that is matters much in any case. If you are cooking something with lots of un-trimmed fat, it might help prevent flareups.
My smoking is at the start. I find one hour is enough for most people to have a nice smoke taste (and it makes for good pictures of smoke coming out of the grill.) Some people will argue about the amount and timing but it is like fat-pad up or down with pork butt. Just a matter of opinion.
Enjoy your brisket.
Dan
Greg Silvers
Hi, how long and what temperature would you recommend for a 2.5 lb brisket please? We’ve just cooked ours for 5 hours but it turned out really tuff.
Thanks for your help.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Greg,
Welcome to the blog.
The most common reason for "tough" brisket is not getting it to the right internal temperature. I have had a few briskets that I think were just "tough"- probably miss graded by the inspectors.
If you had your grill temperature correct (250), generally a 2.5 pound brisket would usually take about 4-5 hours, give or take some. Be sure your surface thermometer is correct and your internal meat thermometer and get to 200 degrees or a bit more as discussed. 5 hours seems a bit long.
So I'm not much help other than just to say check the thermometers carefully. I have had both surface thermometers and meat thermometers malfunction.
Dan
Rasmus
Hi DrDan,
I am planning to try this out tomorrow. The meat already got the rub, and is waiting in the refrigerator :)
After reading you guide here and the one about the low temperature in the grill, I do have a question that I hope you can clearify.
Should there be water in the drip pan? I don't see it mentioned here, but in the other guide you write
"Usually, you should add water to the drip pan for added moisture in the grill".
I don't know if it is important whether there is water in the pan or not, so hopefully you can tell me:) ?
Best regards,
Rasmus
Jim Bonk
You might want to try cooking on the Warming Rack ! It gets the meat away from the high heat of the grill and you can put a pan of wood chips under the meat on the grill surface. The smoke has to pass around the meat to exit out of the back of the grill. I cook several items up on the warming rack, it's a must gentler place to cook things that do not require high heat.
Jim
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jim,
Welcome to the blog.
Yep, that will work too. The meat must get "out of the line of fire" so to speak and have the right temperature. I do like the idea of the smoke directly under the meat.
If you set the grill up for indirect cooking correctly, either will work. My warming rack is only about 4 inches wide so brisket would not fit well for me. I have experimented with chicken breasts there and use it for things like potato wedges especially if I need my grill surface area for something else.
Thanks for the note and rating. Have a good holiday weekend.
Dan
Marshall
Good day! We are loving this recipe and discussions. We have a masterbuilt electric smoker that we'd like to use rather than the grill. Would everything be the same? We have i'd say a 2 1/2 lb beef brisket that we cannot wait to try. The question comes up again about the water tray.
Suggestions please?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Marshall,
Welcome to the blog.
I would say the instructions are basically the same as long as you are monitoring the internal temperature. The shape of the cut will affect the cooking time a lot, specifically the thickness of the cut perhaps more related to the cooking time then the weigh.
The water tray is traditional. I don't feel it does much in a grill but in more closed environment like you have, it may have some effect.
Dan