Brisket fat side up or down on pellet grill

By Christie Vanover | Published October 9, 2016 | Last Updated September 7, 2022

When shopping for beef brisket at the grocery store or butcher, you may notice a a variety of sizes to choose from.

A whole packer brisket is the full primal with both the flat and point still connected. These can weigh anywhere from about 10 pounds to 24 pounds.

It’s also common to see just the flat sold by itself. These will weigh anywhere from about 4 to 15 pounds.

It’s much less common to find just the brisket point sold by itself. When I do see these, I grab a few, because they’re the best part of the brisket.

I use the butcher knife to slice off the large chunk of fat that is located on top of the point muscle. This fat won’t render down.

You’ll notice the long sides of your brisket may have some discoloration or hardness. That’s perfectly normal and happens during the processing. You can leave it, but I prefer to shave it off and square it up.

BBQ Competition Secret: Now that I’ve been smoking briskets for a while, I’ve learned that disposable plastic cutting boards work really well. I use them to trim all of my competition meats both before and after the cook.

The Best Smoked Brisket Rub

If you want to get into an argument with someone that’s almost as controversial as politics, talk to them about the best brisket rub.

Next, flip the brisket over and apply the same rub to the top and sides. Use the same technique. Keep adding it until you can barely see the meat.

The amount of rub you’ll need will depend on the size of your brisket. I don’t actually measure my rub before I apply it. I cover it until I can’t see the grain.

But a good rule of thumb is to plan to have about 1/2 tablespoon of rub available per pound of untrimmed, raw brisket. If you’re cooking a 12-pound brisket, plan on having 6 tablespoons (1/3 cup) of rub.

After you’ve (maybe) injected your brisket and rubbed it all over, rest your meat 6-12 hours in the fridge covered with plastic wrap. This allows all of that flavor you just added inside and out to really marry up with the meat.

If you don’t have room in your refrigerator, you can also keep it cold over night in a cooler or Cambro. Layer the bottom with ice and set the pan on top. There’s no need to cover it in cooler, since there is no circulating fan.

My favorite wood blend for smoking brisket is post oak, pecan wood and cherry wood. If you can’t find post oak, hickory is a nice alternative.

When smoking with a pellet grill, you can usually find pellet blends with this variety or you can mix up different pellets to make your own blend.

Once your brisket is trimmed, seasoned and rested, place it on the pellet grill with the fat side down. Place the point end of the brisket toward the hopper.

Spritz it with apple cider vinegar every two hours until it reaches an internal temperature of 160-165F degrees. Then, wrap it in foil or peach paper.

Return the wrapped brisket to the smoker and let it continue cooking to a final temp of 200-205F degrees.

Check your hopper occasionally to make sure you have plenty of pellets.

For the Hunsaker, place one rack lower in the grill and add an aluminum pan filled with warm water. Place another grate on the top level.

It’s important that you use warm or hot water. If you use cool water, you’ll bring your grill temp down too low.

For competitions, I smoke my briskets on my Hunsaker using the hot and fast method.

Add the brisket to the grill over the side without coals with the fat side down and the point facing the coals.

Smoke spritzing every two hours, until the internal temperature reaches 160-165F degrees. You’ll need to keep an eye on your grill temperature and add more coals as they start to burn out.

Wrap the brisket and return it to the grill, cooking to an internal temp of 200-205F degrees.

How to Smoke Brisket on a Gas Grill

Believe it or not, you can actually smoke a beef brisket on a gas grill. It won’t get the same amount of smokiness, nor will it get a smoke ring, but it’s still possible.

This works best if you have a 3-4-burner grill. Start by turning one of the edge burners on medium-low. Close the lid. Monitor the temp of your grill. You want it to reach 225F degrees. Adjust the dial, as needed.

Create a foil pouch filled with wood chips or pellets and place it on the side of the grill where the burner is on. It will start to smoke. Have a few pouches on stand by, because one pouch won’t last the full cook.

Add your brisket to the grill over the burners that are turned off with the fat side down and the point end facing the side of the grill where the burner is on.

Cook spritzing every 2 hours with apple cider vinegar. Add more foil pouches as needed.

Once the brisket reaches 160-165F degrees, wrap it and return it to the grill. You don’t need to add any more foil pouches at this time.

Continue cooking to 200-205F degrees and let it rest.

For a general rule of thumb, an 11-pound brisket smoked at 225F degrees takes around 12 hours. That includes 6 hours before the wrap, 3 hours wrapped and a 3-hour rest.

I’ve included an infographic with a helpful timeline at the bottom of this post, so you can plan your cook step-by-step.

I live in the desert at a fairly low altitude, so I always place a disposable pan of water in my grill while I’m smoking a brisket. This creates steam in the smoker.

I also spritz the brisket throughout the cook with apple cider vinegar. This not only helps to create a flavorful bark, but it also introduces additional moisture in the grill.

When the brisket reaches 160-165F degrees, you’ll notice that the temperature will stop increasing as quickly. This is called the brisket stall.

At this point, water is evaporating from the brisket. The evaporation process takes precedence over the cooking, so the meat temperature won’t rise as quickly.

As long as you’re loving the color of your bark – it should be a dark mahogany – then, you can use the Texas crutch to break through the stall.

Spritz the brisket one more time and wrap the brisket tightly in two layers of foil or peach butcher paper.

Foil vs. Peach Paper: Foil is easier to come by and does a great job at locking in moisture, but people enjoy using peach paper because it allows some moisture to escape, preserving the beautiful bark you created.

You want to keep that thermometer in the meat, because this next temp is the most important part.

Continue cooking the brisket, until your meat temperature reaches 200-205F degrees. Some competition diehards swear by 203F degrees, to be exact. For an 11-pound brisket, this can take another 3 hours.

The best way to test the doneness of your brisket is to pierce the probe into the meat in multiple spots. If it glides in like butter with little resistance, it’s ready.

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Here’s a handy Girls Can Grill infographic to make things easier for you.

Click the image below to download a pdf of the infographic.

Top 22 brisket fat side up or down on pellet grill