Brisket cooking is a journey: a delicious, meaty, anxiety-filled journey that can have even the most seasoned pitmaster staring at the smoker, wondering, “What have I done? ” If you’ve found yourself pacing around an expensive cut of meat muttering about temperatures and cook times, congratulations-you’re normal. If you have brisket stress, you are not alone.
If I were to watch a video of myself on brisket cook day, it would be of me looking at the temperature 80 times, doing timing math in my head, talking to whoever will listen about stalls and when to wrap it in paper. You get the idea. You have a lot of time to overthink. You have a lot of time to watch YouTube videos on what you are supposed to do.
Don’t let the brisket get in your head. Keep it chill. It’s just food. Let’s break down the parts of cooking brisket that tend to make me stress out, mess up, or flat-out panic.