Brisket

Most people will tell you the same story about brisket: they were scared to try because the cut is so big and intimidating, but once they bit the bullet and gave it a try they were pleased with the results. Really the size of the meat is the only actual problem, in that it's expensive to buy that much beef in one chunk. The prep isn't difficult, beef cooks faster than pork, and it's actually pretty forgiving in the way of heat, because the slab of meat is so big.

Meat Prep

Rub: Texas Dalmatian

Injection: Beef broth or consomme soup

Trim meat, cleaning up rough edges and paring the fat cap back to about 1/8 - 1/4 inch depth. This is about as simple as it sounds, using a sharp knife make sure there are no tags, flaps, or rough edges on the meat and keep the fat down to a minimum. You're going to want some fat to work on the meat, but this is a big fatty chunk of meat so I like to clean it up, even going so far as to remove the layer between the point and the tip, although I don't cut deep enough to seperate the two.
Remove the membrane from the flat, this will require a great deal of effort and work, but worth it. Not unlike ribs, there is a layer of membrane along the flat opposite of the cap that doesn't peal away very easily, I usually end up kind of skinning it back.
Wash and pat dry the meat. Doesn't hurt to wash it first, but you're going to want to wash it after all that knife work.
Inject beef broth liberally, working around the cut of meat. Be carfeul on the back of the flat as it's not very thick and you can make a mess by not realizing how deep your needle has penetrated, but overall just get the tissues saturated
Cover up the meat and refrigerate overnight
Before putting on the grill remove from fridge for 30-45 minutes. Pat the meat down briefly to get dry enough for the rub to stick
I rub my brisket by dusting down with black pepper and patting it a bit to make sure it sticks. Once the pepper has been applied I start liberally applying kosher salt, make sure the entire cut has salt on it before smoking.

Grill Prep

Bring the smoker up to 225 degrees, adding some wood chunks for flavor. For beef I generally use Mesquite, but whatever suits your fancy will work; as with most meats I maintain a steady smoke for the first 3-4 hours, past that I do not find that the meat benefits from the application of smoke.

Plateau generally occurs around 155-160 degrees, at which point I crutch the meat by wrapping in tinfoil. Final destination depends on your preference for serving:

For Sliced meat (which I prefer for beef) the internal temperature should be about 190 degrees
For pulled meat you're looking for 200 degrees.

I keep a probe in my meat at all times, but you should watch where it is located in a brisket, the seam of fat separating the point and the tip will heat up substantially faster than the meats in either part so if your probe ends up in there you're going to be seriously under cooking your meat. Similarly, the flat can get a bit thin, so readings for there will be higher than true. I like to insert my probe into the Point, making sure not to hit the fat seam below it, and seat it as deeply as possible, measuring my temperature at the deepest part of the cut.

Once desired temp has been reached remove the meat from the smoker. I like to keep mine foiled, wrap it in a towel or blanket, then place the package in a cooler to rest. I rest my brisket a minimum of an hour; as long as it's properly insulated it will be several hours before it starts to cool down and the resting will make a big difference in your final product.

Final Presentation

If your pulling the meat just grab a hold and start shredding, I use a pair of heavy rubber gloves, but a couple forks will get the job done too. Pair with BBQ sauce and serve on buns.

If on the other hand you'r looking to slice grab a sharp knife and start cutting. You should be targeting your slices to be about the thickness of a standard pencil. If done right you should be able to pick up a slice by one end and have it dropp over your hand, but not break apart

If Burnt Ends are your thing there's instructions below the picture.

Burnt Ends

Burnt ends are, essentially, the Dickens of BBQ, the best of times, the worst of times.

Burnt ends are the product of extra smoking the Point alone. They started out as snacks given away to restaurant lines but became so popular that they were soon turned into a dish of their own. If you have the time to spare and know how to prepare them they're a great accent to a meal, but they can be tricky to get right, and some people just don't care for that much smoke on their meat (also known as "Weirdo's!")

Burnt End Prep

The point is actually not that great a quality cut of meat, even within the scope of a brisket; it's heavily marbled and a bit tougher than the flat so some extra care to finish it will help, but that doesn't mean it'll turn out perfectly every time.

After the Brisket has reached it's target temp remove it from the smoker and let it rest for at least an hour. After the rest, separate the point from the flat, being careful to not cut into the meat on either side of the fat seam ('C' in the diagram); once separated, re-wrap the flat and put let it rest for the remainder of time. If you're strapped for time the two cuts can be separated before the flat goes to rest, but you want to be very careful while cutting, avoid nicking the meat.

Take the point and trim off the gristle and fat from the external cut, paring it down to the meat as close as possible, and season the exposed cut with salt and pepper, then put it back on the smoker at 250-275 for 1 hour. The meat is fully cooked by now so you don't worry about the internal temp, but you do need to exercise tight fire control, you don't want anything cooling down too much, or overheating and burning.

After the prescribed time remove from the grill and cube the meat into, roughly, ½ inch squares, trying to reserve some of the au jus. I would say the meat is ready to eat now, the internal pieces should still have some moisture in them and the ends will be darkened up nice, but you should take it one step further for true burnt ends; moisten the meat with some of the reserved juice and dust the cubed meat with a bit of Kansas City Rub, then put the cubes in a tray and place back on the smoker for another 30 minutes. Either way, your burnt ends will be ready to serve once they come off the grill.

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