Merlot Spritzed BEEF Brisket
- 30m Prep Time
- 8h Cook Time
- 8h Ready In
A smoked beef brisket coated with beef rub and spritzed with Merlot wine for enhanced flavor. This recipe guides you through trimming, smoking, and wrapping to achieve a tender, buttery texture.
Ingredients
- 1 packer (whole) brisket
- 59.1 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 237 ml Beef Rub
- Merlot Wine Spritz
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
Estimated based off 2 of 4 identified ingredients (per 100 g food data, scaled by amount).
Vitamins & minerals
- Calcium: 0.16 mg
- Iron: 0.02 mg
- Magnesium: 0.2 mg
- Phosphorus: 0.38 mg
- Potassium: 2.1 mg
- Zinc: 0 mg
Let's Prepare
Collect
Gather these ingredients — no prep needed yet.
- 1 packer (whole) brisket
- 59.1 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 237 ml Beef Rub
- Merlot Wine Spritz
Let's Cook
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Step 1.
The night before cooking, trim the excess fat off the brisket. Start with the brisket flat side up, remove any membrane, silverskin, and pockets of fat. Cut off about ¼ inch of meat on either side to expose the marbling. Flip the brisket and trim the point: remove bumpy, thick hard fat that won't render, leaving about ¼ inch of the fat layer. Square up edges and corners by cutting into the meat and removing hard fat until you see pockets of beef. Ensure the fat cap is no more than ¼ inch thick.
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Step 2.
Coat the trimmed brisket with ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, then liberally apply the Beef Rub, covering all sides and into any pockets. Wrap the brisket tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
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Step 3.
The next day, remove the brisket from the refrigerator and unwrap. Preheat your smoker to 250°F using fruitwood like apple or cherry.
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Step 4.
Place the brisket on the smoker with the fat side facing the hotter portion of your smoker (fat side down for a kamado-style cooker like Big Green Egg, fat side up for an offset smoker). Insert a meat probe into the flat of the brisket and another probe to monitor the ambient temperature of the cooking chamber (not inserted into the meat).
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Step 5.
After 2 hours of smoking, begin spritzing the brisket with the Merlot Wine Spritz. Spritz every 30 minutes until you wrap the brisket. The spritz helps smoke adhere to the meat and builds flavor.
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Step 6.
When the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 165°F, it enters the stall. This is the point to wrap the brisket. Carefully remove the brisket from the smoker, being careful not to disturb the bark. Place it onto two pieces of pink butcher paper (or aluminum foil). Remove the meat probe, tightly wrap the brisket, then reinsert the probe into the same general area. Return the wrapped brisket to the smoker. Note: reaching 165°F can take 4 to 7 hours from the start of the cook.
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Step 7.
Continue cooking the wrapped brisket at 250°F for several more hours until the internal temperature approaches 195°F. The stall is over when the temperature starts to rise quickly. Use an instant-read thermometer to probe the flat and the point; the thermometer should insert smoothly with no resistance, like a knife through butter. The brisket may be done anywhere from 195°F to 205°F; focus on achieving a buttery texture consistently in the center of both muscles.
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Step 8.
Once the brisket passes the probe test (smooth insertion), remove it from the smoker. Leave it wrapped and let it rest in a cooler (with no ice) for 1 hour. The meat will stay warm for up to 4 hours in a properly sized cooler.
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Step 9.
When ready to serve, slice the brisket against the grain and serve.