Slow-Smoked Texas Brisket with Hickory and Dry Rub
Tender brisket smoked low and slow over hickory wood, rubbed with a simple Texas-style spice blend for a smoky, melt-in-your-mouth experience. This American-inspired barbecue recipe, ready in about 510 minutes, pairs beef brisket, kosher salt, black pepper for a weeknight-friendly dinner that comes together with one pan and minimal cleanup. Each serving lands at about 450 calories and feeds 8, so it slots cleanly into a weekly meal plan and pairs well with a quick salad or grain on the side. Tap "Plan a meal with the AI" below to drop this recipe into your week and send the ingredients straight to Instacart. Nutrition values are approximate, calculated from USDA FoodData Central (fdc.nal.usda.gov) — verify against ingredient labels for any health-driven dietary plan.
Ingredients
- 5 lbs beef brisket
- 3 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 cups hickory wood chips
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
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Equipment for this recipe
Tools this recipe's steps call for, with a link to each on Amazon.
Instructions
- Step 1: Trim the 5 lbs beef brisket of excess fat, leaving about 1/4 inch for moisture. Rub 2 tbsp yellow mustard evenly over the entire brisket to help the spice adhere.
- Step 2: Mix 3 tbsp kosher salt, 2 tbsp black pepper, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp garlic powder, and 1 tbsp onion powder in a bowl. Apply this dry rub generously over every surface of the brisket.
- Step 3: Preheat your smoker to 225°F and add 2 cups of soaked hickory wood chips to the firebox for smoke.
- Step 4: Place the brisket fat side up on the smoker grate and smoke for about 1 to 1.5 hours per pound, roughly 6-8 hours total, until the internal temperature reaches 195°F and the meat is tender.
- Step 5: Remove brisket and wrap tightly in butcher paper or foil. Let it rest for at least 1 hour before slicing thinly against the grain for serving.







