Texas-Style Smoked Brisket with Dry Rub
A bold, slow-smoked beef brisket seasoned with a simple but flavorful dry rub, delivering a tender, smoky crust and juicy interior. This American-inspired barbecue recipe, ready in about 750 minutes, pairs beef brisket, kosher salt, coarse black pepper for a weeknight-friendly dinner that comes together with one pan and minimal cleanup. Each serving lands at about 600 calories and feeds 10, 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
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp coarse black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- for smoking smoked wood chips (oak or hickory)
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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: Mix 2 tbsp kosher salt, 2 tbsp coarse black pepper, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, and 1 tsp chili powder in a bowl to create the dry rub.
- Step 2: Trim excess fat from the 5 lbs beef brisket, leaving a thin layer for moisture. Rub the spice mixture thoroughly over all sides of the brisket.
- Step 3: Preheat your smoker to 225°F and add oak or hickory wood chips for smoke.
- Step 4: Place the brisket fat side up on the smoker grate and smoke for approximately 10-12 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 203°F, spritzing with apple juice every hour after the first 4 hours to maintain moisture.
- Step 5: Remove the brisket from the smoker and wrap tightly in butcher paper. Let rest for 1 hour before slicing against the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices.








