Texas-Style Smoked Brisket with Pepper Rub
A classic Central Texas smoked brisket seasoned with a simple pepper and salt rub, slow smoked to tender perfection. This American-inspired barbecue recipe, ready in about 620 minutes, pairs beef brisket, coarse black pepper, kosher salt 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
- 1/4 cup coarse black pepper
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 3 large chunks wood chunks (oak or hickory)
- 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 excess fat from 5 lbs beef brisket, leaving about 1/4-inch fat cap. Rub 2 tbsp yellow mustard evenly over the entire brisket to help seasoning adhere.
- Step 2: Mix 1/4 cup coarse black pepper with 1/4 cup kosher salt in a bowl. Generously coat the entire brisket with this pepper-salt rub.
- Step 3: Preheat your smoker to 225°F and add 3 large chunks of oak or hickory wood. Place the brisket fat side up on the smoker grate and smoke for about 8-10 hours, maintaining temperature, until the internal temperature reaches 203°F and the meat is tender.
- Step 4: Remove the brisket from the smoker and wrap tightly in butcher paper or foil. Let it rest for 1 hour before slicing thinly against the grain to serve.







