Smoked brisket
Photo: mc · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Central Texas brisket is German and Czech immigrant butchers' adaptation of the meat counter, dating to the 1860s smokehouses of Lockhart and Elgin. The Lockhart trio (Kreuz, Smitty's, Black's) refined slow-smoked beef in the 1900s; Aaron Franklin opened Franklin Barbecue in Austin in 2009 and rebuilt the technique for a James Beard run. The post-oak twelve-hour cook with salt-and-pepper rub is the canonical version, served by weight on butcher paper. The 'brisket trinity' of Franklin, Terry Black's and La Barbecue runs the current city benchmark.

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Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 2 hrTotal 14 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 1 whole packer brisket (5 to 6kg), point-and-flat intact
  • 200g coarse-ground black pepper
  • 200g kosher salt
  • Post-oak wood (split logs, well-seasoned)
  • Butcher paper
  • Spray bottle of water

Method

  1. Trim the brisket to leave a 6mm fat cap on the lean side. Square off the flat. Mix salt and pepper 1:1 and apply heavily, all over.
  2. Heat an offset smoker to 120C (250F) using post-oak. Place the brisket fat-side up.
  3. Smoke 5 to 6 hours, spraying with water every hour after the bark sets, until internal temperature reaches 75C (165F).
  4. Wrap tightly in butcher paper and return to the smoker. Continue cooking until the probe slides into the flat with no resistance, 80 to 95C (175 to 203F) internal, about 4 to 6 hours more.
  5. Rest wrapped in a 60C (140F) holding box or empty cooler for at least 2 hours.
  6. Slice the flat against the grain in pencil-thick slices; rotate 90 degrees for the point, slicing slightly thicker.

Tip from the editors. Texas brisket is salt, pepper, smoke and time. Do not add sugar or BBQ sauce to the rub; sauce is served on the side, never on the meat.

Where to eat smoked brisket

Smoked brisket in Austin

Franklin Barbecue ★ 4.9

$ Street food

Franklin Barbecue in Austin is Aaron Franklin's 2009 East 11th brisket pilgrimage, the James Beard-winning shop that codified central Texas barbecue.

TrySmoked brisket

TipQueue from 09:30am or pre-order online for pickup; the brisket sells out by 14:00 on most days.

Directions

Terry Black's Barbecue ★ 4.6

$ Street food

Terry Black's Barbecue in Austin is the Black family's Barton Springs Road BBQ, a Michelin Plate winner from the 94-year-old Lockhart family lineage.

TrySmoked brisket and beef ribs

TipThe line moves fast and the kitchen runs to 21:30 most nights; ask for fatty brisket and a side of pinto beans.

Directions

La Barbecue ★ 4.7

$ Street food

La Barbecue in Austin is Ali Clem's Cesar Chavez post-oak barbecue, a Michelin-recognised shop with a James Beard-recognised owner, sliced brisket.

TrySmoked brisket and house sausage

TipThe kitchen runs Wednesday through Sunday only; order online ahead to skip the queue at 11am open.

Directions

InterStellar BBQ ★ 4.7

$ Street food

InterStellar BBQ in Austin is John Bates and Brandon Martinez's North-side smokehouse on RR 620, a Michelin Star 2024-25 BBQ shop in the former Noble Pig.

TrySmoked brisket and house sides

TipThe smoked-prime-rib special on Sundays sells out by 13:00; pre-order online for pickup.

Directions

Micklethwait Craft Meats ★ 4.6

$ Street food

Micklethwait Craft Meats in Austin is Tom Micklethwait's BBQ smokehouse on Tanney Street, a Michelin Bib Gourmand kitchen relocated from the 12-year Rosewood.

TrySmoked brisket and house sausage

TipThe kitchen runs Thursday to Sunday; pre-order online to skip the brisket-and-sausage line.

Directions

LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue ★ 4.6

$ Street food

LeRoy and Lewis in Austin is the South Austin brick-and-mortar of Sawyer Lewis and Evan LeRoy's BBQ since 2023, a 5,000-sq-ft smokehouse known for beef cheek.

TrySmoked brisket and beef cheek

TipBeef cheek is the kitchen's signature beyond brisket; order it before 13:00 or it runs out.

Directions

Distant Relatives ★ 4.7

$$ American BBQ

Distant Relatives is Damien Brockways modern African-American BBQ at Meanwhile Brewings South Austin yard, with smoked collard greens as a quiet showstopper.

Why locals goDamien Brockway's modern African-American BBQ at Meanwhile Brewing's South Austin yard pulls a fraction of Franklin's queue and is the best new BBQ in town.

TipSit at Meanwhile Brewing and order BBQ to the table; the smoked-collard-greens side is the room's quiet showstopper.

Directions

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