Smoked Sous Vide Brisket Recipe with Bourbon BBQ Sauce (2024)

FAQs

Do you put BBQ sauce on brisket before smoking? ›

Place brisket in a 225 degree prepared smoker fat side down. Mop a nice amount of the mop sauce on and smoke for 1 hour. Flip the brisket carefully not piercing the meat. Mop with more sauce.

At 155°F (68°C), we get much better results than at 145°F. Yes, the brisket will expel a lot of moisture as it cooks, but what it loses in water it gains in tenderness and moisture, in the form of more connective tissue breaking down and fat rendering. For me, 155°F for between 24 and 36 hours is ideal.

The secret to making a delicious brisket is smoking at a consistent temperature, cooking with indirect heat, and, most importantly, monitoring the brisket's internal temperature to determine when to wrap it and when it is done. It is critical to know when to wrap the brisket.

Since smoking is typically done at much lower temperatures than grilling, you don't have to worry about the sauce burning and ruining your food. You may get some caramelization of the sugar which will deepen the longer it is on, but it won't burn and cause you any real problems.

There are few things better than barbecue brisket. What makes it even better is the perfect barbecue sauce. A good, rich barbecue sauce adds flavor to smoked brisket whether it is sliced to chopped, but the most important benefit is the moisture it adds.

So, while it's certainly very difficult to overcook your food using sous vide, to say that it's impossible is a little bit of an overstatement. Just remember that while you technically can't 'overcook' your food, the quality could start to decline if it's left to cook for a lot longer than is recommended.

But in general, you're trying to combine smoke and sous vide. You're adding flavor through the smoking process and you're tenderizing through the sous vide process. You can either smoke before or after the sous vide cooking; they both have their benefits. I think the pre-smoke infuses it with a little bit more flavor.

Season before smoking. Smoke then sous vide as low as possible for 6-8 hours at 150°F-180°F. Don't let the meat's internal temp exceed the target sous vide bath temp when you're smoking (either before or after).

Smoke for a few hours (225°F), then sous vide for 2 hours (155°F), chill overnight in the fridge, and then reapply your rub and reheat on the smoker to build a bark. It flat out works.

What temperature is brisket sous vide 6 hours? ›

Typically, 4-6 hours at 180 F/80 C is long enough to achieve the desired level of bark and the safe temperature requirements. In method “C,” the brisket is smoked BEFORE sous vide processing.

Season the brisket liberally with salt and pepper on both sides and put it into a large (gallon/3.8 liter) cooking pouch. Put the fat, garlic, and rosemary into the pouch (half on each side of the brisket) and vacuum seal. Submerge in the water oven to cook for 48 hours. Remove from the pouch and pat dry.

Often used for other meats that require long, slow cooking on the barbecue, such as ribs, the 3-2-1 method essentially involves firstly smoking the meat as it is for three hours, wrapping it for the second two hours, and finally finishing the cooking unwrapped for the last hour.

Water: if you want to increase humidity, slow the cooking process to build more smoke flavor, or just want to keep the meat moist, you can just spritz with 100% water.

Once seared, place brisket in foil pan, fat side up, and smoke, uncovered for 2 hours. Flip brisket and smoke for 1 hour. At this point, the juices inside are under a fair amount of pressure. It is important not to pierce the meat from this point until it is done.

Steps to BBQ Saucing Pork

Depending on the cooking temperature and the type of sugar, a sweet sauce can get gummy or even burn. So, apply the sauce at the end, about 15-30 minutes before removing the pork to add rich flavor.

Trim fat cap (on the bottom) a quarter to a half an inch of fat. Bevel the edges of the brisket so there isn't any fraying and edges don't dry. Cook with the fat side down. Save brisket drippings for marinades or an "au jus" dipping sauce.

The acid also breaks down the tough fibers of brisket, helping make it as tender as possible. Plan on marinating your brisket for more than 1 hour per pound, but no more than 2 hours per pound. Most brisket will require marinating overnight, so plan ahead.

Place the brisket on the smoker fat side up. Depending on your smoker, if the heat is coming from below, consider smoking fat-side down to protect the muscle from drying out too much. Place the fattier point of the brisket closer to the fire. The extra fat will help insulate it.