The Hot Hold Brisket Method aka the Brisket Game-Changer!

I'm so excited to finally have a way to hot hold brisket for hours to rest which is going to be a game-changer for my brisket and pork butt cooks. This will allow me to avoid using a cooler which could be inconsistent and lead to food being below safe temps, or my oven which only gets as low as 155 degrees F.

For this cook, we are smoking a brisket today, so we can serve it tomorrow! If you want to serve it today, you'd just let the meat rest 2-4 hours before slicing and serving.

I picked up a Vevor Hot Box Food Warmer which is similar to the Altosham which is used in commercial kitchens at a fraction of the price. This will allow me to hot hold food at a set temperature until I am ready to serve it. I can smoke the meat today, keep it warm at 150 degrees F plus and serve it tomorrow! The perfect set up.

This time, I used my old faithful, Klose Offset BBQ Pit and the smoke flavor, the seasoning on the meat and the bark was PERFECT!.

Prep Time: 30 - 60 minutes
Optional Prep Time: Overnight dry brine up to 8 hours
Cook Time: 8-12 hours (depending on internal temperature  and resting time)
Time to let Meat Rest: 8-12 hours minimum 

Ingredients:

- 10-15 lb. Brisket with both the flat and point muscle included (some call is a packer brisket)
- Seasoning: Hook's Rub Midnight All Purpose Black Rub and/or H-Town AP - All Purpose Rub
- A bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (or not if you’re not a saucy type of person)
- Apple cider vinegar to baste meat
- 4 TBS Beef Tallow for wrapping

Tools:

- Offset Smoker, Charcoal Grill, Barrel Smoker or Pellet Smoker
- Post oak Pellets, bundle of oak logs, oak wood chips or chunks (Texas style is oak or pecan)
- Butcher paper or Foil long enough to completely wrap the brisket OR an aluminum pan large enough to fit the brisket
- Cutting board and baking sheet with wire rack for prep and dry brine
- Spray bottle or basting brush for apple cider vinegar
- Sharp Boning Knife
- Thermoworks Thermapen One or Sizzle Instant read digital thermometer
- Thermoworks RFX Wireless Thermometer, Smoke Thermometer or Signals Thermometer
- Brisket Slicing Knife
- Vevor Food Warmer - 4 shelf with water pan

Instructions:

1. Trim brisket fat to 1/4 - 1/3 in thick. (Brisket Trim Video)
2. Season liberally with the Midnight and H-Town seasonings at a 1:1 ratio.
3. Place on a cookie sheet pan and place in the fridge overnight, 6-12 hours to dry brine.
4. The next morning, heat up your smoker to 250 degrees F for low and slow or 300 for hot and fast. I chose low and slow for this brisket.
5. Pull the meat out of the fridge and set on the counter to get closer to room temp while the pit warms up. This is not required, but it could help cut down the cook time by a little bit.
6. When the pit is up to temp, place the brisket on the pit, fat cap up on an offset with the point facing the firebox side or fat cap down on a barrel, charcoal kettle grill or pellet smoker which will help protect the meat side from the heat.
7. Insert the temperature probe for the Thermoworks RFX, Signals or Smoke into the thickest part of the point and flat. Set your high temp on these probes to 190 as we are not wrapping this brisket. We will start probing at that point to check for butter-poke doneness.
8. At 2 hour increments, baste or spritz the brisket with apple cider vinegar. This will help break down some of the meat for tenderness and also cool it a bit and keep it moist during the cook.
   PRO TIP: If the point or flat seem to be cooking too fast, wrap that portion with a little aluminum foil to protect it from burning. You can also adjust the location of the meat being careful not to scrape off the bark before covering those corners in foil
9. When the internal temperature hits 190-195, take your Thermapen, sizzle or a skewer and poke the point and flat ends as well as the middle of the brisket. It should feel like point those into a jar of creamy peanut butter or soft room temp butter. It should slide in and out without resistance. If it has any resistance, let the brisket smoke for another 5-10 degrees, checking every 30-45 minutes with the poke test.
   
   
   Photo: The Brisket Should look like this when it’s time to poke
   
   
10. Heat your hot box food warmer or oven to 155 degrees F. You can also set it up to 190 degrees F depending on if you want the meat to continue to "cook" while resting. This will not hurt the finished product, trust me!
11. When the brisket is butter poke tender, remove it to butcher paper or a sheet of foil, add 2 scoops of beef tallow under the brisket and on top, then wrap as tightly as you can, being careful not to scratch off the bark if using foil. 
12. Place the wrapped brisket on a cookie sheet pan in the warmer and let it hot hold for 8-12 hours.
    
    
    
13. When ready to serve, slice the flat side of the brisket against the grain and cube the point into pieces for burnt ends or chop it all up as you would like for chopped beef.
    

Serving Suggestions:

Serve with white bread or on a bun and top with sauce or whatever condiments you prefer. It’s also great on its own for a low-carb, high-flavor and high-protein option.

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