Copycat Buc-ee's Brisket
If you love the moist, tender, and perfectly cooked brisket at Buc-ee's, you'll love this easy copycat recipe that you can recreate at home. This Copycat Buc-ee's Brisket is ultra juicy and melt in your mouth good!
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 513kcal
Cost: $30
Equipment
- Smoker I used a vertical pellet smoker
- Mesquite pellets or chips
- Heavy duty butcher paper
- High quality cooler for resting the brisket (alternatively you can use your oven)
- Towels for resting the brisket (alternatively you can use your oven)
Ingredients
- 8 pound brisket you can use a larger brisket, just adjust your cook time until the brisket reaches the temperatures listed below.
- ½ cup salt and pepper blend Use a blend meant for grilling or smoking, do not make yourself because the grind is different. You may need to use more for a larger brisket.
- 3 to 5 tablespoons beef tallow or substitute for ghee, unsalted butter, or lard
- Head Country BBQ sauce or Buc-ee's BBQ sauce (for serving)
Instructions
- Begin by preparing your brisket to smoke. Trim the fat cap to about ¼ inch thick and remove any silverskin (the thin, tough, silvery membrane). Trim any brown areas or hard fat pieces around the meat. Trimming the fat allows the rub to attach to the meat better for the best flavor as the fat will melt off during the smoking process. You can save your fat to make your own tallow, if you like.8 pound brisket
- Generously cover your brisket with the salt and pepper mixture on each side. Depending on the size of your brisket you may use any where from ½ cup to 1 cup. Let your brisket rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. This can be done while your preheat your smoker.½ cup salt and pepper blend
- Set your smoker to 180˚F (82˚C) and preheat it with your lid closed for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Place your brisket into the smoker with the fatty side down. Close your lid and leave it until it reaches 160°F (71˚C). This should take 8 to 12 hours (timing will depend on the size of your brisket).
- Once the meat reaches 160°F (71˚C) remove it from the smoker and place it on top of heavy duty butcher paper. Add 3 to 5 tablespoons of beef tallow on top of it and rub it in gently (amount varies depending on the size of your brisket, I used about 3 tablespoons). Wrap your brisket in the butcher paper. I recommend butcher paper and not aluminum foil as it will dry out the meal.3 to 5 tablespoons beef tallow
- Increase the smoker temperature to 225°F (107˚C) and place the wrapped brisket back in and cook until the internal temperature reaches 204°F (96˚C) (about 3 to 4 hours).
- Remove the wrapped brisket from the smoker and wrap it in a towels. Do not remove from the butcher's paper. Place in an airtight high quality cooler (such as Yeti, Pelican, RTIC, etc.) with towels to rest for at least 2 hours, I recommend letting it rest for 8 hours as it will help the connective tissues to break down further. You can also rest it in your oven at 140°F before serving.
- Slice before serving and add BBQ sauce.Head Country BBQ sauce
Notes
Any nutritional information is an estimate by online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Tips:
- Read all of the instructions closely and give yourself enough time to make this recipe.
- Use butcher paper instead of aluminum foil when wrapping your brisket. I found that when I used aluminum foil, the brisket didn't come out as moist.
- Use a store bought salt and pepper blend meant for grilling or smoking meat. The grind size is different than table salt and pepper which can effect the taste.
- I recommend doing the full 8 hours rest time, if you have time.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 513kcal | Protein: 63g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 200mg | Sodium: 4955mg | Potassium: 999mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 6mg