At five in the morning, I placed a three-pound chuck roast in my WSM smoker at 225°F. A wireless probe sent temperatures to my phone so I could watch the numbers climb while I sipped coffee. Around 160°F, the meat “stalled.” The temperature sat there for what felt like forever. Instead of turning up the heat, I just waited it out after wrapping it. I have learned from fiddling with it before that time does the work; it is just water evaporating, they say. They all say. Totally normal. Nothing is wrong. I am not panicked. Are you panicked? I’m not. Who am I talking to?

When the internal temperature reached about 200°F, I cut the roast into two-inch cubes, coated the pieces with sauce, honey, and melted butter, and put them back in the smoker. After another hour, the edges turned dark and sticky. The burnt ends were almost burnt ends.

Why Burnt Ends Work

1. Fat plus time equals tenderness: Chuck roast is rich in fat and collagen. Cooking at a steady low temperature lets fat render and collagen turn into soft gelatin.
2. Bark builds flavor: A simple rub of salt, pepper, and brown sugar forms a crust. That crust holds smoke and keeps the inside juicy.
3. The stall is normal: Evaporation cools the meat surface and slows heating. Wrapping the meat helps push past the stall without drying it out.

Step-By-Step Cheat Sheet

1. Rub: Season with equal parts kosher salt and coarse black pepper, plus two tablespoons brown sugar per pound. This is a little different than my Trademark BBQ Rub. I use sugar when I am aiming for burnt ends.
2. Smoke at 225°F: Place the roast fat side up. Use oak and cherry wood for solid smoke flavor.
3. Wrap at 160°F: Wrap tightly in butcher paper. Continue cooking until 200°F internal.
4. Cube and sauce: Cut into two-inch cubes. Toss with half a cup of barbecue sauce, two tablespoons of honey, and two tablespoons of melted butter per pound.
5. Finish at 275°F: Return cubes to the smoker in a single layer, uncovered, for sixty to ninety minutes. Look for deep brown edges and a sticky glaze.
6. Rest: Let the cubes cool for 30 minutes.
7. Reverse rub: Just before you serve, sprinkle a light dusting of the dry rub over the top. The fresh spices bloom in the heat and give every bite a final pop of flavor. ALso, I like to serve them on butcher paper with a side of pickles.

I learned the reverse rub from Andy Husbands’ Overnight Brisket Class. This has been in my bag of tricks ever since. Just don’t go too far with the rub.

Have you tried the read-deal burnt ends before? Have you tried the poor man’s version? Do you really care which is better? What tricks do you want to share?

A brisket takes a long time to smoke but only takes up one rack in a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. That means that you can smoke other things at the same time. I try to take advantage of the extended session and smoke a few things while the brisket is doing its thing, turning into magic.

I keep the brisket on the top grate of the WSM, leaving the bottom grate for more things to smoke. I also do this because I have friends who do not eat pork.

On the bottom grate, we can get creative. For one, you do have enough time for a pork shoulder or a Boston butt.

Smoked Queso and Cream Cheese are crowd-pleasers. It’s funny. I can put a day into a brisket, tending a fire and meticulously crafting the culinary experience, and people will rave about the cream cheese. If they were left alone, they would like the pan clean. They love it because its simple, flavorful, and novel.

Smoked Cream Cheese is pretty straightforward. You take out two bricks of cream cheese, place them in an aluminum pan, and score their tops… You know for extra surface area to house that smoke flavor. Season them with a sweet BBQ rub. I like pecan rubs like Meat Church Deez Nuts Honey Pecan rub. You can easily make your own with brown sugar, black pepper, salt, and toasted pecan flavoring. Anything sweet is going to work with the cream cheese. Smoke for an hour or so. Serve with crackers. I like to double down and use the pecan crackers from Blue Diamond.

So, have a fun weekend. I hope you smoke something awesome as well as try something new. Let me know how it goes. See you on the BBQ forums.

Salt and Pepper Rub

Texas keeps their rubs simple—just salt and pepper, and other things that they pretend not to use. I like to add Lawry’s Seasoned Salt as part of the salt half of the recipe. I also like to use freshly ground tellicherry black pepper for the pepper side. With turkey, you can get away with a little lemon zest, thyme, sage, or other herbs. Have fun experimenting.

Texas Brisket Rub

Recipe by Hans ScharlerCuisine: BarbecueDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

5

minutes

Easy one-to-one by volume BBQ rub for Texas-style brisket.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

• 1/2 cup of kosher salt

• 1 cup of tellicherry black pepper (coarse ground)

Directions

• Combine ingredients in a container
• Shake container until fully combined
• Store in a container for up to three months

Recipe Video

Notes

• Two cups of the brisket rub will cover a 15-pound brisket. You will have a little left over. You can use the extra rub to season brisket when you serve it, season a Bloody Mary cocktail, or flavor a homemade barbecue sauce.

Prepare the Turkey Breast

Take the turkey breast out of the refrigerator and put it on your cutting board. I use gloves when handling any of the meats that I am cooking. There are two sides to the turkey: the breast-skin side and the meat side. To prepare the turkey breast, carefully remove the skin and remember which side is (was) the skin side. Cut away any loose parts and clean up the breast. The little scraps tend to burn and not come out well. Take your time and trim away anything that you don’t think will make it through the whole process.

Rub the Turkey Breast

Using your freshly prepared rub, season the turkey breast. There are two sides. Start with the “not skin side” and rub the turkey breast with a generous layer of brisket rub. Let it rest for 5 minutes and add a little more rub. Flip it over and rub the skin side. Again, wait for five minutes and add some more rub. The salt in the rub will start pulling out water, and this really helps with the rub sticking to the turkey and forming a bark. Once both sides are rubbed, let it rest for another 15 minutes before you start smoking it.

Smoke Turkey Breast to 150F

Get your smoker of choice fired up to a temperature of 250–275F and place the turkey breast “not skin side” down. Let it smoke for two hours and check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Keep smoking until it gets to 150F at the thickest part.

Wrap and Smoke Turkey Breast to 165F

Take the turkey breast and place it on top of two large sheets of aluminum foil. Place some butter pads on the turkey breast, along with some fresh herbs. I like to use sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Wrap up the turkey breast with the foil and place it back on the smoker. Smoke the turkey breast until 165F. The butter will help it moist.

Slice and Serve

After letting it rest for 10 minutes in the foil pack, open it up and place it on a cutting board. Save the butter and turkey juices that were collected in the foil packet. I use it on the serving plate to keep the turkey moist while it is sitting around waiting to be served. I use a brisket knife to slide it up. I treat it just like the flat side of a brisket and make long slices. Put the turkey breast slices on a serving platter and pour the butter and juices over them. Take a picture for the Instagram and share it with your friends and family.

You’re still here? I already told you the recipe. Texas brisket rub is 50% black pepper and 50% salt. Or, is it?

Why do you use a rub?

1. Flavor: The most direct benefit of a rub is the flavor it imparts. This combination of herbs, spices, salt, and sometimes sugars can dramatically enhance the taste of the meat. The type of rub used can vary greatly, allowing for an extensive range of flavor profiles.
2. Bark Formation: When the rub is applied to the meat and then smoked, the heat and smoke cause the rub to form a crust, known as the “bark”. This bark is often highly prized for its intense, concentrated flavor. The sugars in the rub help to caramelize and create this flavorful crust.
3. Moisture Retention: Salt in the rub can help to retain moisture in the meat by drawing the proteins in the meat closer together, which slows down the loss of moisture during the long cooking process. This helps to keep the brisket juicy.
4. Color: Many elements in rubs, such as paprika or brown sugar, help to give a beautiful, appetizing dark brown or mahogany color to the smoked brisket.
5. Smoke Adhesion: The rub can also help smoke adhere to the meat surface, adding another layer of flavor. The moisture that the rub brings out from the meat interacts with the smoke, allowing it to stick and penetrate the meat more effectively.

Why is a Texas brisket rub only salt and pepper?

The Texas-style approach to smoking brisket generally involves a very simple rub of just salt and pepper, often in a 50:50 ratio. This method is sometimes referred to as a “Dalmatian rub” because of the black and white appearance.

The philosophy behind this approach is about respecting the flavors of the meat itself and allowing the smoky flavor from the cooking process to shine. The salt helps to enhance the natural flavor of the meat and assists in retaining moisture, while the pepper provides a bit of spice and contributes to the formation of the flavorful bark on the exterior of the brisket.

In contrast to other US regional styles that use more complex rubs with a variety of spices, the Texas style emphasizes the importance of simplicity. The focus is largely on the quality and preparation of the meat, the type of wood used for smoking, and the careful control of temperature and time.

How do you create your own brisket rub?

Variety is the spice of life. Over a decade of smoking meats, I have learned that you need to experiment, taste, and try to find your signature blend. I have also learned that most Texas pitmasters used more than just salt and pepper.

1. Learn the Basics: A basic rub includes salt and pepper. Try a basic barbecue rub to start:
   • 1 cup of black pepper
   • 1 cup of kosher salt
2. Experiment: Start tweaking this basic recipe to suit your palate. Maybe you like a sweeter rub, so you add a little sugar (brown or white). Perhaps you want it spicier, add chili powder or add a hotter pepper. You could even incorporate unique ingredients like coffee grounds, cocoa powder, or dried herbs.
3. Test: Apply your rub to a smaller cut of meat (not a full brisket) and see how the flavors develop when cooked. It’s important to try it on meat and not just taste the rub raw, as the flavors can change significantly during cooking.
4. Take Notes: Keep track of your changes and your thoughts on each iteration. Did version 3 have too much heat? Was version 4 not salty enough? This documentation will be invaluable in guiding your future adjustments.
5. Patience: Remember, creating your own special blend won’t happen overnight. It takes time, patience, and lots of practice to find the perfect combination.
6. Feedback: Get feedback from family and friends. Sometimes, a fresh palate can provide valuable insight.
7. Consistency: Once you’ve found a blend you love, make sure you record the final recipe so you can replicate it in the future. Consistency is key in producing great barbecue.

What is my brisket rub recipe?

I do like a basic salt and pepper rub for a brisket. I have found the little extra something that I love comes from using Lawry’s seasoned salt in my rub recipe.

• 1 cup of tellicherry black pepper
• 1/2 cup of kosher salt
• 1/2 cup of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

Lawry’s is mostly salt with some sugar, paprika, turmeric, onion, garlic.

So, come up with your own signature rub and share your ideas with others. Or, start a food truck and keep it as a trade secret. I hope you find your trademark.

Choose a Brisket

I used to buy my briskets at a mass-market store and hoped for the best. This still works, but I am surrounded by really awesome Brazilian butcher shops. I have learned that I am looking for a carne de peito. If you have a few options, be picky. Pick a brisket with purpose. I tend to look for how much fat there is, the overall shape, and how thin the flat side is. I am thinking about how much I am not going to be able to use. I tend to trim aggressively so I don’t want to pay for what I am going to throw away. Get the brisket home safely and get it in the refrigerator. Keep it cold until you are ready to trim.

Make a Brisket Rub

While your brisket is getting cold, prepare a fresh brisket rub. This is where your personality and preferences can shine through. Don’t worry too much about being traditional or what others like, try out different rubs, spices, and flavors. Over time you will figure out what you like and what others tend to like. To me, a brisket rub is basically sale and pepper. This is because I have had many briskets in Texas and they tend to be heavy on the black pepper. The trick is to use coarse grinds on the spices that you want to use. You want the smoke to make it the meat – fine powders tend to block the smoke from getting in. If you want to experiment, try coarse ground spices instead of powders. I recommend Penzeys Spices Tellicherry Black Pepper and grinding it when you need it.

Texas Brisket Rub Recipe

• 1/2 cup of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 cup of kosher salt
• 1 cup of tellicherry black pepper (coarse ground)

Add all of the ingredients to a container, seal it, and shake it to mix thoroughly.

Trim the Brisket

YouTube is your friend here. If you have never trimmed a brisket, watch a few hours of video to see different techniques and to get comfortable with what you are trying to accomplish. I will list some of my tips but trimming a brisket takes some practice. It is also nerve-wracking as you don’t want to mess up a very expensive cut of beef. Trim right out of the refrigerator – the colder, the better. I recommend a cheap deboning knife to trim a brisket.

At the end of the trimming process, you want a piece of meat that will be easy to smoke and yield eatable pieces. “Don’t be a hero” is what I say to the people who I teach. I aggressively trim and cut away pieces that are just not going to cook well or be tasty. Save the trimmings to make a tallow.

At the end of the process, you want a brisket with an aerodynamic shape. This means, no sharp corners and a rounded, domed shape. Trim down the flat side so it is at least an inch thick – any thinner you run the risk of burning it up and drying it out. Trim the fat cap to around a quarter of an inch. Remove the silver skin and fat pockets from the bottom side. Take your time.

Apply the Rub

Put the brisket on a large cutting board. Apply your brisket rub to the brisket by shaking the container of rub from about 12 inches away. I start with the bottom side, go around the edges, flip, and cover the top of the brisket. I only lightly press the rub down. I don’t use any binders and I don’t rub them into the meat. And, make sure to get all of the sides. I tend to miss the side facing away from me.

Smoke the Brisket to 170°F

I use vertical smokers and charcoal and wood chunks for smoking meats. You can do this with a pellet smoker or an offset smoker. Use what you know and what you are comfortable with. I smoke at 225°F and I am looking for an internal temperature of 170°F and a defined bark. Before I move to the next step, I like to have good color and have the bark in place.

Make Tallow

While your brisket is smoking, make some tallow. We are going to use the scraps from trimming and render them down into tallow. I put some of my scraps in a pot and heat it up slowly for a couple of hours. I am not worried about getting all of the fat to render. I just want to about a cup for when I wrap the brisket and smoke it the rest of the way. I pour the rendered fat through a strainer and then a coffee filter. I am only trying to get a cup to use in the next step. You can also buy Wagyu Tallow, smoke it, and use it without all of the mess of making your own.

Wrap the Brisket

Take two large sheets of pink butcher paper and place them on top of a cooking sheet. Pour the tallow onto the paper and put the bottom of the brisket down on the pool of beef tallow. Fold the paper around the sides, flip, and tuck. I like to make sure that there are no air pockets in the paper. It might take a few tries to wrap it, but I haven’t noticed too much of a difference in the output. Tallow helps with moisture, texture, and mouthfeel.

Smoke the Brisket to 203°F

Take your wrapped brisket in pink butcher paper and place it back on the smoker. I am looking for an internal temperature of 203°F and a certain feel of the temperature problem. I use an instant-read temperature probe with a pointy end. I want the probe to punch through the paper and have little resistance going into the brisket. This takes some experience getting the feel for this.

Rest the Brisket

Once the brisket is at the desired temperature and has the right texture, I let the brisket cool down to around 180°F. I keep it wrapped the whole time. Then, I place it in a cooler until the brisket is ready to serve. I give it at least 4 hours and have gone as long as 8 hours. The resting part is really important for moisture. A good cooler will hold the internal temperature around 160°F. I use some extra butcher paper to fill up the space in the cooler. I am not sure if this helps, but it is something that I do every time.

Show Off the Brisket

I am a ham. I love to share my work. I usually gather everyone around for the big reveal. This step is optional.

Slice the Brisket

I use a sharp brisket knife while wearing gloves to slice to order. My first cut is around the middle to separate the flat from the point muscles. I pose for the moisture shot and then continue slicing. I have watched a lot of videos on slicing a brisket properly and I learn something every time that I do it. My flat cuts are around a quarter of an inch and my point cuts are a little wider. Over time, you will learn where the burnt ends are. I usually cube up four pieces from the flap on the point to make some really tasty burnt-end pieces.

Rest Yourself

I never sleep so well after a day or so of smoking and eating. It is exhausting to keep up with the fire, checking things, overthinking things, and striving for your best. Get some rest, reflect, and be ready for the next battle.

What tips do you have? Please share and help build up our community. I am always learning. And, the more I share, the better I get. I love talking about BBQ so connect with me here, on Twitter, or Instagram. Godspeed.

My approach to a Texas-style brisket rub is to use equal parts by volume of kosher salt and coarse ground pepper (1-to-1 by volume). On the salt side, you try different things as long as it adds up to one part by volume. Same with the pepper side of the equation. You can try different types of peppers as long as you stick to a coarse grind.

Texas Brisket Rub

Recipe by Hans ScharlerCuisine: BarbecueDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

5

minutes

Easy one-to-one by volume BBQ rub for Texas-style brisket.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

• 1/2 cup of kosher salt

• 1 cup of tellicherry black pepper (coarse ground)

Directions

• Combine ingredients in a container
• Shake container until fully combined
• Store in a container for up to three months

Recipe Video

Notes

• Two cups of the brisket rub will cover a 15-pound brisket. You will have a little left over. You can use the extra rub to season brisket when you serve it, season a Bloody Mary cocktail, or flavor a homemade barbecue sauce.

Experiment using my template: 1 to 1 (salt to seasonings by volume). You really can’t go wrong. The idea is to try things and see what you Experiment with using my template: 1 to 1 (salt to seasonings by volume). You really can’t go wrong. The idea is to try things and see what you like. My tastes have changed over time. And, for brisket, I like to apply the rub and let it refrigerate for at least 12 hours. This lets the salt work its magic and impart some flavor to the bark. Enjoy!

Update: Why Tellicherry Pepper?

I recently got messages about why I use Tellicherry pepper since it is more expensive. I also get asked about how to grind these peppercorns. The star of a Texas-style brisket is black pepper. When it comes to black pepper, quality and origin truly matter, and Tellicherry peppercorns stand out as the gold standard. Harvested from the Malabar Coast of India—specifically the Thalassery region (from which it takes its name)—Tellicherry peppercorns are known for their larger size and more complex flavor profile. Unlike standard peppercorns, which are often harvested prematurely, Tellicherry peppercorns are allowed to remain on the vine longer, developing a richer, fruitier aroma and a nuanced, almost wine-like complexity. This maturity results in distinct spicy, citrusy, and floral notes that elevate dishes beyond the one-dimensional heat of ordinary pepper.

What is 14 Mesh Black Pepper and Why It’s Great for Brisket Rubs

When you hear the term “14 mesh black pepper,” you’re dealing with a specific grind size—one that hits a sweet spot for barbecue rubs, especially for brisket. The “mesh” refers to the size of the particle as it passes through a sieve; a 14 mesh grind has medium-sized granules that are coarser than supermarket pre-ground pepper but finer than the larger, more rustic cracked peppercorn.

This medium grind ensures that each particle clings well to the surface of the brisket, promoting an even, consistent crust without falling off during cooking or carving. Too fine a grind can melt into the meat, failing to create that characteristic black speckling and robust bark that pitmasters prize. Conversely, too coarse a grind might not adhere well or could overwhelm with sharp bursts of peppery heat.

The beauty of 14 mesh black pepper is in its balanced flavor release. As the brisket slowly smokes, the pepper granules gradually infuse the meat with a gentle, rounded heat, enhancing the savory depth of the beef rather than overpowering it. The texture it contributes also sets a satisfying crunch as part of the bark’s symphony of flavors. Combined with salt and other spices, 14 mesh black pepper helps form that signature Texas-style crust, giving you a brisket that tastes as phenomenal as it looks.