Wagyu Brisket
intro
Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth Wagyu brisket, slow-smoked to tender perfection with a savory spice rub, delivering rich umami depth in every juicy bite.
Ingredients
Steps
Trim and prep brisket
Remove the 1500g Wagyu brisket from the fridge and pat completely dry with paper towels. Use a sharp boning knife to trim hard, thick fat from the surface, leaving an even 6mm (1/4 inch) fat cap across the top to keep meat moist during cooking. Let the trimmed brisket rest at room temperature for 45 minutes before applying seasoning.
Apply savory spice rub
In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, and 1 tablespoon light brown sugar until evenly combined. Brush the entire surface of the room-temperature brisket with 2 tablespoons yellow mustard as a seasoning binder, then press the spice rub firmly into every side of the meat to create a thick, even coating. Let the rubbed brisket rest for 15 minutes while you preheat the smoker.
Preheat smoker for low heat
Soak 500g hickory wood chips in cold water for 30 minutes, then drain fully. Add the drained chips to the smoker's wood tray, then preheat the smoker to 110°C (225°F), adjusting air vents to maintain a consistent, thin blue smoke flow. Fill the smoker's built-in water pan halfway with cool tap water to keep the cooking environment moist.
Slow smoke the brisket
Place the rubbed brisket on the smoker grate fat-side up, positioned at least 15cm away from direct heat to avoid burning. Close the smoker lid and maintain a steady internal cooking temperature of 110°C (225°F) for 8 hours, spritzing the entire brisket surface with 120ml apple cider vinegar every 2 hours to keep the exterior tacky and moist. Limit lid openings to only spritzing times to prevent heat and smoke loss.
Wrap and finish cooking
Once the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 77°C (170°F) (measured with a calibrated instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part, avoiding fat pockets), remove it from the grate and wrap tightly in two overlapping layers of uncoated butcher paper. Return the wrapped brisket to the smoker, maintaining the 110°C (225°F) temperature, and cook for 3 to 3.5 hours until the thickest part reaches 95°C (203°F), and a probe slides in with no resistance, like soft butter.
Rest and slice brisket
Remove the fully cooked brisket from the smoker, keep it tightly wrapped in butcher paper, and place it in an insulated, ice-free cooler to rest for 1 full hour to let juices redistribute. Unwrap the rested brisket, slice firmly against the grain into 1cm (1/2 inch) thick slices, and serve immediately.
Tips
2.Aim for thin, wispy blue smoke during cooking rather than thick, billowing white smoke, which leaves a bitter, ashy coating on the brisket surface.
3.Never skip the 1-hour rest period: this allows cooked muscle fibers to relax and reabsorb juices, so slices stay moist instead of leaking juice onto the plate.
Y’all, I’ve been smoking brisket for over 15 years and this recipe just knocked my go-to out of first place. The Wagyu comes out so tender you can pull it apart with a fork, the bark is that perfect crunchy, salty, smoky layer I’ve been chasing for years. Made it for my kid’s high school graduation party over the weekend and every single guest asked for the recipe. Worth every penny of the Wagyu splurge and every hour of cook time, no notes.
This brisket was unreal! I hosted a small Rosh Hashanah dinner and served this with latkes and apple sauce, and the combo was insane. Only thing is I ran out of post oak wood chips halfway through and used hickory, which was a little strong for my taste — next time I’ll stock up on post oak for sure. Any other wood recs that pair well with Wagyu?
OMG my whole family went crazy for this! I was so intimidated by the 12 hour cook time but I set an alarm to check the temp every hour and it was totally manageable. We had it for Sunday dinner, then used leftovers for brisket sliders at my kid’s soccer potluck, then chopped up the last bit for breakfast hash the next morning. Three totally different meals out of one brisket — meal prep win for real!
Wait a second — the recipe says to cook to 203°F internal temp, but my brisket hit 195°F at 10 hours and was probe tender already. Did I do something wrong? It still tasted amazing, super juicy, great bark, but I was worried I pulled it too early.
I made this for my husband’s 40th birthday BBQ and he said it was better than the brisket we had on our Texas honeymoon! I followed the rub recipe exactly, used the butcher paper wrap at 165°F, and let it rest the full 2 hours. No dry slices, every bite was melt-in-your-mouth good. Already got requests to make it for our annual tailgate in October.
Brought this slow-smoked Wagyu brisket to our office potluck last week and people were lined up for seconds before everyone even got a first serving! A bunch of my coworkers thought I ordered it from a fancy BBQ spot, they couldn’t believe I made it myself. The key was taking my time and not rushing the smoke, just like the recipe says. 10/10, will make again for every big event from now on.
Game changer! I’ve made regular smoked brisket a dozen times but never splurged on Wagyu before, and the difference is night and day. The marbling melts into the meat and gives it so much extra richness, I don’t know if I can go back to regular brisket now. My only regret is not making a bigger one, we polished off a 12lb brisket in one night with 6 people.
As a dad of 4 little kids, I don’t have a ton of extra time to mess around with complicated recipes, but this one was actually way more straightforward than I expected! I prepped the rub the night before, got the smoker going first thing in the morning, and by dinner time we had the most insane brisket. My kids ate more brisket than I’ve ever seen them eat any meat, they even asked for it in their school lunches the next day.
I was a little skeptical of a Wagyu brisket recipe that uses such a simple rub, but wow, it works. I didn’t add anything extra — just the 16 mesh black pepper, kosher salt, and little bit of garlic powder the recipe calls for — and the Wagyu flavor was front and center, no weird seasonings covering it up. We served it with coleslaw and baked beans, classic BBQ plate perfection.
SO good! I’ve tried a handful of Wagyu brisket recipes from other sites and they always turn out either too fatty or too dry, but this one was perfectly balanced. The fat rendered down completely so there were no chewy, unrendered fat chunks, and the flat was just as juicy as the point. I even chopped up the point to make burnt ends for appetizers during the football game on Sunday, they were gone in 10 minutes flat. Saved this recipe to my permanent BBQ rotation, no question.
I was so nervous to cook Wagyu brisket for my in-laws’ visit because my father-in-law is a retired competitive BBQ pitmaster, y’all. I followed this recipe to a T — temp, rub, wrap, rest time, everything — and he said it was one of the best briskets he’s ever eaten. I almost fell over! He even asked me for the recipe, which is the highest compliment I could possibly get. Thank you for this foolproof guide!
Made this on my Weber kettle with the snake method for charcoal and a smoke tube for the wood chips, since I don’t have a dedicated smoker. It worked like an absolute charm! The temp held steady the whole cook, the smoke flavor was perfect, and the brisket was just as good as the ones I get at my favorite local BBQ spot. Total game changer for us kettle grill owners.