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How long to smoke brisket with rub
Smoke briskets at a temperature range of anywhere between 225 degrees Fahrenheit all the way up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. On average, that should take about 10 to 20 hours to cook through a brisket entirely.
As you start to smoke briskets at lower temperatures, then lean more towards the 20 hour mark to cook a brisket. Likewise, as you smoke briskets at hotter temperatures, then lean more towards the 10 hour mark.
How hot and fast you decide to cook your brisket is one of the sole determining factors as to how long you can expect to cook a brisket, even though it has quite a bit of rub all over it.
How long to put rub on brisket before smoking
A lot of the time, people will say that if you let rub be put on a brisket well in advance before smoking, then it will have time to permeate into the meat and make it a lot more juicy.
I have never really done this, because I haven’t really seen significant results to indicate that it’s worth it.
However, if you want to try it then go ahead.
One of the main reasons why people will suggest to rub a brisket in advance, is that it will use the salt in the rub to extract a lot of the juices and moisture out of the meat which would then in turn make it a lot more tender as you start to smoke it and finish it.
If you were to try and put rub on a brisket before smoking, then try to do it at least 24 hours in advance to fully let all of the seasoning encapsulate the meat.
That should give you the best chance of getting the most tender brisket you can.
When to put rub on brisket before smoking
I like to put rub on a brisket right before throwing on to the smoker. I’m not really a big fan of going to the extra effort of loading up on seasoning and then putting the brisket back in to the refrigerator.
I don’t like having my brisket exposed to cold air for a continued amount of time.
That’s just a personal preference, but it’s something I always try to stay away from. So, in practice what I usually do is just take the brisket out of the cryovac seal for the vacuum-sealed bag, and then directly put the kosher salt and black pepper seasoning that I always use, on to the brisket.
Do you oil brisket before rub?
Another great thing you can do actually, in terms of rubbing your brisket, is to begin putting a base of oil before you put any of the kosher salt or black pepper on to it.
This helps to not only trap a lot of that granular type of rub on to the brisket itself, but it can also help absorb a lot more smoke in the process of smoking it.
Not only that, but it will also add another flavor profile to the finished product.
Do you put mustard on brisket before rub?
Like putting oil on to your brisket, putting mustard on to a brisket is very similar, in the sense that it is considered a base for rub to be applied on 2 afterwards. It allows a lot of the after rub to stick onto the brisket a lot easier.
Mustard sticks to brisket Like Glue, and then also allows all different types of rub that would not otherwise stick to a brisket as easily, to begin sticking.
The mustard doesn’t really seem to have any effect on the flavor, outside of just increasing the flavor by increasing the amount of residual spices that you would put on top of the mustard.
How much rub should you put on a brisket?
As far as how much mustard you should actually be putting on a particular brisket, I don’t use any typical serving or measuring mechanism, because frankly every brisket is it’s own battle.
What I mean by that is every brisket is different. Every brisket has a different grade and different weight to it.
That means there’s always going to be a different amount of seasoning that you apply to brisket. A good rule of thumb though, is to totally covered brisket with whatever seasoning you happen to be using.
You don’t want any blotches or pink spots that expose the raw meat to the air.
Brisket is a very coarse piece of meat that definitely needs tons of seasoning. Don’t worry about over seasoning a brisket, I’ve never seen one over seasoned, but have definitely seen some underseasoned.
Final thoughts
As far as how long to smoke a brisket with rub, just know that smoking a brisket with Rub versus smoking a brisket with no rub would basically be the same amount of time.
Rub does not really determine how long a brisket is with Smoke for.
The only thing it will do however, is help increase the flavor profile and overall tenderness and juiciness of the brisket itself.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.