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Smoked brisket without rub
Smoking a brisket without rub can be an interesting question that many seem to wonder about. In the context of brisket, you should never consider smoking one without rub.
It is a huge piece of meat that requires lots of seasoning to be very flavorful. If you happen to no do this, and instead just throw your brisket on the smoker without any proper seasoning, then you will certainly come out with a very bland piece of meat!
Do you rub brisket?
If you’re wondering whether or not you should be rubbing your brisket, you absolutely should be. Brisket is one of the biggest and coarsest pieces of meats out there, and because of that, needs an incredible amount of seasoning.
Most of the time, you should be applying so much rub to the meat that there should not be any open spots that expose the raw meat to the outside air.
You also don’t need to be measuring out your seasoning, just make sure to pour enough on it to completely cover the entirety of the meat. That’s what will give any brisket it’s amazing flavoring.
Can you smoke a brisket with just wood?
Most people will inquire about what is the best way to smoke a brisket, and with what fuel? The answer to that is simply that you can do it all with your favorite wood. You’ll want to season the meat though, because just smoking wood and a large cut of unseasoned brisket will not be enough to smoke it properly.
All you need to do is get perhaps a half chimney of charcoal (which is technically dried out wood in itself), light it up, and then pour it at the base of you firebox. Afterwards, you’ll then want to grab about 2-4 large hunks of wood and place it directly on the charcoal.
Afterwards, you’ll most likely need to season your brisket. Just make sure to liberally apply it all over and let it sit for a few minutes before placing on the smoker itself.
Can you smoke a brisket without salt?
Salt forms the base for lots of rubs that are used for briskets. It has the effect of drawing moisture out and is frankly the perfect balance of salty and meat flavor, making the overall brisket incredibly mouthwatering.
It’s not recommended to just season your brisket with pepper, garlic, or any other type of rub for that matter. You’ll always want to make sure to at least include some amount of salt in the mix. Thank me later!
What should I season my brisket with?
There is a whole variety of different rubs out there that you can begin experimenting with. The most common of with is Texas style, which is where you get kosher salt and black pepper.
That’s a staple down here in Texas which is where I’m from. That’s really all it takes to create an amazingly smoked and rubbed brisket that just melts in your mouth.
Final Thoughts
You should always smoke brisket with some kind of rub. Never smoke one without any rub at all. Putting seasoning and spices onto your brisket is what makes it so flavorful and juicy. Specifically, kosher salt and black pepper or among the most coveted two types of spices that a lot of people here in Central Texas will put on their briskets. I have never seen an instance where there has been a brisket smoked completely naked and only with some wood.
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.