What temperature is brisket done? (Explained!)

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What temperature is brisket done

Brisket is usually done at an internal temperature of anywhere between 200°F and 205°F.

At that stage in the cooking process, you can expect the collagen and connective tissues within the BBQ to begin rendering down and make the brisket very tender and moist. 

If you don’t pull the brisket off between those two temperature ranges, you can rest either under cooking or severely over cooking the meat. 

It becomes critical to not only put at 200°F, but also employ the probe test, which is where you grab a toothpick and basically start poking around the brisket to test for overall doneness.

Before we get started, you may be wondering who I am? I’m Robert McCall (BBQ Dropout), and bring over a decade of first-hand experience in cooking all kinds of meats, from juicy cuts of steak to authentic, slow-smoked barbecue. I pride myself on my extensive knowledge of virtually every grill and smoker on the market, enabling me to create mouth-watering dishes that leave my family and friends speechless. 

My passion for barbecue extends to my online presence, where I own and operate a YouTube channel with over 135 subscribers. I am dedicated to sharing my expertise, ensuring that my content is always authoritative and trustworthy, so that fellow barbecue enthusiasts can elevate their grilling game. Feel free to also follow my BBQ journey on Pinterest and instagram as well!

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What temperature is brisket done in oven

Throughout all of the briskets that I have cooked, I have not really seen that much of a variance in terms of when you should be pulling your brisket in an oven versus some other type of cooking device.

In other words, just because you have your brisket in the oven, does not mean that the internal temperature at which you pull it at, should differ from a temperature reading that you would pull it off any other type of cooker. 

As noted above, the tried-and-true method of determining a done brisket at a specific temperature, is to basically just have a general idea of your probe readings and make sure to pull it between a reading of 200°F to 205°F.

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What temperature is brisket done in a smoker

Like with anything and BBQ, things are pretty static and constant.

Just make sure to pull the brisket off at the same temperature, notably 200°F to 205°F. 

With smokers though however, you can run the risk of overcooking since there is a lot of carryover heat that could be administered onto the brisket. 

This is especially true if you’re cooking it hot and fast.

With smokers, it can be slightly different than cooking in an oven because the temperature that you are smoking the barbecue at, is usually a lot harder to get right and control than just a set and forget oven device.

If You’re not fully confident of your temperature management skills in a smoker, but still want to pull it off at the correct temperature, then consider about a 5° variance for any carry over heat to be applied to your brisket. 

That basically means as soon as your brisket hits around 195°F, consider pulling off the smoker, but continue to test for the overall internal temperature and don’t ever think that it’s done until it actually reaches 200°F.

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What temperature is brisket done absorbing smoke

Since the entire point of putting a brisket onto the smoker is to help the meat obtain as much smoke flavor as possible, it can be very interesting to know exactly when it’s even worth while doing so and how long a piece of meat like a brisket can even continue to retain further smoke flavor.

A lot of people seem to think briskets will stop taking smoke at about 150°.

That’s also the point where it should reach the stall, and is up also when many decide to just wrap the brisket entirely to rapidly increase the internal temperature. 

You can do this, and can get great results with a nice smoke ring. I have done it plenty of times myself. 

Once you start wrapping your brisket though, just know that your bark, or seasoning that you’ve worked so hard to create, will begin to diminish and actually lose a lot of smoke flavor. 

At that point it will become kind of like being cooked in an oven because there is no more smoke being applied to the meat.

A good recommendation I like to follow is basically to never wrap my briskets because it’s really hard to tell exactly when they truly stop absorbing smoke, so I would rather just leave it unwrapped throughout the entirety of the cook and do what I can to preserve the bark in its entirety.

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Brisket Internal Temp 210

In terms of what temperature a brisket could potentially be done, I have never seen one finish at 210°F. 

If you let your BBQ come up to that temperature, you will have a severely overcooked piece of meat.

All of the collagen and connective tissues will have not only rendered down but have completely dried out. 

You don’t want that, and you’ll certainly have a crumbly and dry brisket afterwards.

If you still however think that it is done at 210°F, then I suggest calibrating your meat thermometer because it is most likely inaccurate.

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Brisket Internal Temp 205

Briskets are usually done anywhere from 200°F to 205°F.

The connective tissue starts to break down and make the meat very juicy and moist at that temperature range. 

Anything below or above that temperature range, and you’ll have either an under cooked brisket or an over cooked brisket.

Make sure your meat thermometers are always accurate and before you ever consider actually pulling the meat, make sure you grab a toothpick and slide it in and out checking for any resistance whatsoever. 

Having no resistance as you do this, ensures that the collagen has fully broken down indicating that you can now take the brisket off the smoker despite what temperature it’s at.

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Final Thoughts 

Temperature is very important in the world and BBQ, and you should have an understanding of how certain temperature ranges can play a role in the overall outcome of your brisket. 

Specifically, a temperature reading of 200°F to 205°F indicates that a Brisket is fully done rendering down all of its connective tissue and will produce for you, an effective and quality piece of BBQ.