Sous Vide Smoked Brisket Recipe (2024)

If you love perfect texture and tenderness in your BBQ (and who doesn't), then sous vide smoked brisket is the secret to easy perfection. It combines the precision of sous vide and the BBQ flavor of wood smoke we crave. It's really the ultimate combination of techniques and it actually makes things much less complicated.

When it comes to barbecue, Texas-style smoked brisket is pretty much the pinnacle of smoked meat. But getting great and consistent results can be a challenge if you are just starting out, and even for the pros at times.

Smoking a brisket the traditional way is more of an art than a science with the need to adapt to the environment. However, when you bring the sous vide technique into the equation, science takes over to make things much easier, more precise and hands-off, and that is quite freeing (literally).

For more Sous Vide BBQ recipes, try this Sous Vide Pork Shoulder,Smoked Sous Vide Ribs, poor man's brisket withSmoked Sous Vide Chuck, or make your favorite holiday centerpiece withSmoked Sous Vide Prime Rib.

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What You'll Need
How to Make Sous Vide Smoked Brisket
Pro Tips
Recipe FAQs
Sous Vide Smoked Brisket
Comments

Why You'll Love Sous Vide & Smoke

You pick the texture - With sous vide cooking, you can precisely control the temperature, doneness, texture and tenderness to your preference.
Cooking a brisket is hard to get right, this method eliminates the guesswork.
Fantastic for meal planning - You can sous vide the brisket up to a week before you finish it. This has a huge advantage over a traditional low and slow smoked brisket that can take up to 20 hours to cook and properly rest.

What You'll Need

Jump down to the recipe card for specific quantities and instructions.

Brisket Flat - The thinner "flat" will be more manageable to vacuum seal than a whole packer brisket. See tips on where to buy brisket.
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper as a basic brisket rub.
Immersion Circulator (Sous Vide Machine) - I use the Anova Precision Cooker Pro.
Water Container - Large enough to submerge the two brisket halves. A 12 qt + plastic cambro container or a cooler will work great.
Optional:
Curing Salt - Just a little added to the rub for a pink "smoke ring" for presentation. Thank you to Kenji at Serious Eats for this fantastic idea. Note: adding too much curing salt can give it a slight corned beef flavor.
Liquid Smoke - Add smoke flavor with liquid smoke if you plan on finishing the brisket in the oven.

How to Make Sous Vide Smoked Brisket

Step-by-step Instructions for prepping, cooking sous vide and finishing the brisket in the smoker.

1.Prep and Season.

Trim the brisket flat (if needed), then cut it in half crosswise so it fits into vacuum seal bags.

Season with the rub and pink curing salt (if adding) to make a smoke ring for presentation.

2. Vacuum Seal.

Seal each brisket half individually in a bag, removing all the air. Add liquid smoke if you plan on finishing it in the oven.

3. Cook Sous Vide.

Heat your water bath to your preferred temperature and add the brisket, making sure it is completely submerged for the entire cook.

4. Chill Completely.

Either place the sous vide brisket in an ice bath for a few hours or chill overnight in the refrigerator.

At this point, it can still be stored still sealed in the bag for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

5. Smoke. (Alternatively, you can finish it in the oven or on the grill)

Remove from the bag andRe-season the brisket with the remaining rub, then place it in a low temp smoker (225° F or lower) fat side down until the internal temperature reaches around 145° F (about 3 hours).

Variations

Finish it in the oven - If you don't have a smoker, you can finish the brisket in a low-temperature oven on a baking sheet with a cooling rack. If you finish it in the oven, you can optionally add liquid smoke to still give it some smoke flavor.
Smoke then sous vide - It is also possible to smoke the brisket first and create a nice bark, then sous vide it to finish cooking. This can work well, but a lot of the flavor can get washed off when it's cooked sous vide second.

Temps & Times

Cooking sous vide is all about the temperature of the water bath and the time range in which the food stays in the bath.

Firm yet super tender (medium): 140° F for 36 to 72 hours
Traditional BBQ Brisket with tender braised texture: 150° F for 24 to 36 hours
Fall-Appart shreddable: 160° F for 24 to 36 hours
Medium-rare: 131° F for 24 to 36 hours

Pro Tips

Double seal the bag (optional) - With a long cook, there is a higher possibility that the seal of the bag can fail. To help prevent this, you can double seal the bag, or even double bag and seal each brisket.
Cover the water bath. With such a long cook, you will want to use a sous vide container with a lid or cover it tightly to prevent evaporation as it cooks. Monitor the water level and add more as needed to make sure the meat is completely submerged the entire time.
Use a remote probe thermometer when finishing the brisket in the smoker or oven so you know when it's done.
You can start at a lower temp in the smoker, then crank it up a bit at the end for a better bark on the outside.
Slice against the grain for the most tender slices that are about the width of a #2 pencil.

Sous Vide Vs Traditional Smoked Brisket

Each method has its advantages and differences. A traditionally smoked brisket has a superior bark and depth of smoke flavor. While sous vide and smoked brisket delivers an unmatched tenderness, along with giving you a great amount of control over the desired texture and doneness, and the cooking portion is much more hands-off.

Learn more in our Brisket 101 Guide.

Recipe FAQs

How long does it take to sous vide a brisket?

It will take between 24 to 72 hours to sous vide a brisket, depending on the temperature that you sous vide it. The longer the cook, the more the collagen and fats will break down, and the more tender it will get.

Fat side up or down in the smoker?

As a general rule, the fat side of the brisket should face down on the grill grates closer to the heat. This protects the meat and helps the fat cap render against the heat.

For a pellet smoker or a Kamado-style charcoal smoker, place the fat cap down. For an offset smoker, you might place it fat side up, which would be closer to the heat source.

Should you sous vide a brisket before or after smoking?

In my experience, it is better to smoke the brisket after it cooks sous vide, as much of the flavor developed during the smoke will wash off if it is sous vide second.

You could smoke, sous vide and then smoke again, but that makes things much more involved than is necessary.

What to do with the leftovers?

Brisket leftovers have so many uses. From making brisket burnt ends to brisket sandwiches, adding to chili, a crunchy brisket grilled cheese and so much more. Check out all the leftover brisket recipe ideas.

What to Serve with Brisket

This sous vide brisket is the centerpiece, but it's the sides that bring it all together. You can go as simple as grabbing a few slices of white bread with some bread & butter pickles and BBQ sauce and be as completely satisfied.

Classic Potato Salad or the German potato salad version with bacon.
Macaroni Salad
BBQ Baked Beans
Quick Pickled Red Onions
Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes

See all the other sides for brisket.

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