Smoked Beef Brisket Seasoned with Santa Martia Rub

Name: Smoked Beef Brisket with Santa Maria Dry Rub
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 300 min
Total time: 450 min
Ingredients: 4 lb. beef brisket; ¼ cup olive oil; ¼ cup red wine vinegar; 2 cloves garlic ((crushed)); 1 tbsp salt; 1 tbsp black pepper; 1 tbsp paprika; 1 tbsp fresh rosemary (minced ); 2 tsp garlic powder; 2 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp cayenne pepper ((optional))

Published: Aug 26, 2018 Updated: Dec 31, 2020 by Hilda Sterner | This post may contain affiliate links 8 Comments

How to Make This Recipe

Step 1 | Prepare Sauce

Mix oil, vinegar, and crushed garlic cloves. Set aside until needed.

Step 2 | Make the Rub

Mix smoked brisket rub ingredients. Generously rub the spices all over the meat, making sure to cover the entire surface of the brisket. Allow the meat to rest for a minimum of two hours or overnight.

Step 3 | Smoking Instructions

Heat an electric smoker to 250 degrees F. and soak mesquite or hickory wood chips in water until the smoker is ready. When the smoker reaches the proper temperature, add drained wood chips to the smoker.

Brush sauce generously all over the brisket, then place the brisket directly on the center shelf of the smoker. Smoke the brisket for two hours with heavy smoke.

Remove brisket from the smoker, and turn down the temperature to 175 degrees F. Brush brisket with more sauce and seal in heavy foil. Smoke for an additional three hours.

Tent the smoked brisket with foil and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Recipe FAQ and Expert Tips

What Cut of Meat Is Used For Brisket?

Brisket is usually sold as a large, boneless slab of meat. It comes from a cow's lower chest region. Brisket is the same cut used to make corned beef and pastrami.

As you may already know, corned beef is cured with salt, pepper, mustard seeds, crushed bay leaves, and other spices. It is then simmered for hours, until tender.

Corned beef is traditionally served on St. Patrick's day, along with steamed cabbage and vegetables.

What is the origin of pastrami?

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you may know that I always manage to find an Assyrian or Middle Eastern connection. Pastrami is no exception.

The first pastrami sandwich is credited to Sussman Volk, a Jewish man who immigrated to New York from Lithuania in the 1800s.

In 1887, he received the recipe from a Romanian man, in exchange for storing the friend's luggage, while the man returned to Romania.

Volk tried the recipe and liked it so much that he began serving it in his butcher shop. As a result of its popularity, Volk opened up a restaurant, featuring his pastrami sandwiches.

Pastrami was originally called "Pastrama" (Romanian), or "Basturma" in Arabic. Both words refer to meat that has been cured in spices.

It is believed that the name was changed to "pastrami," imitating another popular meat at the time, "salami."

What's the Difference Between Pastrami and Brisket?

Technically, Pastrami is quite similar to this smoked beef brisket recipe. Both use the same cut of meat (brisket). They also utilize the same method of applying a dry rub and smoking the meat.

The only difference is that pastrami goes through a brining process prior to being coated in the dry rub.

The wood used to smoke your brisket really depends on your preference. However, mesquite would be my first choice, followed by hickory. You are encouraged to try those flavors or use your favorite wood chips.

Although I don't add brown sugar to the rub used in this smoked brisket recipe, you can add one tablespoon to the great rub mixture, if you'd like.