Smoked Corned Beef Brisket

4.96 from 121 votes

Learn how to make a delicious smoked corned beef brisket with this detailed recipe!

Prep Time2

Cook Time8

Total Time10

Course: dinner, entree

Cuisine: Irish

Servings: servings

Calories: 634kcal

Begin by rinsing your corned beef to remove the salty brine and soaking it in cold water for at least 2 hours or overnight to remove the excess salt.
Prepare the corned beef spices and coarsely grind them with a coffee grinder. Pat the corned beef dry with paper towels, puncture all over it with a sharp knife, and insert slivered garlic into the holes. Season the corned beef generously with corned beef seasoning.
Add your favorite pellet flavor to your smoker (I used cherry) then preheat to 225°F. Choose super smoke if you have that option. When the smoker is ready, place the corned beef directly on the grill, fat side up. Pierce with a probe in the thickest part and set the probe to 160°F.
Remove corned beef from the grill and turn up the temperature to 275°F. Place corned beef in a disposable aluminum pan. Pour the beer over the brisket. Re-insert the probe, if you removed it, then cover with foil and crimp to seal.
Continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 200-203°F on a meat thermometer or your grill's probe. Mine took an additional 1 ½ hours.
Wrap the covered aluminum tray in a large towel and place it in a cooler if you need the brisket to stay warm until everything else is ready. Otherwise, place the wrapped brisket in the microwave or oven to rest for 30 minutes. Slice the corned beef with a sharp knife against the grain and serve.

Sprinkle the seasoning over the corned beef so there is no cross contamination by using a spoon. Store the remaining corned beef seasoning for another time.
Resist the temptation to lift the smoker's lid. Each time you do, you will let the heat out and lengthen the smoking time. My 4.8 lb corned beef took 6 hours to reach that temperature on a cold, snowy day.
If you don't have a disposable aluminum pan, use 2 layers of heavy aluminum foil or butcher paper and butchers twine.
Don't skip resting the brisket. During this crucial time the juices will redistribute throughout the meat. If you slice the meat too soon, the juices will seep out, resulting in drier, tougher meat.
Do not trim the fat off of the brisket. Doing so can not only dry out the brisket, but yield a less flavorful corned beef.
If you want the corned beef done sooner, you can smoke it at 275°F the entire time but it won't be as tender. If you have extra time, you can smoke it at 225°F the entire time.
Store leftover smoked corned beef in an airtight container or a ziplock bag for up to a week. Freeze for longer storage.
Besides making sandwiches, tacos, and nachos with the leftovers, you can also make this easy chile relleno recipe!