Smoked Corned Beef Brisket | Mad Backyard (2024)

Learn step by step how to make a smoked corned beef brisket on ANY grill or smoker!

Take this classic St. Patrick's Day tradition to the next level, whether you are using a pellet grill like a Traeger, Camp Chef, or Pit Boss, an electric smoker like a Masterbuilt, or just a conventional propane grill like a Weber.

Let's get started!

A corned beef brisket is a classic St. Patrick's Day tradition, typically simmered beyond recognition for hours until it is devoid of all beefy flavor and texture.

Today we are going to create a delicious SMOKED corned beef brisket slow cooking it on a smoker or grill then braising in a flavorful broth.

We are going to cover:

• How to prep your corned beef for the smoker
• How to set up different grills and smokers for a smoked corned beef brisket
• What temperature to smoke your corned beef
• The best wood choices for a smoked corned beef
• How to know precisely when your smoked corned beef brisket is finished
• How to rest, slice, and serve the perfect smoked corned beef this St. Patty's Day!

Don't forget to also check out our accompanying recipe for Smoked Cabbage to serve on the side!

A typical store bought corned beef comes LOADED with salt after being brined and cured before packaging.

This is part of the what makes the beef brisket "corned" and gives it is distinctive pink/reddish color.

Generally, they expect you to cook it simmering in water for hours where the intense amount salt will dissipate out of the meat over time.

We do our smoked corned beef in two stages. First we add smoke on the grill, then we braise it in a flavorful liquid to make it super tender and draw out some of the excess salt.

Trim the Brisket Fat Cap

You will want to trim some of the fat cap off the corned beef brisket using a good boning knife.It is ok to leave a little layer of fat, maybe about ⅛ to ¼ inch thickness.

Depending on the brand you buy, there may not be much of a fat cap at all and you can skip this step.

Video

Rather WATCH than read? Check out our Smoked Corned Beef Video on our YouTube Channel:

Seasoning the Beef

Your corned beef likely came with a seasoning packet, and while you CAN technically use this to season your corned beef for smoking, beware these spices really are meant for boiling and braising.

These large spices work great to infuse a pot of simmering water with flavor, but aren't so good to bite into directly on the crust of a piece of corned beef.

Since braising is the second stage of this cook, set this packet aside for later.

For the smoking stage of cooking, we prefer to season the corned beef with a quick homemade mix.

Simply blend together garlic powder, onion powder, ground coriander and dry mustard. This mixture contains NO SALT because the corned beef is already overly salted.

Sprinkle the spice blend over all sides of the beef, then add a lot of freshly ground black pepper. We prefer to set our pepper grinder to coarse for corned beef.

After seasoning the corned beef, it is ready to be smoked. For smoking on a pellet grill or gas grill, we recommend placing the seasoned meat on a wire rack over an aluminum foil lined baking sheet to maximize air flow and minimize clean up.

Best Smoking Wood or Wood Pellet Choices

For a big robust piece of beef like a smoked corned beef, go with wood like hickory, maple, cherry, or pecan that will compliment the beef well.

If you want to keep it simple and straightforward, choose a lighter smoking wood like oak, apple, or peach, although these lighter fruitwoods may not impart as much smoky flavor into the corned beef as they might with chicken or fish.

Keep in mind that if you are smoking on a charcoal grill or using a firebox, you need wood chunks.

For an electric smoker or smoke box on a gas grill, use wood chips.

A pellet grill requires wood pellets, which you can also use in smoker tube to add more smoke flavor on a pellet grill, charcoal grill or gas grill.

We show you how to light a pellet tube smoker here, as well as compare smoker tubes vs. smoker boxes here.

We like to use higher end pellets in a smoker tube and save the bargain pellets for the hopper.

Setting Up the Grill

We recommend setting up the smoker to cook at 270-300°F. The exact temperature will depend on your smoker. Some pellet grills can only be set to particular increments, and some electric smokers have a maximum temperature of 275°F.

This is similar to how we cook our hot and fast beef brisket and will get even a large corned beef brisket done without having to babysit it overnight.

For our Pit Boss 1150 Pro we set the temperature to 270°F.

If using a pellet smoker tube, smoker box, or firebox on a pellet grill, we recommend placing it next to the tray of meat, opposite the smoke stack so that smoke flows over the meat on the way out the exhaust.

We always recommend opening the cap all the way for more airflow, which will help keep the pellet tube lit.

Monitoring the Internal Temperature

You will need to watch both your cooking temperature and internal temperatures carefully when smoking the corned beef.

Ideally, you want a good leave in probe thermometer like the Thermopro or MEATER as well as an instant read to spot check different depths and areas on the roast.

We like the MEATER because it has an app that connects with your smart phone to allow you to monitor the ambient and internal temperatures from up to 165 feet away.

For corned beef, choose the "beef brisket" setting.

We also like using a good instant read thermometer to spot check multiple places in the meat. We are particular fans of this one from ThermoProbecause of its durability and affordable price.

Smoking the Beef

In two stages of cooking, we are going to slowly bring the internal temperature up to 203°F, similar to pulled pork or a regular BBQ beef brisket.

We place the beef fat side up on a wire rack over a baking sheet.

For the smoke stage, we bring our corned beef up to an internal temperature of 150°F. For a 4 lb corned beef brisket cooked at 270°F on a pellet grill, this takes around 4 hours.

How cold it is the day you smoke the corned beef, the humidity, and how often you open and close your grill or smoker will also all have an effect on how long it takes to smoke.

We recommend spot checking different areas of the beef with an instant read thermometer and then rotating the pan as needed if one side is cooking faster than the other. Keep the brisket fat side up to ensure it stays moist throughout.

After the smoke stage comes the braising stage.

Braising the Beef

For this step, we recommend placing the beef in an aluminum foil pan half-filled with a mixture of water and low sodium beef broth and sprinkled with the seasoning packet that comes with the corned beef.

The braising liquid has a lower sodium concentration than the beef, so it will help draw out some of the salt from the meat. Filling the pan only half way maintains the top bark we achieved during the smoking step.

The pan is then covered with aluminum foil.

At this point, you can set your smoker, grill, or even indoor oven to 325°F. Since we have finished adding the smoke, it does not matter where you finish cooking the beef.

Braise the covered beef at 325°F until the internal temperature reaches 203°F. For our 4 lb corned beef this took an additional 2.5 hours, for a total of 6.5 hours cooking time.

Remove the foil covered pan from the heat and allow the meat to rest in the braising liquid for 30 minutes prior to slicing.

Carving and Serving

After the beef has rested in the braising liquid, remove it to a cutting board to slice.

Don't start carving until your guests are ready to eat as it will be more likely to get cold and dry out once its sliced and sitting.

Use a good meat slicing knife and cut the smoked corned beef into nice even slices.

We particularly like this meat slicing knife from Mairico.

We like serving our corned beef with our homemade Thousand Island Dressing and prepared horseradish.

Best Things to Serve on the Side

Traditional corned beef brisket is served with cabbage and potatoes, and there's no reason you can't cook these on the smoker right along with the corned beef!

Check out our easy recipes for both Smoked Cabbage and Smoked Baked Potatoes, or even our Smoked Twice Baked Potatoes!

Leftover corned beef makes a delicious Smoked Reuben sandwich!

📖 Recipe