Cook it well: the perfect brisket

Season it, then set up to smoke

Kamado Joe's own Big Joe Backyard BBQ Texas Style Brisket (Oded Eshel), with the set-up from the smoking pages of the 2019 manual.

1. Trim the fat cap to no more than 6 mm (1/4 in), season with kosher salt, cracked pepper and onion powder, wrap it in cling film and chill it overnight.
2. Fill the firebox with lump charcoal up to the fire ring (the manual's most is 2.7 kg) and light it.
3. Add 2 or 3 chunks of smoking wood to the firebox: the manual uses hickory and says a little goes a long way.
4. Set the Divide & Conquer rack for smoking: both heat deflectors in the lowest position and both grates in the highest (the manual).
5. Leave the dome open about 10 minutes, then close it. Set the draft door about 5 cm (2 in) open and the Kontrol Tower nearly shut.
6. Let it settle at 107 to 121 °C (225 to 250 °F) and wait until the thick white smoke has cleared.

The recipe adds a large water pan under the grates; the 2019 manual says a kamado needs no water pan. Either works. The recipe is written for the bigger Big Joe, so pick a brisket that fits the Classic's 46 cm (18 in) grates with a gap round it.

Smoke it fat side down, wrap at 77 to 82 °C

Kamado Joe's Texas Style Brisket; the fat side comes from Kamado Joe's Konnected Joe Smoked Brisket.

1. Open the dome and lay the brisket on the grates fat side down. At this heat the burp is optional (the manual asks for it above 175 °C), but it is a good habit: Above 175 °C (350 °F), lift the dome 5 to 8 cm for about 5 seconds before you open it fully, face and body clear.
2. Push a leave-in probe into the thickest part and close the dome.
3. Smoke it until the bark (the dark crust) has set, about 8 to 11 hours, holding 107 to 121 °C with small turns of the Kontrol Tower.
4. When the meat reads 77 to 82 °C (170 to 180 °F) inside, open the dome, burping it first, and lift the brisket out.
5. Wrap it tightly in butcher paper, put it back on the grates, push the probe back in and close the dome.

Finish at 90 °C, rest, slice

Kamado Joe's Texas Style Brisket, then the manual's shut-down.

1. Cook on in the paper until the meat reads 90 °C (195 °F) inside.
2. Above 175 °C (350 °F), lift the dome 5 to 8 cm for about 5 seconds before you open it fully, face and body clear. Lift the brisket out in its paper.
3. Close the dome. Wrap the brisket in three layers of foil, put it in an empty cool box under blankets and rest it 3 to 4 hours.
4. Close the draft door fully.
5. Close the Kontrol Tower (the dome is already below 205 °C) and let the fire go out. Leave the latch open once it is cool.
6. Slice the flat across the grain up to the point, then turn the brisket a quarter turn and slice the point.

The Konnected Joe recipe lifts it out at 82 °C (180 °F) and rests it 1 hour in two layers of foil and a towel. This guide follows the Texas recipe, which goes further for a softer slice.