Cook it well: the perfect brisket

Trim, season and smoke at 225

This is Traeger's method, not ours: Texas-Style Brisket by Matt Pittman on traeger.com, with oak pellets. Pro 22 notes are added from the manual: the dial moves in fixed steps, so use 225 where the recipe says 220 °F.

1. Trim a whole packer brisket of 5.4 to 6.8 kg (12 to 15 lb) while it is cold: take the hard fat off the meat side, trim the fat cap to 6 mm (1/4 in), cut out the fat seam between the point and the flat, and round the edges.
2. Brush on yellow mustard as a binder, then a beef rub. Rest it 30 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.
3. Fill the hopper with oak pellets: a full 8 kg hopper for a cook this long.
4. Start the grill with the dial on 225 (107 °C) and the lid closed, and let it preheat for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Push the probe into the thickest part of the flat, at least 5 cm (2 in) in. Lay the brisket on the main grate fat side up and cook it for 2 hours.

Wrap, finish and rest

Traeger's Texas-Style Brisket, continued.

1. Turn the dial to 250 (121 °C) and cook until the meat reads 79 °C (175 °F) inside, about 6 to 7 hours. Expect the temperature to stall for a while.
2. Lift it off, spritz it with cider vinegar or brush it with tallow, and wrap it tightly in butcher paper.
3. Put it back at 250 until it reads about 95 °C (203 °F) and the probe slides in "like room-temperature butter", 1 to 2 hours.
4. Rest it, still wrapped, for at least 1 hour, ideally until it falls to 60 °C (140 °F), up to 3 hours.
5. Slice the point and the flat against the grain.
6. Run the shut-down cycle.

For something shorter, Traeger's 3-2-1 Baby Back Ribs (Diva Q): hickory, 3 hours on 180 (82 °C), 2 hours wrapped in foil on 225 (107 °C), then 30 to 60 minutes sauced on 225.