Cook it well: the perfect brisket

Trim, season and smoke at 104 °C

This is Traeger's method, not ours: Texas-Style Brisket by Matt Pittman on traeger.com, with oak pellets. Pro 575 notes are added from the manual.

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 8.2 kg hopper for a cook this long.
4. Start the grill at 104 °C (220 °F) with the lid closed and let it preheat, about 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. Raise the grill to 121 °C (250 °F) 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 121 °C 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 at 82 °C (180 °F), 2 hours wrapped in foil at 107 °C (225 °F), then 30 to 60 minutes sauced at 107 °C.