How Long to Smoke a Brisket – Pulled Brisket

Set your dinner time – we’ll plan every step backward and put it on your calendar.

Pulled brisket is taken further than sliced brisket – to about 203 to 210°F rather than stopping at 203°F and slicing. The extra time breaks down enough collagen that the meat shreds cleanly instead of holding together in slices. The point end, which is fattier, is the better candidate.

How long it takes

Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per pound at 225°F, so a 12 pound packer runs about 15 to 18 hours including the stall. At 250°F you can bring that closer to 1 to 1.25 hours per pound. Weight is a planning tool, not a doneness test.

Pulled brisket usually takes a little longer than sliced because you are driving further past the point where the flat would be ready.

Pull temperature and feel

Target 203 to 210°F, and confirm by feel. The probe should slide into the thickest part of the point with no resistance at all, like pushing into warm butter. If there is any grab, it needs more time regardless of what the thermometer says.

Overshooting is much less punishing here than on sliced brisket. Meat that is slightly past the ideal slicing point still shreds beautifully.

Point vs flat

• The point is heavily marbled and full of collagen, so it shreds moist and rich. This is the cut you want.
• The flat is lean and can turn dry and stringy when pulled. If you are working with a whole packer, slice the flat and pull the point.

Rest before you shred

Rest for at least an hour, and two is better. Wrap and hold in a dry cooler. Shredding straight off the smoker drives out the juices you just spent all day rendering. Pull it by hand or with claws, then mix the bark back through so the flavour is distributed rather than concentrated in a few pieces.

Save any rendered fat and juices from the wrap and fold them back in after shredding. It is the single easiest way to keep pulled brisket moist.

Frequently asked questions

What temperature do you pull brisket for shredding?

203 to 210°F, slightly higher than for slicing. More importantly, the probe should slide into the thickest part with no resistance at all.

How long does pulled brisket take?

About 1.5 hours per pound at 225°F, so 15 to 18 hours for a 12 pound packer. Cooking at 250°F shortens that considerably.

Should I use the point or the flat for pulled brisket?

The point. It is fattier and full of collagen, so it shreds moist. The flat is lean and tends to go stringy when pulled, so it is better sliced.

How is pulled brisket different from sliced?

Mainly the finish temperature and the rest. Sliced brisket comes off around 203°F and is cut against the grain; pulled goes a few degrees further so the collagen gives completely and the meat shreds. See sliced brisket for that method.

Set your packer weight and dinner time in the calculator above and it plans the trim, the smoke, the wrap and the rest backward from when you want to eat. See also the smoking times and temperatures chart.

Times & temperatures

📊 See the full smoking times & temps chart for every cut →