From choice-grade brisket to gold-grade American wagyu briskets, 205 degrees internally has always provided the best results for my backyard barbecues.
The Best Internal Temperature To Pull Brisket Is 205 Degrees
A smoked brisket is done once it reaches an internal temperature of 205 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature will ensure that the brisket will be fully cooked. At 205 degrees internally the fat will be rendered and the meat will be tender and juicy with a smoky crispy bark.
Here are just a couple of reasons for choosing to pull my brisket off the smoker at 205 degrees internal.
- Brisket comes out perfectly tender.
- Brisket is still incredibly juicy.
- Fat is completely rendered.
- Develop a great bark.
Even though you need to cook your brisket to a higher temp, cooking the brisket exactly to 205 degrees is not the most important part. Most times I do smoke my brisket to a 203-205 internal temperature always making sure that my brisket is completely tender throughout and still juicy.
If you don’t have a brisket full of juices or one that is tough as nails to bite into, it doesn’t matter what temperature your brisket gets done at, it simply won’t be memorable, at least not in the way you want it to be.
To ensure the brisket cooks low and slow so that it has time to finish breaking down the connective tissue, you will want to smoke your brisket around 225-250 degrees. My guide How Long To Smoke Brisket At 225 will help show you how long you can expect your cook to take.
190 Degrees Internal Temperature Is Not The Best For Pulling Brisket
As I said before, other cooks may get better results with their brisket at different internal temperatures, however, personally, I have never had much luck smoking brisket at 190 degrees internal.
When smoking a brisket to 190 degrees internally, I always end up with the same problem. My brisket meat is just too tough. Even if my brisket stays at this temp for a long period of time and is rested for several hours, the brisket is quite a bit tougher than when I smoke a brisket to 205 degrees internal.
At 190 degrees you can still develop a great bark and be juicy but for my liking, they just don’t turn out tender enough.
On a side note, having a higher quality brisket like Australian or Japanese Wagyu may be part of why some pitmasters can get away with only smoking their brisket to 190 degrees internally. A higher-quality beef is usually more tender, to begin with, and takes less to break the brisket down so it is tender.
210 Degrees Internal Temperature Is Too High For Brisket To Be Done
On the other side of 190 degrees, you will find some barbecuers who believe 210 degrees is the best internal temperature for pulling brisket off the smoker. There are two reasons I find 210 degrees to be too high of a temp to pull brisket.
- Too tender.
- Tends to be dryer.
Even though other cooks can smoke a brisket to 210 degrees internal, I find that it is harder to keep the brisket moist. It is definitely possible to keep the brisket juicy, especially with the help of a high-marbled brisket.
On a side note, some brisket grades like select or choice may need to reach an even higher internal temperature as they often are tougher than the higher quality meats, and so may need more time to break down.
Why Do Some Pitmasters Smoke Brisket To Different Internal Temperatures?
The best and most honest answer I can give is that the internal temperature other cooks or pitmasters smoke their brisket to is simply that it works for them. If it didn’t then they wouldn’t do it.
Personally, I found that 205 degrees internal temperature is what works best for the briskets that I smoke and the people that try my briskets are happy with them, including myself.
Different Tests To See If Brisket Is Tender
A perfectly smoked brisket will pass all 3 of these tests. If the brisket you smoke passes these tests and is juicy it doesn’t matter what internal temperature you smoke your brisket too.
- Bend Test: The bend test is where you place a slice of brisket over your finger or knife in the middle and if the ends of the brisket slice hang down it is done and tender enough.
- Hang Test: The hang rest is where you hold one end of a slice of brisket and let it hang there. A brisket slice that doesn’t fall apart from its own weight has not been overcooked. The goal is not to cook the brisket until it is fall-apart tender.
- Pull Test: The pull test is where you hold a slice of brisket from both ends and give it a pull. A perfectly tender brisket will pull apart with minimal effort.
Brisket Recipes To Try
Learning how to cook your brisket to the proper internal temp and making sure it ends up juicy and tender will make these recipes stand out!
- The Best Smoked Brisket Recipe
- How To Smoke A Brisket
- Smoked Brisket Slider Recipe
- Easy Brisket Grilled Cheese
- Smoked Brisket Queso Dip
The Best Way To Monitor Brisket’s Internal Temp
Unless you are cooking briskets day in and day out you probably don’t have the know-how to tell when a brisket is perfectly smoked without the aid of a meat thermometer.
My favorite meat thermometer is a MEATER Block Wireless Meat Probe. With a wireless meat probe, you don’t have to worry about having cords running everywhere, can keep track of the internal temp without opening your smoker, and can even keep track of your cooking history.
$299.95 
Buy on Amazon Price incl. tax, excl. shipping
Do The Brisket Flat And Point Finish Smoking At The Same Time?
For the most part, the brisket flat and point do finish at the same time but you may find a bit of a difference with the internal temperature. This often occurs for two reasons.
The first is that the point of the brisket is typically thicker than the flat so it takes a bit longer for the internal temperature to rise.
A second reason is that one side of the brisket is facing towards the heat source and so its internal temp raises faster.
How To Make Sure That Brisket Point And Flat Finish At The Same Time
My easiest fix for making sure your flat and point are done cooking at the same time is by switching the direction in which your brisket faces 180 degrees when you notice one temp higher than the other.
For example, if you start with the flat facing towards your firebox and halfway through smoking your brisket the internal temperature is 185 degrees in the flat and 175 degrees in the point, to try and get them both to the same temperature, face the point towards the firebox the rest of the cook.
This should help slow down the flat from cooking faster and speed up the points cooking time.
What Internal Temperature Should You Rest Brisket To?
If you don’t know this already then you should. Just like any other cut of meat, it is important to let your brisket rest. With a large cut of meat like brisket, I recommend letting your brisket rest for no less than 1 hour. This gives the juices in your brisket time to redistribute throughout the meat.
If you don’t rest your brisket and slice into it as soon as it finishes smoking, you are going to let the juices from the brisket run out and cause your brisket to be drier than it should be.
If you have more time than 1 hour to rest your brisket, I like to let my brisket rest until it has dropped down to 140-150 degrees internally. I find this a great serving temperature to feed your guests and it gives the brisket plenty of time to redistribute those juices inside.
Letting a brisket rest to 140-150 degrees internally may take a few hours so be prepared as this is a huge chunk of meat and will hold its temperature for a while.
Final Thoughts On Final Brisket Temps
You need to remember that the most important thing is that if your brisket turns out tender and juicy, whether those things happen before or after 205 degrees, those are what will truly determine the best temperature to pull your brisket. Personally, 205 degrees just seems to be the sweet spot more times than not.
For different methods for testing out the doneness of your brisket, you can read When Is Smoked Brisket Done, where I tell you several different tricks for making sure your brisket is tender and juicy.
Try out my Texas Style Smoked Beef Brisket and see for yourself how well the brisket turns out smoking it to 205 degrees.
Along with making sure to smoke your brisket until it is tender and juicy, don’t forget to let the brisket rest to 140-150 degrees if you have the time to let it rest that long.
If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to leave them in the comments below and I hope to see you back at Joshs Cookhouse, where nothing is off the table.
Brisket Resources For All Experience Levels
- How To Smoke Brisket
- Learn How To Trim Brisket
- What Is Brisket
- How To Wrap Brisket
- How Long To Smoke Brisket
- Hot And Fast Vs Low And Slow Brisket
Last update on 2024-04-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
