Smoked Wagyu Brisket

1. Gather all the ingredients. If the brisket is frozen, slowly defrost in the refrigerator over 1–2 days. Do not defrost wagyu at room temperature as the fat will melt.

To Season (the Day Before Serving)

1. Pat dry 5 lb wagyu brisket with a paper towel. The brisket we purchased did not require trimming so there was no waste. If your brisket requires trimming, the fat should be trimmed to ¼ inch on the bottom side. Watch Franklin’s video in the blog post for detailed brisket trimming instructions.
2. If your brisket is not a full packer cut, pay attention to the grain so you can slice it properly after it’s done cooking. We took a picture just in case we forget. You want to cut across the grain to serve.
3. Combine 1 Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 1 Tbsp 16-mesh ground black pepper in a small bowl and mix well. We use the Maraca Sifter.
4. Sprinkle the seasoning evenly on the top and bottom of the brisket as well as the sides.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To Cook the Brisket

1. Make a container out of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Preheat the Traeger grill to 225ºF (107ºC).
2. Place the brisket in the Traeger smoker along with the aluminum cup filled with water. Check the cup every 1½–2 hours to make sure there‘s water inside. There is a saying for smoking meat: “If you’re looking, you’re not cooking.” To avoid opening the smoker while it’s cooking, use a temperature probe. With the probe inserted, the temperature of the brisket from the fridge is 40ºF (4ºC). You don’t need to warm up the brisket to the room temperature prior to smoking.
3. When the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 170ºF (77ºC), about 5 hours later, take it out of the smoker.
4. Tightly wrap the brisket in butcher paper.
5. Optionally, you can also wrap it in aluminum foil or don’t wrap, but the results will be slightly different. If you don’t wrap, the brisket will be drier and smokier.
6. Place the brisket back in the smoker and cook until the internal temperature is 185ºF (85ºC). This is for wagyu brisket only. For regular brisket, smoke until 203ºF (95ºC).

To Rest and Serve

1. After removing the brisket from the smoker, it should rest for at least 1 hour. Place the brisket inside an ice chest and cover.
2. If you don’t have an ice chest handy, just place it inside your oven at a low temperature (160ºF, 71ºC).
3. After 1 hour, take the brisket out of ice chest and remove the paper.
4. Slice the brisket against the grain. Serve with Franklin’s BBQ Sauce or your favorite sauce.