Sous Vide Smoked Beef Brisket

This delicious sous vide smoked beef brisket recipe takes time, but you’ll be rewarded with an absolutely delicious feast. This recipe cooks in a sous vide bath and is finished off in a smoker (or an oven). The texture is perfect and the flavor is out of this world.

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My favorite combination of kitchen gadgets: my immersion circulator (for sous vide) and my smoker. Sous vide means I know that I’ll get the perfect texture, no question, and the juciest meat. My smoker gives my cooks that classic smoky bark I’m looking for when it comes to BBQ.

There is no question: this recipe takes effort and time. But it is WORTH IT. Believe me. 

After you’ve made this recipe, I’ve got plenty of other sous vide beef recipes for you here on the blog and in my cookbooks, Everyday Sous Vide and Sous Vide Meal Prep. Can you tell I like sous vide cooking?

This post will walk you through:

1. Ingredients Needed (and where to source)
2. Equipment Needed
3. How to Make the Rub
4. Sous Vide Time and Temperature
5. Smoking Instructions
6. What to Serve with the Brisket

What You Need to Make Sous Vide and Smoked Brisket

I keep the seasoning really simple with salt, pepper, and curing salt, but you can opt for a rub if you prefer. Spiceology has some great ones.

• Obviously, you’ll need a beef brisket. I highly recommend getting your brisket from Porter Road. They have half and whole briskets for you to choose from. A half brisket will feed PLENTY of people.
• Kosher Salt. I usually use Diamond Crystal.
• Black Pepper. Freshly cracked, if you please.
• Pink curing salt. You can easily get this on Amazon. You can skip this if you want, but it definitely helps achieve that pink color.

You will need a few gadgets to pull this off. You can skip the smoker and finish this beef brisket in the oven if you’d like, but a smoker is great for achieving that classic brisket flavor.

• Immersion circulator for sous vide. I’ve been loving the Joule lately!
• A vacuum sealer. I’ve been using one from Mueller that works well.
• A large container for the water bath. You could use a cooler – I like to use Cambro containers. You can also get these at restaurant supply stores.
• A smoker. We have the Green Mountain Grill Davy Crockett – it’s the perfect size for our tiny balcony!

How to Make a Rub for Brisket

I wanted to keep this rub really simple and traditional, so mine contains only three ingredients:

• 65 g kosher salt
• 30 g black pepper
• 7 g pink curing salt

If you cook or bake a lot, it’s worth getting a kitchen scale. It’s so much more accurate than measuring and frankly, easier!

Then really rub it into the brisket. I’m talkin’ all the nooks and crannies.

Time and Temperature for Sous Vide Brisket

Before cooking, you’ll want to vacuum seal the brisket. If you find it’s difficult to fit into vacuum seal bags, cut it into smaller pieces.

Okay, let’s get to the sous viding! Wondering what temperature to sous vide brisket and for how long?

Time and temp for beef brisket: 155 degrees F for 36 hours.

Then drop it into the water bath at 155 degrees Fahrenheit for 36 hours. Long cooks like this tend to create air pockets in the bags, so make sure to weigh down the bag/s of brisket. I usually use a combination of sous vide magnets and a ceramic dinner plate or bowl – don’t overthink it.

How to Smoke Sous Vide Brisket

After the brisket is done cooking in the sous vide bath, the best way to finish it is on the smoker (although the oven will work, too, if you don’t have a smoker). To avoid the meat getting tough, I like to smoke it low and slow at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 hours.

To finish in the oven, cook at 300 degrees F for 3 hours.

You’ll know it’s finished when it has a deep, even bark all over the surface! Then slice and serve.

What is traditionally served with beef brisket?

Don’t worry, I’ve got your side dish ideas to round this out into an incredible spread!

• Warm Potato Salad
• Skillet Cornbread
• Not Your Average Mac and Cheese
• Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes
• Perfect Dinner Rolls
• Easy Baked Beans

Looking for a DIY BBQ sauce to baste with? Try my Plum BBQ Sauce!

If you make this recipe and like it, please leave a rating and review. It means the world to me, and it helps other people find this recipe!

You can also view this recipe as a step-by-step web story.