Memphis in May 2025 competition brisket
Memphis in May 2025 Competition Brisket
This competition-style brisket is a low-and-slow cook built for deep flavor, strong bark, and a clean finish. The brisket is injected the night before with a savory blend of beef base, butter, Worcestershire, garlic, salt, and black pepper to lock in moisture and flavor. After resting, it’s seasoned with a mix of Carolina, Everyday, and Beef rubs, then smoked around 225°F until the bark sets.
The brisket is spritzed during the cook, finished with butter or tallow, wrapped, and brought to tenderness before a long insulated rest. Slices are finished with a warm dunk of reserved injection mixed with Berry Garcia and Memphis sauce for a final competition-ready glaze.
Plan for about 10 hours start to finish. Built for precision, patience, and turn-in timing.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix all injection ingredients and inject the brisket thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight.
- Apply rubs evenly as a binder and seasoning. Let the brisket rest and sweat for at least 30 minutes.
- Set smoker to 225°F. It may take about 1 hour to come up to temperature.
- Place brisket on the smoker.
- Spritz after 2 hours.
- At around 3 hours, drizzle butter or tallow over the brisket.
- At about 4 hours or once the brisket reaches 165°F and the bark is set, wrap with tallow.
- Move to the Primo and continue cooking for about 2 hours, or until internal temp reaches 205°F.
- Unwrap briefly to check bark, then rewrap and rest in a cooler for 2 hours.
- Slice once the brisket cools to about 140°F.
- Heat leftover injection and mix with Berry Garcia and Memphis sauce. Dunk sliced brisket in the warm mixture before boxing.
Notes
Timing Notes
Total cook time: ~10 hours
Turn-in: 12:45 PM Friday
Light smoker around 2:45 AM
Can cook hotter and faster if needed
