How to Cook a Brisket on a Gas Grill

Anyone from Texas will tell you that BBQ cuisine is all about the brisket. This American staple is beloved by all. Those first few tender bites of a freshly cooked brisket will make your mouth water just thinking about it. 

Cooking and enjoying a brisket for dinner is a homey and comfort meal that we all love.

A smoked beef brisket is a popular dish that you can order from Texas-style BBQ joints and restaurants across the globe. 

However, we all prefer meals made from the heart, right at home.

But can you cook a brisket at home? We love that smokey flavor and crispy exterior texture, and you may be wondering how this is possible to recreate.

Of course if you have a smoker, you know that there are thousands of recipes that tell you how to smoke a brisket. It takes time, dedication and a lot of practice.  

Making a traditional Texas barbecue brisket will take you forever to do. But when you execute the perfect brisket, you can call yourself a pitmaster.

However, smoking a brisket joint will take you all day. The preparation and seasoning will take hours before you even get to smoking it. 

We would argue that the results are worth every minute. 

Using a gas grill to cook a brisket is an easy way of delivering that Texas taste sensation right in the comfort of your own home.

If you are thinking there’s no way you can make a brisket on a gas grill and deliver the result, we are here to show you how to cook a brisket on a gas grill. 

Step By Step

1. Set yourself some time before you are ready to cook your brisket. About an hour before preparing your gas grill, you need to start seasoning the meat. Grab a rimmed baking sheet and place your brisket cut on top. (If your brisket isn’t trimmed, check out our guide on how to do that here)
2. Mix your salt, spices and pepper into a bowl together to create your brisket rub. Next, you need to cover your brisket with the mixture and season all over. This should be a super thick layer, and try to get a texture that resembles salt stuck to the brisket.
3. Following this, you must leave the meat to sit at room temperature for about an hour. This allows the seasoning to penetrate the meat ready for cooking.
4. The preparation is not over. Now you will need a source of smoke for flavoring. For this part you can use either wood chips or wood pellets in a smoker tube.  You should soak six cups of chips for around 30 minutes prior to cooking. Try to leave 2 cups of wood chips dry as this will help the smoking process. The favorite types of woods for smoking a brisket are hickory, oak and cherry.
5. You can create your own smoker kit by placing the wood chips in a disposable aluminum pan and cover it with foil. We do this by waiting until the chips have soaked, then we drain them and add them to the foil pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and poke holes in the top to allow the smoke to pass through.
6. While you rest your brisket, set up your gas grill. You want to have a temperature of between 225-250 degrees to get that perfect brisket.  This is achievable with a two zone set up, where only one side of your grill’s burners are turned on.
7. You want to have your heat and smoking method on one side of the grill and your brisket on the far other side. So, in this sense, light the grill burner to medium on the left side, and place your smoker box on this side.
8. A smoker box or kit will be a tray filled with your soaked wood chips. Add 1-2 cups of your dry chips to increase the smoke levels and close your grill. After a few moments, it will begin to smoke.
9. You can then place your brisket on the opposite side of the grill away from your smoking wood chips. Cover your grill and wait for the smoke to work its magic. Try not to open and check the meat too often as you will lose your heat.
10. Make sure that your brisket is fat side up, since the flow of heat will be coming from the top side of the brisket in a two zone setup.  Also, as the juices cook they will drip down and cover your meat in delicious flavors. Always place a pan underneath the brisket as it cooks to catch all of the drip. You can then use this to baste the top of your brisket to add more taste.
11. Keep smoking your brisket, and consider wrapping it after 6 hours or so. A rough guide of how long to smoke a brisket is about 10-12 hours in total.
12. You should use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the brisket. This way, you know that it is cooked when it reaches about 180 degrees. However, for a really tender and juicy meaty meal, you want to let it get to 195-203 degrees.
13. Once you have checked your brisket is cooked correctly, it can be removed from the gas grill, and you should leave it to rest for about a half hour before you slice. The best brisket should be very tender and almost falling apart when you slice through.

Here’s a pellet tube smoker that can add smokey flavor to any gas grill:

Pellet Smoker Tube -12" Stainless Steel Wood Tube Smoke for Cold/Hot Smoking for All Electric, Gas, Charcoal Grills or Smokers - Ideal for Smoking Cheese, Fish, Pork, Beef, Nuts, Bonus Brush

• Adds smokey flavor from wood pellets to any grill
• Great for hot smoking & cold smoking

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Best Brisket Tips

The key with cooking a brisket on a gas grill is to always remember to cook it low and slow.

Brisket is made from a cow’s chest and breast area.

This is built up of connective tissue and muscles, so the low and slow method helps to relax the muscles and tenderize them into that delicious result that we want. 

You want to take time to allow the smoke to flavor the meat, the low cooking temperature ensures that the brisket will be soft and succulent for the perfect Texas BBQ brisket.