How To Smoke The Best Beef Brisket - Injected vs. Non Injected 

hell yea baby!! i love LC BBQ injections / they have really elevated my competition game!!

Looks delicious but my only two constructive criticism points are: 1. Dip both slices in the au jus or not at all. 2. Use the same rub on both briskets.

Watching this to see "how much worse" the non-injected is while I sit here choking down a 10pc Mcnugget with tears in my eyes

That is a dope video man!! Just came across your channel! cheers dude !

You just made me a believer for injecting my next brisket.

You make trimming up a pretty brisket look so easy! I like injecting with beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Great video Joe!

Thanks for doing this. I am a traditionalist. Personally. I don't use any special Rub, and injecting is sacrilege to me. I go 50/50 salt and pepper, the best quality beef I can find. Post Oak or Pecan. And sometimes I don't even wrap. I love the Crunchy bark. I guess I feel like if you need to add stuff then you don't know what you are doing. But that is my opinion on what good brisket is supposed to taste like. But I do understand that in Comps it is necessary to inject and bing as many different flavors to the party, they care about the color of the bark, and it being soft. That is Not Traditional... I am glad you did this and it was nice to see a difference between a close comp cook and a close to traditional. I would love to see this again but with comp trimming and bark, and 100% central Texas traditional comparison. This just makes me wonder who set the rules for judging Brisket in Competitions. Sure was not a Texan. And how did injections dominate the circuit? I would love to do Competitions one day, knowing I would have to leave a lot of my ways behind me and swallow some pride. Just need to figure out how to bet injection flavors. lol

Man! I love you! I’m a brisket freak from Florida. Texas is ALWAYS a road trip for obvious reasons! Time to fire up the Pit Boss!

Dear Joe, you are one if my very favorites to watch. Everything from skill, to cook, to narrative is beautifully done. Love ya style and personality. Best to family. Take care. Lotsa Live!💜💙💛💚🧡❤

The rub on the injected brisket has a much higher salt content. Salt retains water/liquid. Many times the injections are also loaded with sodium nitrates/nitrates/and salt. All of that contributes to retaining liquid within the brisket. Why salt brines work so well on dry white meat chicken breast. They absorb water from the brine to retain in the meat. Or inject a salty liquid. And if your smoker has a large variance in temp front to back, should put the briskets in side-by-side rather than front to back for more even cooking between the two. There are other injection yes/no videos out here with many fewer differences. Will watch for more of your videos. Thanks for the info provided.

Oh yeah Joe! What a great comparison test as for injected vs non - injected thanks for sharing my brother. You and the family have a wonderful weekend and stay safe out there. Cheers!

KosmosQ "beef" seasoning is a great first agent for a "beefy" taste & they also make a "hot cow" seasoning that has a good amount of pepper & heat as a second flavor. It's to satisfy needs of more or less pepper. Just a heads up & they also have "moisture magic" injection that will make ANY meat a lot more moist if wanted. It is amazing when mixed with their "reserve blend" ! I'd highly recommend giving it a try as well. Keep up the GREAT work! Absolutely love your educational videos

That first bite, bruh ya killin me. We have no good BBQ in this town -- watching this makes my bland food taste a little better.

Got rid of my old smokers (both were manual wood smokers) and got a new pellet smoker with temp control and Wifi. Planned to smoke a brisket this week, and will be injecting with a Jack Daniels/brown sugar injection mixture. Great tips you have in this video. Two first for me (new smoker and injection)...yeah, I live life on the edge....lol

Man, I feel like a broken record, but there's a lot of good information in this video and those briskets look amazingly tasty. Great work, as usual, Joe!

Great comparison Joe!! I also religiously inject my brisket every time. Adds tons of flavor that I personally like. As a KCBS judge, brisket is the last of the 4 meats judged, and most judges are getting full by that time, so you really need to WOW them with extra beefy flavor. Thanks for sharing this video, should help lots of folks up their game!!

Great brisket comparison. I love Meat Church Rub and great tip with the spatula!

Ordered the injection, thanks!

I try to imagine the reality behind channels like this. I envision you have the happiest neighbours after a video like this with 30+ lbs of sliced brisket... After 9 hours of smelling this, you wouldn't need a bell. Just open the back door and see your neighbours waving 20$ bills over the fence...

Awesome video Joe. I just did a brisket yesterday and injected the flat with straight butter like I've done with my turkeys for years. INSANE!!!! INSANE!!!! Gonna have to try the LC products though because that's ridiculous. Also, let's not act like your Zoro look isn't going unnoticed. Haha you should've had your slicing knife at your side in place of the sword. Love it

Very cool comparison. What's in the tray is expected since there are 3 cups of water injected into the meat. BTW, it's just jus. Au simply means with.

Used that meat church rub this past weekend and man did it add great flavor and beautiful color. Going to try the injection on my next cook.

Channel's killing it Joe, loves these types of videos! Keep them coming!

great video! You do a great job explaining whats going on for us rookies. Thanks

Wow Joe I see right now that I need to go on a brisket hunt. I definitely need this in my life right now. Great show brother

I smoked a dry aged prime brisket and it had at least the same amount of moisture as your injected brisket had. It would be interesting if you cross compared something like that to the injected one you did.

Joe man I could watch you trim brisket all day, thank you for the techniques brother....We use Kosmo TX Beef in conjunction with Cow Cover or Cow Cover Hot, it’s pretty amazing! Great looking briskets, you are the Brisket King my man...Thanks again!!! 👍👊

Super comparison Joe , I can't get CAB here , normally only select brisket locally . Can get a chose if i go to the millitary commassary . So i inject always . But i use ether caned beef consomme or beef broth or stock .

Really hoping whoever got to eat these beautiful morsels appreciated the time gone into them even as a YT vid. Well done.

Those briskets looked amazing. I need some bread to sop a little of that as jus 😅. I’ve never cooked a whole packer brisket (or flat) primarily because the stores in the northeast typically only carry flats ($50-$60) & I’m afraid I’ll end up drying it out. I’m encouraged & you’ve just removed my fear! I’m gonna see about getting this injection & smoke my first brisket in the very near future. Thank you for sharing brother 👍🏾.

Both great looking briskets! Really awesome to see the side by side comparison 👍. The amount of au jus is reason enough to inject!

Great job, definetly will try this Saturday. Awesome video, story telling and instruction.

Tried the Carolina pulled pork on Tuesday and now I can't get them to stop asking for it 🙃. Thanks for the expert advice

once again...you hit it out of the park..very well made video...super looking meat...I got my brisket thawing out right now..thank you for this post...

LOOKS DARN GOOD. just ate brisket last night at a new to me bar-b-q joint, all i can say is, brisket should not taste like a plate of vinegar at all, if it does it is considered ruined meat here in kentucky, YUK. EVERY1 in our group later commented they would never go back to that place and that it was the worst meat they had ever tasted. it was a sad sad night for brisket everywhere....

Now I'm gonna make some briskets this Thursday for my anniversary Friday, thanks Joe for the video, 👍🏼👍🏼

Like a surgeon with that knife brother Joe! Both briskets looked amazing, definitely could see the injected one was flowing, point and burnt ends are my favorite ,great cook! Have a great week,stay safe brother!👍🤘

I have my 1st competition in May and I think I might try this injection rub looks 🔥

Guess I'll be heading over to the link in the description so I can pick up some angry bull for next weekend! Nice job Joe both looked amazing as always!

Just found your site today. Really first rate videos, thank you!

Looks awsome for sure.... kosmos reserve blend injectiong with the moisture magic is on point. The moisture magic allows a lot of the injection/juice to stay in there a lot better... also the Texas beef with his SPG is fire for sure... the SPG has a ton of pepper in it..... I just finished one used the reserve blend injection with the diagles brisket rub,kosmos SPG, and topped it with one of my favorites SMOKING GHOST.... thing came out on FIREEEEEE. I mist say loved your bark for sure on these keep up the good work and keep representing us Texas boys I’m way up north in the Yellow City!!!!!

Man these brisket look so good brother

I have been wanting to do my own brisket but I just couldn’t Imagine cooking something that long and then after 8 hours of cook waiting another hour just to eat it I am sure resting does a lot but I can’t even wait 5 mins after cooking a steak

Just started following your channel. EXCELLENT! Thank you for doing all these

Good comparison video Joe! Brother I would dive head first into either one 😋

First turkey, now brisket. Excellent cooks Joe.

Looking good Smokin' Joe's Pit BBQ . Have you ever tried to inject the night before you smoke to get a marinate affect to the brisket?

Great cook as usual bro! I gotta say, since I started injecting my cheaper briskets, I do it every time. I do dilute it more than they say as well (great tip). If I have beautiful prime brisket I don't typically inject.

This channel is just an excuse to eat brisket. I envy this guy.

Nice vid mate my mouth is watering for both of those briskets 🤤🤤

Joe, unless I missed it, did you find they each had different cooking times? Btw, I made my first brisket last week following your methods... it came out hella good... so thank you much 🍻!!

Awesome video brother!! You are a brisket trimmin machine! Cheers Joe

Great video. I’ve never injected my briskets, but I will now! Thanks

Great video Sir. It gave me tons of ideas. Thank you

Hi Joe, need a little assistance. Watching all the way from South Africa, I love your channel, I wanted to ask, what spices can I use and what quantities?. I have a 2kg brisket.. need to know how many teaspoons of salt, black pepper, paprika and so on... im going to try this out this weekend. Thank you for your help and god bless bud 🙏

when you bit that first piece i drooled!

They both look good and it only took 8hrs I usually let my go a lease 12, but I think I'm going to try the injection next time great video 👍🍺

Thanks for the video! One funny thing i keep noticing is using the term "au jus". As a native French speaker who grew up speaking 3 languages, I can confirm that you can just say "the jus" and not "the au jus". Jus is just literally French for Juice. "Au Jus" is used do describe an add-on, like beef "au jus" or "beef with juice", the actual liquid itself is just called jus (or juice). IE, you would dip the brisket in the jus, not the "au" jus. Or, the is lots of jus that came out of this brisket, not lots of "au" jus. Fun fact, the "au" sound actually sounds like the "o" sound in the word Hoe (without the H sound). The "jus" sound is not really present in the English language, but it definitely does not sound like "jew" at all. You can type "au jus" or just "jus" in google translate and select French, that's the actual way to pronounce it.

Thx for the link joe just bought the Angry bull injection...hope it’s as good as you say 😏

Nice video Joe, beautiful briskets and yes that Angry Bull is legit.

Maaaan i watch these video's all the time and it makes me sad being dutch, i never had brisket and it looks daaaaayum tasty. cant get it anywhere here

Thanks for doing this comparison Joe, that injected brisket looked amazingly juicy! I'm definitely gonna try injecting in future. Cheers

These both look amazing. Please excuse my lack of knowledge but why did you not use a binder on the injected? Thanks Joe I appreciate your videos.

I’ll tell you what guys. I smoked a brisket this weekend and used tallow in the wrap and it was awesome. Is it cheating? Don’t care. I had a awesome tender brisket for the family outing and they absolutely loved it. No they weren’t being nice because they’re usually brutal on bbq lol. Im from Texas so no mercy.

Question for you I see you use yellow mustard as a binder have you ever tried using like a Goldens Mustard with spices in it what is your thoughts on that I have not tried it I am just wondering

I’m excited to try! Thanks for the guidance.

That Meat Church is great stuff. Thanks for the video.

Of course it works. One brisket has an adequate amount of salt and the other does not. I'm not sure it makes a huge difference how it was applied, or what other stuff was in the seasoning. Smoke is the seasoning.

Good job Mr.Joe So hungry now 🤣😂🤣😂

First time trying! Great video.

Great video! Gonna try an injected brisket next

Nice video, can't wait to try it out. What knives are you using to trim and cut up the brisket in this video?

They both look great but I think I’d really like to try the injected one . Great vid bro🤘

Love your videos. Keep them coming.

They both looked delicious, Joe! I love me some Kosmos - gotta try that LC injection next time! Thanks for the tip!

Making look easy! Again. Nice smoker joe.

Looks so good, that I will try LC injection on my next cook!

Dang I just ordered some product from LC BBQ should have seen the discount code lol oh well, good video and holy cow is one of my go to rubs for brisket

Also should let your viewers who don't handle knives often to always have your hand behind the blade n always cut away from you're body great video btw

Joe, Nailed it, buddy. Awesome cook, awesome video and awesome comparison. Looks like an injection for the clear win. Nice job buddy!

I love brisket!

New sub, Joe...great vid, is the injection worth it for non-competition?

Hi Smoking Joe, why did you probe from the side as opposed to the top of the brisket. Also, when u probe from the side, from that one spot, are u checking the center of the flat, the internal (center), and the flat?

Have to try LC injection. Great video

Great video! Gotta say though - the deference in the barbecue community to powdered spices, injection mixes (Lq bbq! Holy cow!) is kind of odd. Grind it fresh!

Looks great Joe! That injected brisket looks legit, that pull test speaks volume for at home viewers! I've had some struggles with my briskets being dry & have yet to get that pull test where i want it! So I wanted your input. So far I've tried smoking it for 8 hours give or take @ 180 degrees smoke and use a smoke tube for additional smoke. Then I wrap in butcher paper for the rest of the cook until done, usually has really good bark on it. I've never injected, & I usually at least set it in cooler for an hour. But for some reason it's come out dry, more than the non injected brisket in your video here. I noticed you smoked yours at 275 throughout the whole cook if I'm not mistaken. Do you think that's why mine would be drying out inside because I'm slow cooking it and not locking in those juices by cooking at a higher temp? I am encouraged to try this cook @ 275 & inject to see what results i get. I know different grills cook differently as well, and I use a Traeger if that makes a difference at all. But have you ever tried smoking at a lower temp for a more prominent smoke ring? And if so, how were your results.

Great job on both briskets. However I have to say, if the point of this video is to compare then you have to keep things the same. Use the same rub. Meat church Holy Cow is basically just SPG with a hint of paprika for color. The other brisket had a Kosmos Q texas beef, SPG and an injection. Of course it's going to have more flavor. Either way they both look great!

Maybe someone mentioned this but...I was thinking injecting through the fatcap side would reduce leakage during smoking?

Looks amazing brother

Thanks so much for your channel! Just found it today and I'm a new subscriber. Great work. Quick question: Did you dilute the Angry Bull injection or just use it straight? I see the website recommends mixing it with "liquid". If you mixed it, what did you use? Thanks again, you're awesome!

Great video !!,Man, smoker looks brand new. How do you keep it lookin so good.

When u did probe that flat, was that one spot in the flat indicative of the entire flat being probe tender?

Joe smokes Marlboro! I don't inject. I have injected but to me I make a good brisket and don't feel injection helps make it any better since it's good the way I do it.

My man! I am about to get my brisket together now!

LOOKIN GOOD BROTHER I JUST PUT A BRISKET ON THE SMOKER MYSELF

Where do you get the sprayer? I LOVED IT and I want one for my next brisket

I’m about to try my first ever brisket on a pellet grill. I hope it comes out half as good as yours.

Everytime I inject my briskets I get heartburn and keep burping it. Lol. I still love the flavor.

When do you wrap your brisket... when it hits the stall ~160? Heard you mention about powering through the stall and wondered if that meant wrapping after going through it. Thanks for sharing.

Looks good but where I'm from in Texas you would be tared and feathered for injecting a brisket. If you cook and trim it right you will get the same results as the injected brisket.