1½ C brown sugar
1½ TBS garlic powder
1 TBS kosher salt
½ TSP cayenne pepper
2 TBS lemon pepper
1½ TSP chili powder
1 TSP black pepper
This is a good all-purpose rub, but is especially well suited to brisket. Mix, rub thick and let set. This volume of rub barely covers 1 large full brisket. If you don’t have the full brisket, this will do fine.
Using this recipe as-is, there is little pepper taste or heat to the meat… adjust as needed. Also, it tends to be lacking in salt, play with that — get your flavor to taste before adjusting the salt, it should taste too salty but remember that cooks off with the grease. If you are not brining the meat, you may not need to adjust the salt higher.
Blot the brisket dry, and brush on a light coating of oil before applying the rub. We don’t usually let the rub set too long, just until it looks moist so it doesn’t fall off. Also remember to always cook the meat fat side up.
Smoke at 200° – 225° for 10-12 hours, or until the brisket hits an internal temp of 190°. Take it off the smoker, wrap it tightly in foil, wrap in a towel, and put it in an empty cooler for an hour or two to rest. It will still be quite warm when you take it out to serve.