Smoked beef brisket is the ultimate summer barbecue treat and a great way to wow your friends and family with your outdoor cooking skills. This one is juicy with spicy bursts from the black pepper rub, balanced by just the right amount of smoke, and tangy sweetness from the root beer and maple barbecue sauce. And while the brisket serves a crowd, it also freezes well if you want to keep it all to yourself! The recipe was designed especially for the Yummly Smart Thermometer, which makes it easy to track the temperature over the 7 to 9 hours it takes to smoke the brisket to perfection, but if you don’t have one, you can check the temperature with an instant-read. You’ll need a whole (packer) brisket, which includes both the “point” or “deckle” muscle and the thinner, more uniform muscle called the “flat.” You can order the brisket from a butcher or sometimes buy it from a big-box store like Costco. To save yourself time, ask the butcher to trim the fat on the brisket to an even ¼ inch, remove any clumps of hard fat, and remove the thin membrane from the meatier side of the cut. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for your smoker to build the fire and maintain the heat. You’ll need 15 egg-size chunks of hickory wood, a large aluminum foil pan (unless your smoker has a built-in water pan), heavy-duty foil, a spray bottle, and an insulated cooler to let the meat rest. If you’re using a bullet-style charcoal smoker, you’ll need 2 large bags of charcoal (preferably lump style) for this recipe. If you’re using a pellet smoker, go with hickory pellets; the hickory wood chunks are optional (and only use 7-8 total). The recipe is a Yummly original created by David Bonom.