Piedmontese Brisket Smoked on MAK 2 Star Pellet Grill

There is not a lot of information online about Piedmontese beef. What you will mostly find is information from associations and ranchers that raise this breed of cattle. The Piedmontese cattle breed originated out of Northwest Italy and was discovered over 100 years ago. Due to the breeds unique genetic makeup, the cattle developed much greater muscle mass as compared to conventional cattle breeds.

The beef is marketed as being low in cholesterol, low in fat, and low in calories. While most people are paying the top dollar for extreme marbling, others seek out low-fat options because that is what they believe in. Piedmontese meat does not have the excess marbling you normally find in Angus or Wagyu cattle. If you enjoy lean beef, then this is the meat for you.

Cook Details

Piedmontese Brisket

• about 10-12 pounds
• trimmed hard fat and silver skin
• 250F on MAK 2 Star pellet grill on upper rack
• Lumber Jack Wood Pellets
• Pit Barrel Cooker Beef & Game Rub with some additional pepper
• Spritzed with half-and-half apple cider vinegar and water every hour
• 6-7 hours, internal temp 170F
• Spritzed and wrapped in two pieces of butcher paper
• Total cook time around 13-14 hours
• Rested brisket in cooler for 2-3 hours

Piedmontese Chuck, Round, and Shoulder

We also had some additional Piedmontese beef thawed out, so we cooked it up before smoking the brisket.

• 250 for 20 minutes, flipped once
• Turned grill up to 350F
• 10 minutes and they were temping at 155F internal
• 30 minutes total cook time
• Pit Barrel Cooker Beef & Game Rub
• Lumber Jack Wood Pellets
• MAK 2 Star pellet grill on bottom grate
• FlameZone Covers on

Prepare and Season the Piedmontese Brisket

There wasn’t much fat to trim on the Piedmontese brisket as it is a leaner beef than Angus. I did take off some hard fat and silver skin, and that was about it. I seasoned the brisket with Pit Barrel Cooker Beef & Game Rub and added some additional coarse black pepper and garlic. This is a personal preference as I love lots of pepper on beef. The fun of barbecue is you can add anything you want because you are cooking for yourself. Have fun and experiment.

Piedmontese Brisket on MAK 2 Star Pellet Grill

The Piedmontese brisket smoked on the upper full rack at 250F with a water pan underneath. Being that it's known for being a leaner meat, I wanted to introduce moisture into the cook to not dry out the meat. I spritzed the top of the brisket about every hour with half water and half apple cider vinegar. This helped keep the brisket moist during the cook.

We smoked the Piedmontese brisket on the upper full rack of the MAK 2 Star pellet grill for about 6-7 hours and got some good color on the meat. The internal temperature was reading around 170F, so we decided it was time to wrap. Since Piedmontese is a leaner meat, I did not want to cook the brisket any longer unwrapped.

We spritzed the brisket and then wrapped it in two sheets of pink butcher paper and placed it back on the upper rack with the pellet boss temperature probe inserted. We are looking for an internal temperature around 200F, and we want the brisket to be probe tender when we insert our instant read thermometer.

Piedmontese Chuck, Round, and Shoulder

Before we cooked the Piedmontese brisket, we threw on some other cuts we had to cook for my father-n-law. We had some Piedmontese chuck, round, and shoulder cuts that we seasoned with Pit Barrel Cooker Beef & Game Rub before we put them on the MAK 2 Star pellet grill.

We cooked this cuts around 250F for about twenty minutes to get some smoke on the meat and then cooked them another ten minutes at 350F to get some grill marks. I was not happy with how they turned out as they were dry and tough.

You kind of expect this with these particular cuts of meat, so we threw them in a pan with a glass lid on the stove with some water, garlic, and onion to tenderize the meat. About 20 minutes later the meat was falling apart and the flavor was great. The meat had a good beef flavor and the little fat that was on the meat broke down into the water as you could see it floating around. Cooking the meat with the bone also creates awesome flavor when simmering in water.

Piedmontese Brisket Conclusion

The Piedmontese brisket had a total cook time of around 13-14 hours. The brisket was cooked the whole time on the MAK 2 Star pellet grill, and then we let it rest around 2-3 hours in a cooler. We did not get in a rush because when you cook meat this long you need to see it through the right way, so your final product is the best it can be.

I wasn’t expecting this brisket to be super moist like an Angus or Wagyu, but it did have enough moisture to render out a good bite. This was our first time cooking a Piedmontese brisket, and I’m guessing many people have not had the opportunity to do so.

The Piedmontese brisket had great smoke flavor, and it rendered out perfectly on the inside. The meat pulled apart with little effort. Because this meat is so lean, I would probably try shooting for a lower internal temp of 195F and checking to see if its probe tender. This might help keep more moisture in the meat throughout the cook.

When I go to a barbecue joint, I always order fatty brisket. I feel best when I eat marbled meats as I find it leaves me full and content long after I eat. If you are someone who enjoys leaner cuts of meat, Piedmontese beef will be your cup of tea. Of course, the marbling of the beef will vary depending on the ranch your meat comes from.