Barbecued Texas Beef Brisket Recipe Epicuriouscom

TEXAS-STYLE SMOKED BRISKET

Steps:

• 1 Order the brisket You'll have to special-order your brisket ahead of time (the brisket already sold at the meat counter is typically not whole). You should be able to do this at almost any butcher shop or at a grocery store meat counter. Ask for a brisket that is as evenly thick as possible, with the surrounding fat trimmed to 1/4" thick (this protects the meat from drying out while cooking).
• 2 Season the meat An hour before preparing the grill, place brisket on a rimmed baking sheet. Mix salt and pepper in a small bowl and season the meat all over (it should look like sand stuck to wet skin but without being cakey). Let meat sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
• 3 Prepare your grill Meanwhile, soak 6 cups wood chips in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Leave in water throughout the cooking process. Keep remaining 2 cups chips dry. Light only 1 grill burner to medium (if using a 3-burner grill, light burner on either end). Make sure drip tray is empty, as a lot of fat will render. Place smoker box over the lit burner, add 1/2 cup soaked wood chips to box, and close grill. Adjust heat as needed to keep temperature at 225-250°F. We recommend using a stand-alone thermometer, even if your grill has one, to ensure an accurate reading. Stick it through the gap between the lid and base of the grill (or set it on the grill's upper shelf, though this is not ideal, as it requires opening the lid more frequently). The wood chips should begin to smolder and release a steady stream of smoke. How long this takes depends on how wet your chips are and the heat of your grill. To get more smoke without increasing grill heat, add a few dry chips to the soaked ones.
• 4 Maintain the heat Place brisket, fatty side up, on grill grate as far away from lit burner as possible. Cover grill and smoke meat, resisting the urge to open grill often, as this will cause the temperature to fluctuate. Adjust heat as needed to keep temperature steady at 225-250°F. Check wood chips every 45 minutes or so, and add soaked chips by 1/2-cupfuls as needed to keep smoke level constant.
• 5 Know when it's done Keep smoking the brisket, rotating every 3 hours and flipping as needed if top or bottom is coloring faster than the other, until meat is very tender but not falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of meat registers 195-205°F, 10-12 hours total.*
• *Need a cheat? If you just don't want to spend your whole day at the grill, here's a fail-safe, Aaron Franklin- endorsed alternate method that will deliver similarly glorious results: Smoke brisket on grill until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of meat registers 150-170°F, 5-6 hours. Wrap brisket in foil, place on a baking sheet, and cook in a 250°F oven until meat reaches the same 195-205°F internal temperature, 4-6 hours longer. What's important is getting that smoky flavor into the meat, and 5-6 hours on the grill should do it. After that point, you're simply getting the meat cooked through.
• DO AHEAD: Brisket is best shortly off the grill, but you can still get good results smoking it up to 3 days ahead. Let cool for an hour before wrapping in foil and chilling. To serve, reheat meat, still wrapped, in a 325°F oven until warmed through.
• 6 Dig in Transfer brisket to a carving board and let rest at least 30 minutes. Slice brisket against the grain 1/4" thick.
• Serve it with: Coleslaw, potato salad, and pinto beans.

TEXAS-STYLE BARBECUED BRISKET

Steps:

• 1. Rinse the brisket under cold running water and blot it dry with paper towels.
• 2. Combine the salt, chili powder, sugar, pepper, and cumin in a bowl and toss with your fingers to mix. Rub the spice mixture on the brisket on all sides. If you have time, wrap the brisket in plastic and let it cure, in the refrigerator, for 4 to 8 hours (or even overnight), but don't worry if you don't have time for this-it will be plenty flavorful, even if you cook it right away.
• 3. Set up a charcoal grill for indirect grilling and preheat it to low. No drip pan is necessary for this recipe.
• 4. When ready to cook, toss 1 1/2 cups of the wood chips on the coals (3/4 cup per side). Place the brisket, fat side up, in an aluminum foil pan (or make a pan with a double sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil). Place the pan in the center of the hot grate, away from the heat. Cover the grill.
• 5. Smoke cook the brisket until tender enough to shred with your fingers; 6 hours will likely do it, but it may take as long as 8 (the cooking time will depend on the size of the brisket and heat of the grill). Baste the brisket from time to time with the fat and juices that accumulate in the pan. You'll need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side every hour and toss more wood chips on the fresh coals; add about 3/4 cup chips per side every time you replenish the coals during the first 3 hours.
• 6. Remove the brisket pan from the grill and let rest for 15 minutes. Transfer the brisket to a cutting board and thinly slice it across the grain, using a sharp knife, electric knife, or cleaver. Transfer the sliced meat to a platter, pour the pan juices on top, and serve at once.
• Barbecue Sauce, the Texas Way
• The best Texas-style barbecue sauce combines the sweetness of Kansas City-style tomato sauces with the mouth-puckering tartness of a North Carolina vinegar sauce. I've come up with my own version-mix together equal parts of the Basic Barbecue Sauce and the North Carolina Vinegar Sauce . Serve this with barbecued brisket. For a really good sauce, add some meat drippings or a little chopped brisket.

BBQ BEEF BRISKET

Steps:

• Pat the brisket dry with a towel to remove any moisture. Generously rub the brisket with 1 cup of the BBQ Beef Coffee Cure , massaging all the spice into the meat; repeat with the remaining cure. The cure will soak up the liquid from the beef and form a crust. Place the meat on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Prepare a smoker for hot smoking. The standard cooking time for brisket is 1 hour per pound, smoked fat side up, under dry, indirect heat at a steady temperature of 225°F. Place the brisket on the center rack of the smoker and smoke for 12 hours. This is slow cooking at its easiest-there's no need to check the meat at intervals.
• After 12 hours, use a meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 185°F in the thickest side of the brisket. Once that temperature is reached, open the door of the smoker and let the meat rest for 30 minutes. This resting period allows the juices to settle. The internal temperature will continue to rise to 190°F.
• While the meat rests, make the tomato and molasses barbecue sauce: Combine the ketchup, tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, mustard, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, and brown sugar with 1 1/3 cups water in a large stockpot over medium heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens slightly. Whisk in the molasses last (it will burn if added too early) and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Season to taste.
• Transfer the rested brisket to a cutting board, slice, and chop. The fully rested meat will have a distinct crust and will be tender and juicy inside. There should be a pink smoke ring beneath the crust.

BARBECUED TEXAS BEEF BRISKET

Steps:

• Make dry rub:
• Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend.
• Transfer 1 tablespoon dry rub to another small bowl and reserve for mop. Spread remaining dry rub all over brisket. Cover with plastic; chill overnight.
• Make mop:
• Mix first 6 ingredients plus reserved dry rub in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat 5 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup mop into bowl; cover and chill for use in sauce. Cover and chill remaining mop.
• Following manufacturer's instructions and using natural lump charcoal, start fire in smoker. When charcoal is ash gray, drain 1/2 cup wood chips and scatter over charcoal. Bring smoker to 200°F. to 225°F., regulating temperature by opening vents wider to increase temperature and closing slightly to reduce temperature.
• Place brisket, fat side up, on rack in smoker. Cover; cook until tender when pierced with fork and meat thermometer inserted into center registers 185°F., about 10 hours (turn brisket over for last 30 minutes). Every 1 1/2 to 2 hours, add enough charcoal to maintain single layer and to maintain 200°F. to 225°F. temperature; add 1/2 cup drained wood chips. Brush brisket with chilled mop in pan each time smoker is opened. Transfer brisket to platter; let stand 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool 1 hour. Wrap in foil; chill. Before continuing, rewarm brisket, still wrapped, in 350°F. oven about 45 minutes.) Combine barbecue sauce and chili powder in heavy small saucepan. Add any accumulated juices from brisket and bring to boil, thinning sauce with some of reserved 1/2 cup mop, if desired.
• Thinly slice brisket across grain. Serve, passing sauce separately.

BARBECUED TEXAS BEEF BRISKET

Steps:

• Dry Rub: Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Transfer 1 tablespoon dry rub to another small bowl and reserve for mop. Spread remaining dry rub all over brisket. Cover with plastic; chill overnight.
• Mop: Mix first 6 ingredients plus reserved dry rub in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat 5 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup mop into bowl; cover and chill for use in sauce. Cover and chill remaining mop.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place brisket, fat side up, in a Dutch oven or other heavy baking pan large enough to hold the brisket. Roast brisket in pan for 3 to 4 hours, basting with mop every 20 minutes, until tender.
• Transfer brisket to platter; let stand 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil; chill. Before continuing, rewarm brisket, still wrapped, in 350 degree oven about 45 minutes.)
• Combine barbecue sauce and chili powder in heavy small saucepan. Add any accumulated juices from brisket and bring to boil, thinning sauce with some of reserved 1/2 cup mop, if desired. Thinly slice brisket across grain. Serve, passing sauce separately.

LAZY TEXAS BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Rub garlic into both sides of brisket. Combine all remaining ingredients except barbecue sauce in small bowl and mix well. Rub into brisket. Set brisket fat side up on large piece of foil and wrap tightly. Transfer to shallow roasting pan. Bake until tender, about 3 hours. Serve hot or cold with sauce.

SLOW-COOKED TEXAS BEER BRISKET

Steps:

• Grilling Method: Indirect/Medium-Low Heat
• Sprinkle brisket liberally with the rub of your choice.
• Set-up grill for indirect cooking and place smoker box in gas grill if using. If using a charcoal grill, pour beer into a drip pan and place the drip pan on the charcoal grate between the two piles of charcoal. If using a gas grill, pour the beer into a small drip pan and put on the far-left corner of the cooking grates. (The beer is in the pan to add moisture to the cooking environment while the meat smokes. This is a good idea anytime you smoke-cook foods for a long period of time because smoke reduces the moisture in the air.)
• Place wood chips that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes directly on the gray-ashed charcoal, if using a charcoal grill, or in the smoker box if using a gas grill.
• Place brisket (fat side up) in center of the cooking grate over the drip pan. You will not turn the brisket during the cooking time at all. Grill 5 to 7 hours or until meat thermometer registers 180°F. When done, remove brisket from grill and let rest 20 minutes. Slice thin and serve immediately with pickled okra and sliced white bread.

TEXAS BEEF BRISKET

Steps:

• Check out the instructions in The Techniques of Outdoor Cookin' (page 12) and the Beef Brisket Pit Boss Tips (page 45).
• Dump 6 cups of hickory wood chips into a bowl, cover with water, and soak for half an hour or so. Drain and divide the chips between 4 squares of aluminum foil. Wrap up into individual packets, poking holes in the top of each one. Set aside.
• Pull off the grill rack and fire up the grill. While that's going on, needle the brisket all over on both sides with a fork. Mix together the Creole Seasoning or All-Purpose Red Rub and oil. Rub this all over the brisket. Once your coals are good and hot, pile them up on one side of the bottom of the grill, and set two of the wood chip packets right on the coals. Position a drip pan filled with 1/2 inch of water on the side opposite the coals. Put the grill rack back in place. Set the brisket, fat side up, over the drip pan, and close the lid. After about half an hour, check the grill temperature. It should settle down to around 225°. If it's hotter, close down the vent holes. If it's cooler, open them up a bit.
• Check the temperature of the grill every hour for the next 6 to 7 hours and make adjustments. If the temperature dips down to 200° or less, add a couple of hot new briquettes to the pile of gray coals, close the lid, and open the vent holes a bit.
• Reach into the grill with some tongs after the brisket's been smoking for 1 1/2 hours, and remove the old packets of wood chips. Toss two new packets of foil-wrapped chips onto the coals.
• After the brisket has been on the grill for 3 hours, you have achieved the necessary smoke penetration. Grab the meat with tongs, remove it from the grill, and wrap it tightly in foil. Return the foil-wrapped brisket to the grill and cover. Now you're sealing in the succulence of the meat as you continue to cook it to an internal temperature of 175° to 180°. This will take another 3 to 4 hours, so keep working to maintain an even grill temperature of 225° to 250°.
• Give that finished brisket a rest off the heat in its foil packet for 15 minutes. Save all the roasting juices and skim off the fat. Slice the meat thinly across the grain. Fan the slices out on a platter and pour some of those roasting juices over them. Serve with some warmed Mutha Sauce to spoon over the meat at the table.