Texas Style Smoked Brisket Recipe Epicuriouscom

YEAH, I-LIVED-IN-TEXAS, SMOKED BRISKET

Steps:

• Soak wood chips in a bowl of water, 8 hours to overnight.
• Mix paprika, white sugar, cumin, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl. Rub the spice mixture over the entire brisket; refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Preheat smoker to between 220 degrees F (104 degrees C) and 230 degrees F (110 degrees C). Drain wood chips and place in the smoker.
• Smoke brisket in the preheated smoker until it has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 12 1/2 hours. Wrap brisket tightly in butcher paper or heavy-duty aluminum foil and return to smoker.
• Continue smoking brisket until an internal temperature of 185 degrees F (85 degrees C) is reached, about 1 hour more.

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.

TEXAS-STYLE SMOKED BRISKET

Steps:

• Set the brisket on a large sheet of plastic wrap.
• In a medium bowl combine the dark brown sugar, chili power, paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne, dry mustard, and cumin thoroughly.
• Rub the mixture onto the brisket and wrap tightly in the plastic wrap.
• Place on a baking sheet and let marinate refrigerated at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Remove the meat from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature.
• Soak mesquite wood chips in a large bowl of water for 1 to 2 hours.
• Remove, drain and set aside.
• Prepare a smoker with charcoal and the wood chips according to the manufacturer's instructions to 180 to 200 degrees F.
• Place the water pan in the smoker and add water to the fill line, about 2/3 full.
• Place the unwrapped brisket on the lower rack off the direct heat, close the lid, and cook, regularly stoking the fire and adding additional chips, until an instant-read thermometer registers an internal temperature of 140 to 145 degrees F, about 4 to 5 hours.
• Remove the meat from the grill and let rest for 20 minutes before carving the meat against the grain.
• (Alternately, prepare a stove-top smoker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place the unwrapped brisket on the rack over low heat. Close the lid and smoke for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Remove the meat from the smoker and wrap in) BBQ Sauce: In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
• Add the onions and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
• Add the ketchup, brown sugar, cane syrup, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce, Essence, and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and the flavors marry, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and let cool slightly before serving.
• Essence: Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

LOW AND SLOW TEXAS OVEN BRISKET

Steps:

• HEAT the oven to 250°F.
• SCATTER the onion and garlic in the middle of a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil large enough to generously wrap around the meat. Lay the brisket on top and rub all sides with the dry rub. Pour the bottled smoke and Worcestershire over the meat.
• SEAL the foil around the meat. Carefully place the foil pack in a large roasting pan. Roast the brisket for 7 to 9 hours, until the internal temperature is at least 190°F and the meat is pull-apart tender.
• REMOVE the brisket from the oven. Open the foil and allow the juices to collect in the pan. Move the brisket to a cutting board and thinly slice it against the grain. Serve with the warm meat juices.

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.

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.