John's Grill Rub
Seasoning
1
cup kosher salt
3
tablespoons Coarse ground pepper
3
tablespoons ground garlic
1
tablespoon ground onion
1
tablespoon cayenne pepper
1
teaspoon chili pepper
Combine all ingredients
thoroughly.
Smoking with a
gas grill!
I use my gas grill, yes gas! To
smoke. Buy a bag of wood chunks
or grab out of the woods some
hard wood pieces: oak, hickory,
apple, and cherry, anything but
pine. Put them in the grill, on
the sides. Add a few pieces and
more if they burn up as the bird
cooks. Heat the grill on high;
when hot, turn one side down as
low as it will go and shut the
other one off. You need the temp
to be 200-250 max to BBQ. Close
off all the vents, you can even
block the back vents on the
grill with foil to keep the
smoke in.
Brisket
The dictionary defines a
brisket as:"Brisket--[BRIHS-kiht]
A cut of beef taken from the
breast section under the first
five ribs. Brisket is usually
sold without the bone and is
divided into two sections. The
flat cut has minimal fat and is
usually more expensive than the
more flavorful point cut, which
has more fat. Brisket requires
long, slow cooking and is best
when braised. Corned beef is
made from brisket."
The ones I buy use both the
'flat' and the 'point',
untrimmed of fat, known in the
meat industry as the 'Packer's
cut'. The typical full brisket
weighs in at 8-12 pounds and is
about 12-20 inches long and
about 12 inches wide. The
'point' is the thicker end and
the 'flat' is the thinner end.
The deckle end is the 'point'
end.
How too barbecue
a beef Brisket
The only way to make them good
and tender is good slow cooking
over good hardwood smoke. So
here's the way to cook
beef brisket.
Smoking a Beef Brisket
Pick a well-marbled brisket--one
where most of the fat is down in
the meat and not all fat on the
outside--but you do need a layer
of fat on the outside too. Fat
inside the meat will help keep
it moist, so you still need some
fat both on inside and outside,
but remember selecting a good
brisket is half the technique of
good barbecue. Get one in a
Cryovac package. I get mine from
Davis Brothers Meats on Hall
road. The cost is around $2 a
pound and they may need order (1
day). You can also find trimmed
brisket at Price Chopper, Sam's
and BJ's at times, you will pay
more.
Size of your brisket--a real
good size is a brisket from 8 to
12 pounds. The size, big or
small, will be more of a
personal choice. Just remember
slow cooking for 1 1/2 to 2
hours per pound is a pretty fair
timetable for cooking a brisket
at 225F. But first, you got to
season it! Seasoning your
brisket--there are as many ideas
on the best way to season a
brisket as there are brisket
cooks. No two will do it the
same and very few will do it the
same way two times in a row.
Dry Rub---I use a mix of Garlic
powder, black pepper, salt,
cumin, red pepper and a little
brown sugar, paprika But there's
lots of good dry rubs out there
on the market. Try them. Rub it
in good, don't just sprinkle it
on.
Fire--it
don't make a big difference on
what or how you're cooking as
long as you have a good, low,
long-time steady heat. It may be
wood, electric or gas. I still
say you can cook good barbeque
in anything, as long as you
watch your fire. What you want
is a good steady low fire with a
temperature between 220/240F at
the meat level.
Smoke-cooking the brisket--Put
the brisket on the grill fat
side up. I have found that I do
better with my brisket if I cook
it about an 1-1.5 hr per pound
on a good low fire of hardwood
and then wrap it in foil and put
it in a picnic cooler or
Styrofoam dry ice chest for up
to eight hours (wrap it in some
towels for more insulation, so
it keeps warm longer). I slow
cook the 12-24 larger brisket
for 18/20 hours in the smoker if
done that long they are dryer.
Good smoke will have a sweet
flavor and that is what you
want, not a bitter flavor. You
will get a smoke ring of 1/32 to
1/2 inch most of the time. The
presence or absence of a smoke
ring don't make a big difference
in the taste of your brisket but
do make a better looking
brisket. Different seasonings
will make a difference in the
size of your smoke ring.
Slicing and Presentation. Last
but not to be overlooked, is the
presentation of your brisket. I
don't care if it just for your
wife and kids or your
mother-in-law or your boss.
Always slice your brisket across
the grain of the meat. This is
very important, as it will make
a more palatable and tender
slice of meat. Remember, a good
barbecued brisket doesn't need a
sauce poured over it--serve it
on the side.
John's
Texas-Style Brisket BBQ Sauce
1/2 cup butter; 1
stick
2 cups minced
onion
4 cloves garlic;
or tbs of chopped garlic
2 cups ketchup
1 cups chili
sauce (or extra ketchup)
3/4 cup brown
sugar; packed
1/2 cup lemon
juice
1/4 cup red wine
vinegar
2 tablespoons
Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon
yellow mustard
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black
pepper
1 teaspoon
cayenne
Heat the butter in a large
saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add the onions and garlic and
sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, until
just soft. Pour in the ketchup
and chili sauce, and blend in
well. Add the rest of the
ingredients. Bring the mixture
to a boil, then reduce the heat
and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes,
stirring occasionally.
EASY
oven finished briskets
Would you like to smoke
briskets but need it to fit your
schedule of when you want to
serve for eating instead of when
you have time to spend 1+ days
smoking or just want to eat BBQ
without having to eat all that
smoke at the same time.
Want your BBQ simple and tasty?.
The following is for a 10-12
pound briskets (1 or more).
Adjust time for different sizes.
You can use most any recipe or
one above - there are many good
ones.
Smoke: Ideally, I smoke, meat
side down, at least 6 hours at
200F using oak and a little
mesquite at the beginning and
end of process. Just be careful
not too let the wood smolder and
get a bitter taste if you use
all wood. Otherwise this method
is pretty forgiving. Charcoal
and wood chips a minimum of once
an hour will do just as good. I
think any grill or smoker that
has a lid and enough room to
offset the heat from the meat
will suffice. Even if it gets a
little too cool or warm once in
a while the meat will survive.
Next Oven cook: Place the
brisket on the foil with the
foil sides sticking up. I cook
overnight, 14 hours, at 200F.
just cook 12 hours Terrific
smell: The great aroma while
cooking is just a free extra. If
you do not fill your home with a
light BBQ smell then you
probably did not get enough
smoke. Do not worry. It will be
good any way.
Seasoning recipe: Mix seasoning
ingredients in a snap or zip and
seal plastic bag. Apply
seasoning: Remove meat from oven
30 minutes to 2 hours before
cooking time is complete. I
cannot tell that timing is too
critical. Pour off the grease
and using the mitts turn the
meat fat side down in pan, meat
side up. Quickly as possibly
sprinkle a heavy coat of the
seasoning on the meat side. Be
liberal with the seasoning.
Finish cooking: Fold the foil
edges over the meat. Remember,
the brisket is meat side up now
for the first time. Get a fresh
piece of foil and place over
meat and fold edges over pan. A
perfect seal is not necessary.
Just be sure the meat is not
exposed. Place back in oven and
finish cooking for the remaining
time.
Done? Now Slice: Place some
paper on counter to soak
up splattered or spilled grease
and place cutting board on
paper. Using mitts take brisket
and place meat side up on board.
Using a fork or knife, carefully
check meat for tenderness. If it
is not obviously tender, rewrap
and cook 2 more hours. If it
passes the tenderness test and
you are ready to slice, turn
meat fat side up. With a long
knife or spatula scrape off the
excess top fat, which should
come off easily, and discard.
Turn meat side up again, slice
against grain with sharp knife
only and serve now if you must.
Finish and hold: take half the
brisket and slide it off the
board onto a fresh piece of foil
and wrap meat, (may take two
pieces of foil). Do the same
with the other half. Take and
the wrap packages of meat and
immediately place in a small
insulated chest. It will keep
warm for hours.
