Smoked Brisket
Growing up Jewish, I was taught the proper technique for boiling a brisket in a large stew pot with a pile of vegetables. My first experience with a smoked brisket came in 2001 at my first barbecue competition where it had to be smoked in under a day.
Well, let's just say I wasn't last place in that category, but pretty close to the bottom.
Since then, I've perfected my technique. Although I no longer compete, I cook about a dozen large packer-cut briskets a year. Of course, this process requires a smoker to get the best flavor, but you could do this in your oven.
Boca Boys Brisket Rub - also good for beef ribs
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Rule 1 - don't trim ANYTHING off the brisket. All that fat will render down and tenderize the meat. It will also form the au jus that you'll pour over the sliced meat before serving.
The day before you plan to cook the brisket, completely cover the meat with the rub. Then, wrap it in either foil or Saran wrap and leave it the refrigerator overnight.
Cook it the next day in a smoker, holding the temperature between 225 and 275 degrees. I use large chunks of hickory to give it the smoky flavor. Cook it the ENTIRE TIME in an aluminum throwaway pan - fat side up, sitting in the juices. It's done when the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees in the thickest part of the meat.
Take it out of the cooker and wrap it in foil then in a large towel and put it in a cooler to sit for at least a couple of hours. Save all the juices! I've held a brisket for 8 hours and still had it come out of the cooler box too hot to handle without gloves.
Slice it into a deep serving dish and pour the au jus over it. Full joy!
Being a transplanted Texan, I feel like I know brisket quite intimately. I now live close to the great North.....at least for me. After experiencing my neighbor's failed attempt at smoking a brisket,( trying to cook it to an internal temp), I went down to my wonderful meat shop, and told him what I normally bought back in Texas.
I fired up the smokey, rubbed that baby with the rub, and set out to cook a Texas BBQ for everyone. Can't do it. Can't. There is not enough fat cap left on the meat, even though I explained it. It smells great, tastes real, but never gets the proper tenderness.
I know a lot about briskets, Jewish briskets.
When I was going to school, I lived a couple of blocks from Katz's Delicatessen. I can't remember how many times I have eaten there. Too many times.
I used to do a lot of briskets, corned beef, pastrami, -- when brisket was less expensive.
Still do some, with my sous vide and smoker.
dcarch
Here is a link that might be useful:
Mmmmm, brisket. I look forward to St. Paddys when the things are actually on sale enough, then pick up a few of them for the freezer.
I have to say, I've smoked several, but never did a rub on them first. I will have to try that. And corned beef, I make a mean corned beef that takes most of a day to simmer up right.
Fawnridge, thanks for the recipe!
I once oven smoked a brisket--never again! The only particulates small enough to get through the filter on my oven were the toxic ones, I made myself sick, and it took days to clear the house. I've been thinking of getting a BGE for the Summer, and I think it can be used as a smoker. I've read a lot of brisket recipes, and yours is the first one I've seen that sounds like what I want to make. It might not live up to Texas's best, but sounds doable. :)
BTW, I always (except that once) braise brisket at low temperature, using some kind of acid and sugar to break down the connective tissue, and it comes out fab. No need to boil it!
I have posted this previously, but I think it was several years ago. There has not ever been anyone who does not love this brisket, which a former boss shared with me. I don't know how to put my remarks in Italics on this site.
Former Boss's Brisket - The Greatest
Brisket
Woody's Concentrated BBQ Cooking Sauce*
Dried Onions
Pepper
Salt
Garlic Salt
Oregano
Seasoning Salt
Cumin
START THIS 2-3 DAYS (BETTER IF IT MARINATES FOR 3 DAYS) BEFORE YOU PLAN TO COOK IT. THEN YOU HAVE TO ALLOW 7-8 (OR 12) HOURS TIME TO COOK IT.
Before buying brisket, look at the bottom -- the more meat you see the better. Buy the one with the most meat visible from the bottom.
Tear off piece of heavy duty aluminum foil large enough to completely enclose the brisket. Place brisket on the foil. Brush (I just pour about 1/2 jar of Woody's on brisket and spread evenly with hand) one side of brisket with Woody's -- be liberal. Then sprinkle on the garlic salt, oregano, seasoning salt, salt, pepper, dried onion, and cumin -- be liberal with the seasoning too. Turn brisket over and repeat this on the other side. (I like to start with the bottom side of the brisket then turn it over and finish the top side. That way it is ready to put in refrigerator when I am finished.) Wrap the heavy duty aluminum foil and place on a large platter, a roaster, whatever will fit the brisket. Marinate in refrigerator for 2 or 3 days.
When ready to bake, leave in foil and do not open it up. Put in 300 degree oven and cook for 7-8 hours. (I put in 250-275 degree oven and cook for 12 hours.) You can bake this overnight; for cooking 7-8 hours just turn oven on before you go to bed, put the brisket in the oven and it is ready in the morning. (I put in oven at 6:00 p.m. and take out at 6:00 a.m.)
Remove from oven and unwrap foil (be careful, there are lots of juices in the foil so open the foil carefully and leave cupped so the juice does not run out). After cooking, you may take the fat off or leave it on. (I also like to drain off the juices and put the meat on a large platter.)
This has an incredible flavor and is extremely tender. IT IS WONDERFUL! You can slice and serve on plates. You can use for sandwiches. It is great served on hamburger buns with a slice of onion as a sandwich, served with peppers and either French fries,
potato salad, or potato chips.
*Can purchase at Kroger's; it is with BBQ sauces. Italicized remarks are my additions.
YUM!
Doing pulled pork for a gang this Sunday.....think I'll give your rub a go. I have one I've used forever ( Steve Raichlen's ) but am ready for a change up.
This post was edited by chase on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 23:00
We decided to try smoking a brisket in the smoker last year, we didn't hold our mouths right I guess. It tasted good but wasn't tender. I haven't had it in restaurants enough to know good smoked brisket. I've watched a bunch of those Pit Masters shows on TV but there are so many methods that it's hard to pick which one to do. I guess I'll leave that one to the Texans. It's too pricey to screw up.
I do mine on the bbq, make a smoke pouch by mixing 1 part dry wood chips with 2 parts wet in tinfoil. Fold it up tight, and then poke holes in the top of the pouch. Fire up one side of the bbq, try and get a heat of about 250 degrees, set the pouch on the flame side of the bbq, the meat on the cool side and close the lid.
It takes about 8 hours or so, and you have to change out your smoke pouch as the chips burn up.
I make my own rub, took some experimenting, but found one I like. I also make my bbq sauce. Towards the end, I baste the brisket in the sauce, let it carmelize over the meat. I know that is not the Texas way to do it, but everyone around here loves it.
I have a great butcher, and he knows what I do with the brisket. When we take our beef in for processing, it is right on our cutting instructions to leave as much fat cap on the brisket as possible. Only once did I have a dry smoked brisket, and that was my fault. It was the first one I attempted and I cooked way to long.
I have hinted to my kids and DH that a smoker would be a really nice gift, and they all said why, you do such a good job without it. Either they are cheap, or they like what I do now. Jury is still out on the answer to that one. LOL
Thank you for starting this thread! I am saving the entire thread. Brisket is a Big Thing in my house. I make it the way my mother did (Jewish brisket), but guests down here want smoked, and I do not have a smoker. That is on the to-get list, though because I simply will not do it indoors. Prairie_rose, do you raise your own beef? (We have Charolais.)
Smokers - if you don't have one, go to your local big box store and by a cheap one. Should be around $200. Make sure it uses charcoal/wood and not gas. Resist the temptation to buy an expensive one if you're just starting out. You can always get the expensive one once you've taught yourself how to cook barbecue on the cheap one!
If you do have one, get rid of it and get one of these:
This is my Spicewine Medium. The best cooker I've ever owned. It's a big sucker and it's not cheap, but it's worth every penny. I have had a dozen or so cookers over the years; none compare to this rascal. I can cook 9 Boston Butts or 3 Briskets or 12 racks of Ribs. I've made chicken in it, whole legs of lamb, and even a couple of turkeys (although they weren't very good.)
Now as to Brisket...
There are only a couple of beef brisket cuts available to most of us. The most popular is the flat (the right side of the image below). It's used for corned beef and pastrami and of course, for cooked brisket.
However, the best part of the brisket is the point or deckle (the left side of the image below.) It's got the most fat and thus the most flavor. If you are smoking a brisket, try to get one that has more point than flat.
Brisket is one of the least expensive cuts of beef and thus it takes a long time to cook down. For those of you who've mentioned failure in terms of tenderness, simply cook it until the point reaches 195 degrees. Sure, you might be overcooking the flat a bit, but that's the stuff you can use for burnt ends. Or, if you're really clever, cut the brisket in two pieces and cook them to 195 degrees separately. The flat will be done first.
It's not rocket science, it's just barbecue.
I love my smoker. ...smaller than yours but it is electric and wood. Love it
When I'm seriously bored I make scratch pastrami/ Monreal smoked meat. Not really worth the effort but it's fun. After brining and smoking you have to stream it.
My brisket has always been " so so " but I persist. Smoking is something you really need to want to do. ....and you need a group to share with !
kitchendetective,
We raise black angus. DH and I are semi retired now, only run about 100 head of bred cows. Enough to keep us busy, pay the bills. And eat really well.
Fawnridge, that's a very professional smoker. Looks like you have used it a few times. :-)
I have a converted refrigerator hot/cold smoker, with a cold smoker generator, constructed in such a way that it works indoors. I can smoke year round, hot smoke or cold smoke.
I can cold smoke salmon on a hot summer day, or hot smoke brisket when it is snowing outside.
dcarch
dcarch - Living in South Florida, I can smoke year 'round as well. My only problem was rain. My cooker stays in the garage and I've added onto the exhaust, so that I can roll the cooker to the front of the garage can cook even in the pouring rain.
Never did any cold smoking, though. I guess that's just for fish and around here, our fish is only sushi.
Re cuts, I can usually order a whole brisket from my butcher. It takes a couple of days to work its way through the supply chain, but you shouldn't have to grow your own beef to get a whole brisket. :)
Fawnridge,
Yes, smoked salmon is an expensive taste. Good thing to be able to smoke your own.
I just cold smoked 4 lbs of cheese.
dcarch
I'm curious and was wondering after reading some posts, does checking the internal temperature at 195 REALLY work for a brisket? I'd think it would be 195 LONG before it was tender enough to remove from the oven.
Walnut, I've been told that recipe you posted is wonderful. My sister was telling me about how to cook them, if was pretty much the same as you posted. She said that she thought it had been smoked all day and was just as good as her brisket that was cooking in a smoker, if not even better! We are Texas natives btw! :)
Yes, the internal temperature is the key factor in knowing when the brisket is fully cooked to the point of being tender. In the 15+ years I've been smoking briskets, I learned that this indicator is major difference between perfect and shoe leather.
Using the same cut of meat, the same timing, same recipe, and same temperature, you can still get different results.
That could be because, as I had posted in another thread, 10.5 % of all beef you buy are mechanically tenderized by using needle blades. Sellers are not required to label meat treated this way.
dcarch
Using the same cut of meat, the same timing, same recipe, and same temperature, you can still get different results.
If you take out the timing, I will disagree with you. With timing there, you are correct. I don't time the brisket cook; there's no reason to. When it's done, it's done. It goes in the hot box and waits until we're ready to eat. Could be an hour, could be eight hours.
Using the same rub, the same wood/charcoal, and buying a case of briskets from one butcher, you will get the same results as long as you cook it to the same internal temperature measured in thickest part of the point. Now, that's not to say that part of the brisket might not be as tender as another part. Remember, it's a cheap piece of meat that you're cooking for a very long time.
As far as temperature goes...
I try to hold temperature between 225 and 275. Sometimes, I've cooked as hot at 350 for an hour or two. No difference in the results. In competition cooking, they call that "turbo cooking". It works and I've seen teams win with that technique. One of the most famous barbecue champions - Myron Mixon of Jacks Old South - is a good friend of mine. He has been turbo cooking briskets for years, and winning.
What I am talking about is the beef that has been mechanically tenderized, will have a very different mouth feel, even under identical cooking conditions.
See the link below.
dcarch
Here is a link that might be useful:
"---Myron Mixon of Jacks Old South - is a good friend of mine. He has been turbo cooking briskets for years, and winning."
Don't they use Kobe briskets?
dcarch
dcarch - No. There are a couple of "hot" brisket suppliers around these days. I don't know the names off the top of my head. I get mine from Penn Dutch in Margate, FL.
Here's an interesting story...
About 10 years ago, we invited Paul Kirk to come down here and run a barbecue cooking school. I tied in a Certified Barbecue Judging class with it that was to start around 3 hours later, so that the judges could sample what these newly-trained cooks prepared.
I got there very early and joined the cooks as they selected their meat for the class. Paul Kirk laid out 10 different briskets and asked each cook and me to select what they thought the best one was for a competition. Each cook poked and smelled and squeezed the briskets. I was the last one in line and the only one to look at the label. Paul asked for my selection and I pointed to the one with the cheapest price. Mine was the right answer, according to barbecue professor.
With the long cooking process, it really didn't matter whether it was Certified Angus, Kobe, or just some unknown brand. Like I've been preaching all along: it's a cheap cut of beef that you're going to cook for many hours. In the end, it will taste as good as your rub, your smoke, and your sauce.