Brisket... The Crowning Jewel Of A Pitmaster's Cookbook

A lot of people want to know how great brisket is made, because that crap your friend put in a crock pot for twelve hours that you courteously forced down your throat can't be what barbecue fanatics rave about. 

A little introduction to this. I LOVE brisket. It's among my favorite things out there. It's amazing, and one of the things you simply can't do any way apart from with wood smoke on a barbecue. It's delicious if made right, and downright inedible if made wrong. This is one of the recipes that my lovely aunt taught me... because she rocks. It's also the most requested thing that I make for parties. So let's get started making mouths water two blocks down from smell alone.

What you'll need

• Brisket, obviously. I buy 15-18lb ones at a store called Cash and Carry, it's a restaurant supply store I believe, that's the cheapest place to get it. I am not super picky about being natural or grass fed or any of that because I don't pay over $3.50/lb, but if you want it to be the absolute best, meat quality is very important and natural grass fed is the best. 
• Oak/apple pellets are what I use

For the seasoning

• 1/2 Cup paprika
• 1/4 Cup black pepper
• 1/4 Cup kosher salt
• 1/4 Cup raw sugar
• 3 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp Chili powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp dry mustard
• 1 tbsp celery salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

For the Spray

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup beer (I use fosters or tecate)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the Boiling pan

• 24oz beer
• orange
• lemon
• pan from dollar tree

Let's rub it in...

So step one, open up your meat, clean it off and pat it down. Then it's time for the rub. Mix all the seasonings together (I forgot to get a photo of what they look like), then thickly coat the meat, leaving the fat side up. Use your hands to rub it into the meat. 

Let's chill

Now you cover it in foil, throw it in the fridge and let it sit overnight (or at least 8 hours, depending when you wanna start it)

Let's make an atmosphere

So the reason for the dollar tree pan, lemon, and orange is because we actually boil beer, lemon, and orange under the brisket while it cooks. This creates a flavor enhancing atmosphere for the brisket to cook in. 

So, slice the orange and lemon up and put them in the pan, then pour the beer over them to fill it. 

ingredients

What it looks like

Under the grates

Next step... the spray

The spray is very important. It helps give the meat phenomenal flavor while keeping it very moist. It will still develop bark, don't worry, it just helps with it not drying out... not that it's likely it would anyways. DO NOT SHAKE IT TO MIX. I say this because beer is carbonated. You will have spray shooting everywhere... whether or not you're squeezing the handle. Just lightly sway the bottle around and it will mix fine. 

I bought my sprayer at winco, get whatever works for you.

Time to get the party started

Okay, now we turn the grill up to 225° put the meat on, fat side up, spray it all over, and let it go... for about 12 hours, or until it's 197-200° internal temp. Depending on weather this can take longer or less, but you should be cooking it at least 12 hours. Every 45 minutes or so, open it up and spray it with the spray. Here's a progression from a few hours in to completion. It shrinks A LOT.

Last step.

Spray it again once it's off the grill, heavily, on all sides. Then cover with foil and let rest 10 minutes. 

After that, slide and serve, you can make burnt ends out of the flat if you want, I'll have another guide for that another time. 

This stuff is heaven. I'm getting hungry writing this blog... good thing I have some pork burnt ends on right now. Enjoy. Make your friends think you're some genius pitmaster, let me know how it turns out for you.

#HardWoodsOnly