My boyfriend and I recently purchased a smoker and we've been having fun trying it out. Yesterday was our first attempt at smoking a brisket, which I thought was incredibly flavorful and tender. This was very scary as this was to be the main dish for Hanukkah and Paul's dad, the family patriarch, had been in charge of making the brisket for the past 20 years. Now this Shiksa comes along and wants to make their holiday brisket.
Upon arriving at the event my tension escalated as I told Paul's sister that I even brought bbq sauce for the Hanukka brisket. I'm sure they were wondering how on earth could he have allowed me to not only make the brisket, but to invade their time honored traditional family recipe by bringing bbq sauce. After all we live in Denver and not the south.
Brisket is known to be a tough piece of meat which needs to be braised or slow roasted. Cooking too fast will leave you with shoe leather or a few meals for your dog and this was not what I wanted to serve to m boyfriend's family.
I started by injecting the brisket with plain beef broth. You can buy a flavor or marinade injector at most stores that have a good kitchen department. I bought one at Bed Bath and Beyond for $15 and it came with two different size needles, one for thick and one for thin marinades. If you choose to do this, follow the direction of the grain. This way the needle won't leave track marks. Fill it with as much broth as you can.
mise en place
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (5 to 8 pound) beef brisket (flat cut)
2 tablespoons Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (5 to 8 pound) beef brisket (flat cut)
2 tablespoons Montreal Steak Seasoning
4 cups oak or hickory wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes, drained. - We like a combination of woods for more flavor and used apple and hickory
3 cups apple juice
1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce, for serving (recipe follows)
Start by injecting the broth into the brisket and let it sit while you prepare the rub.
3 cups apple juice
1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce, for serving (recipe follows)
Start by injecting the broth into the brisket and let it sit while you prepare the rub.
directions
Special equipment: spray bottle for 1 cup apple juice
Combine all the spices in a bowl, mix well. Pat the spice rub onto the meat, making sure to heavily season the entire surface area of the brisket. Cover or wrap the brisket and let it sit at room temperature while getting the smoker or charcoal grill fired up. Do not leave at room temperature for longer than 1 hour. When the smoker or grill has reached 200 to 225 degrees F, add 1/4 of the wood chips and fill the pan with apple juice. Sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning just before putting the brisket in the smoker and close the door - When the grill has reached 200 to 225 degrees F, add 1/4 of the wood chips over the coals, close the grate, put the brisket on the grill, sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning and close the lid.
(The is grill is ready when the charcoal has burned to a white ash. If using a grill instead of a smoker, arrange the coals on 1 side of the grill, leaving an area large enough for the brisket to cook indirectly with no coals directly underneath the meat.)
Maintain a 200 to 225 degree F cooking temperature inside the smoker/grill, adding coals every 2 hours or as necessary if using grill. Add wood chips and spray the brisket with apple juice every 2 hours or every time you add new coals. Try not to open smoker/grill at any other time.
When the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 165 to 170 degrees F on an instant read meat thermometer (after about 4 to 5 hours), remove it from the grill and double wrap in aluminum foil to keep the juices from leaking out. Return the brisket to the grill (or smoker) The brisket is finished cooking when it is very tender and reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F, about another 1 to 2 hours. Let rest for 45 minutes, then unwrap and slice. Serve with BBQ sauce on the side.
BBQ Sauce
mise en place
2 tablespoons chili powder1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt2 cups ketchup1/2 cup yellow mustard1/3 cup cider vinegar (1/2 cup if you like your sauce tart)1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup steak sauce1/4 cup dark molasses1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon hot sauce1 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar works fine too)3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 medium cloves of garlic, minced
- Optional. If you are cooking indoors, or if your meat does not have a lot of smoke flavor, or if you just want more smoke flavor, you can add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke.
- About the vinegar. I like my sauce tart. Trust me, although it may taste tart from the bottle, it is perfect on meat. If you are not big on vinegar, cut it in half.
- About the steak sauce. There are many different brands and they all have different flavor profiles, but what we want here is the meaty depth of savoriness that they call umami, so use whatever you have on hand.
- About the oil. You may use butter or bacon fat for a bit more flavor, but keep in mind, they can get rancid with time, and they will likely shorten shelf life to about 1 week. Use a bottled vegetable oil and it can keep months.
- Secret optional ingredient. Add 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste
. This exotic ingredient isn't really that exotic. It shows up on the ingredient lists of a lot of great BBQ sauces. It has a sweet citrusy flavor and really amps up a sauce. If you can't find it in a Whole Foods, an Indian or Asian grocery, it is available online. Directions
In a small bowl, mix chili powder, black pepper, and salt. In a large bowl, mix the ketchup, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire, lemon juice, steak sauce, molasses, honey, hot sauce, and brown sugar.
Over medium heat, warm the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the dry spices and stir for about 2 minutes to extract their oil-soluble flavors. Add the wet ingredients. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes with the lid off to thicken it a bit.
directions
Taste and adjust. Add more of anything that you want a little bit at a time. It may taste a bit vinegary at first, but that will be less obvious when you use it on meat. Strain it if you don't want the chunks of onion and garlic. I like leaving them in, they give the sauce a home-made texture. You can use it immediately, but I think it's better when aged overnight.
0 comments