What started out as 12 lbs. will probably end up half that in edible products. I'll throw it in the smoker on Friday for about 12 hours or so on around 235 F and then when I have had enough Johnny O'Daniels, maybe midnight Christmas Eve, I'll throw it in a roaster pan and cover it with foil and let it rest on 185 F or so until Christmas morning, then clean it up and slice it and prepare for a feast.
As usual, the little woman will lather her part with BBQ sauce, I'll have my sauce on the side. Stubb's Honey and Pecan prolly, good stuff when you can find it.
I love cooking brisket, my friends tell me I am good at it, but it is always a shot in the dark and an excercise in creative thought.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night, followed by a blessed New Year.
Merry Christmas and don’t forget to follow up back on this thread with PICTURES! (I am a masochist).
I am sure it will be delicious!
Mmmm....sounds mighty good, podner! We’ll be visiting relatives in the Metroplex and hope to see some snow like last year.
Have a merry one and may 2011 be better than 2010!
You and my husband are cut from the same cloth. He loves to cook brisket too and it’s different each time - and always yummy!
Let us know how it turns out.
Texas salutes you - creative brisket chef.
Enjoy! In Texas brisket is always good at Christmas. Love the burnt part.
This year I’m buying a smoked turkey from Guy’s Meat Market in Houston. I’m not a big turkey fan. But I’ll hurt myself eating the smoked stuff from Guy’s.
Last we drove from Houston all the way to Elgin to get some Southside Market sausage. Went ahead and ate lunch there. Had some brisket. Man that was good!
Beef Barbeque (Texas Maximus)
2 to 20 pounds of beef brisket (Recently, I've been scoring mine at Walmart.)
A quick overnight marinade can be a commercially made rub or equal parts of -
Paprika (optional)
Ground pepper (optional)
Garlic powder (optional)
Onion powder (optional)
An entire brisket looks like one piece when purchased but there are actually two large pieces of meat separated by a layer of fat. Separate the pieces and remove most of the fat. On larger briskets, several pounds maybe lost during the fat trimming process. Poke with a large fork to tenderize. Have a large bowl ready to dunk the brisket pieces in water. If preparing the beef for the crockpot, cut the two pieces in half - just so they'll fit in the cooker.
Note - do not use any salt or salt product in the overnight marinade. Moisture must be kept in - not taken out. And any sugar-based ingredients such as brown sugar, introduced early in the preparation, will caramelize during cooking.
After applying the rub, poke again to tenderize. Place in the refrigerator. Remove the pieces that will be cooked one hour prior to baking and bring the beef up to room temperature. (Optional if using the crockpot since the 'low' setting will take care of the temperature change.) If the brisket is fresh out of the bag or from the butcher. remove the fat, poke, dunk in water, poke again, apply rub, poke once more and start cooking.
Preheat oven to 325° or get out the crockpot.
Just before cooking, rub both sides down with a squirt of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and a few pulverized bay leaves. Poke some more.
Oven - place brisket on rack - fatty side up - inside a Pyrex dish. (A 10" by 15" Pyrex can hold nearly six pounds.) The meat should not cook in it's own juices. If it does sit in it's own fluid for a period of time, no problem! It's just beef!
Add an oil/water mixture in the Pyrex. Initial amount maybe 2 cups. Drippings can be used for gravy. Do not let that Pyrex moisture dry out during cooking. Check it about every half-hour and add more if needed.
Bake for 2½ hours uncovered. Exterior may appear black quickly but that's normal. Use mop sauce or drippings on top of meat during water checks. The drippings or a combination of Worchestershire sauce, a small pinch of liquid smoke, some lemon juice and a bit of olive oil work well as a mop sauce. Change to taste.
After the first side is done, flip the meat, top off the water level and use the mop sauce or drippings one last time. Cover tight with aluminum foil and let cook for another hour.
Let brisket sit 20 to 30 minutes before cutting. Cut at an angle against the grain. Any commercially made BBQ sauce will do. Serve with potato salad, pinto beans, corn-on-the-cob, and plenty of jalepeno peppers. Jalepeno cornbread is pretty tasty, too!
Crockpot - start with, at least, a 5 quart cooker. That will hold half of a 15 pound brisket. Insert rack, place one piece of brisket on top of the other - fatty side up, cover the pot, turn on low and let cook for 12 hours. Check after about 6 hours and remove enough drippings so bottom piece isn't sitting in fluid. If it does sit in it's own fluid for a period of time, no problem! It's just beef! Baste with drippings. Flip the meat if you wish. Mop sauce is optional and not required. It's EASY! Transfer droppings to glass containers, let cool and settle. Place drippings in fridge until the fat hardens on top and remove fat. Use the drippings for flavoring rice or just about anything else. Beef soup anyone?
**BONUS** Jalepeno poppers! Cut a dozen peppers in half, top to bottom, and remove the seeds. Stuff them flat with cream cheese or any other favorite cheese. Place them in a Pyrex baking dish. (That 10" by 15" brisket dish works well.) Bake for 20 minutes at 350³. (After 20 minutes, you can turn the oven off and have them sit in there for 10 or 15 minutes more.) You can't eat just one! Variations - place a piece of precooked bacon on top before baking - or do the whole deal on the grill!
yum!
Are you cooking a right or a left-handed Brisket?
I wanta be there!!
I spent my college days in Lubbock at Texas Tech. I enjoyed “several evenings” at the old Stubb’s BBQ on
East Broadway. Live bands on Friday and Saturday night and “Amatuer Jam” night on Sunday. I still remember the tour buses pulling in and the bands coming in Sunday evening. I heard Tom T. Hall, Linda Ronstadt, and Joe Ely for free on different occasions. Stubbs sold out and moved to Austin and it just isn’t the same since the new owners moved it to the Depot District.....red